2020 Washington gubernatorial election

2020 Washington gubernatorial election

← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →
 
Nominee Jay Inslee Loren Culp
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 2,294,243 1,749,066
Percentage 56.56% 43.12%

Inslee:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Culp:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%      No data

Governor before election

Jay Inslee
Democratic

Elected Governor

Jay Inslee
Democratic

The 2020 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020. It followed a top-two primary held on August 4. Incumbent governor Jay Inslee, the Democratic candidate, defeated Loren Culp, the Republican candidate by a wide margin. Inslee, who was eligible to run for a third term due to the lack of gubernatorial term limits,[1] initially launched a campaign for president of the United States in the 2020 election. When he dropped out of that race in August 2019 due to extremely low polling numbers,[2] he announced he would seek a third term as governor.[3] Several other Democratic political figures considered entering the race if Inslee did not run, including Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson; no other major Democratic candidates entered the race.[4] Republican Loren Culp, the police chief of Republic, Washington, placed second in the top-two primary and advanced to the general election alongside Inslee.

The election was clear and decisive, with incumbent Jay Inslee winning re-election over Loren Culp by over 13 points. This marked the largest margin of victory in a Washington gubernatorial race since Gary Locke won reelection in 2000. Inslee's landslide victory included over 74% of the vote in King County, the highest ever for a Democrat in the county's history. King County, home to Seattle, has about a third of the state's voters.[5][6] In addition, this was the first time since 2000 that a Democrat won a county in Eastern Washington with Inslee winning Whitman County.[7] Culp still ran ahead of the top-ticket presidential candidate, Donald Trump, by about 4 points.

Despite the margin of victory, Culp refused to concede and filed a lawsuit against Republican Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman five weeks after the election.[8] He did not give a concession speech, while making claims of irregularities which Wyman characterized as "unsubstantiated".[9] Culp's actions drew criticism and were compared to Donald Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 U.S. presidential election.[10]

This election marked the 10th consecutive election victory of the Democratic candidate for governor of Washington.

  1. ^ Merica, Dan (March 1, 2019). "Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announces 2020 presidential bid". Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  2. ^ "Was Jay Inslee's presidential campaign a failure?". The Aggie. October 21, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Dan Merica and Paul LeBlanc (August 22, 2019). "Washington Gov. Jay Inslee drops out of presidential race". CNN. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. ^ Gutman, David (August 22, 2019). "With Inslee running again for governor, leading Washington state Democrats put their ambitions on hold". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  5. ^ Brunner, Jim (November 10, 2020). "Republican Loren Culp lost King County by the worst margin in at least four decades in Washington governor's race". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  6. ^ "Election Results and Voters' Pamphlets". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  7. ^ Leadingham, Scott (November 19, 2020). "Incumbent's Advantage: Why Whitman County Votes For Biden And Inslee, But GOP For Congress". Northwest Public Broadcasting. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  8. ^ Craighead, Callie (December 11, 2020). "Refusing to concede lost election, Washington gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp sues Sec. of State". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  9. ^ Brunner, Jim (November 21, 2020). "Loren Culp, refusing to concede Washington gubernatorial race, turns on top Republicans". The Seattle Times.
  10. ^ Bowman, Nick (November 9, 2020). "Opinion: Loren Culp, Trump show a refusal to accept reality in both Washingtons". MyNorthwest.com. Bonneville International. Retrieved November 10, 2020.