1996 Washington gubernatorial election
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 County results Locke: 50–60% 60–70% Craswell: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Washington |
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 Federal elections |
 State elections |
The 1996 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996. Though eligible for a second term, incumbent governor Mike Lowry chose not to run for reelection due to allegations of sexual harassment. This gubernatorial race was especially significant in that it resulted in the first Asian American governor in the mainland United States (after George Ariyoshi of island state Hawaii), Democrat Gary Locke.
Primary election[]
Candidates[]
Democratic[]
- Gary Locke, King County Executive and former state representative
- Norm Rice, current Mayor of Seattle
- Jay Inslee, U.S. Representative from the 4th congressional district
Republican[]
- Ellen Craswell, president pro tempore of the Washington Senate
- Dale Foreman, majority leader of the Washington House of Representatives
- Norm Maleng, King County Prosecuting Attorney
- Pam Roach, state senator
Polling[]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Norm Rice (D) |
Jay Inslee (D) |
Gary Locke (D) |
Dale Foreman (R) |
Ellen Craswell (R) |
Norm Maleng (R) |
Pam Roach (R) |
Nona Brazier (R) |
Jim Waldo (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Post-Intelligencer | August 29 – September 6, 1996 | – | – | 20% | 17% | 15% | 14% | 11% | 7% | 4% | 2% | 1% | 9% |
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gary Locke (incumbent) | 287,762 | 23.65% | |
| Democratic | Norm Rice | 212,888 | 17.50% | |
| Republican | Ellen Craswell | 185,680 | 15.26% | |
| Republican | Dale Foreman | 162,615 | 13.37% | |
| Democratic | Jay Inslee | 118,571 | 9.75% | |
| Republican | Norm Maleng | 109,088 | 8.97% | |
| Republican | Jim Waldo | 63,584 | 5.25% | |
| Republican | Pam Roach | 29,533 | 2.43% | |
| Republican | Nona Brazier | 21,237 | 1.75% | |
| Democratic | Brian Zetlen | 6,152 | 0.51% | |
| Republican | Warren E. Hanson | 4,886 | 0.40% | |
| Republican | Bob Tharp | 4,825 | 0.40% | |
| Socialist Workers | Jeff Powers | 3,742 | 0.31% | |
| Democratic | Mohammad H. Said | 3,007 | 0.25% | |
| Democratic | Max Englerius | 2,837 | 0.23% | |
| Total votes | 1,216,407 | 100.00% | ||
General election[]
Candidates[]
- Gary Locke (D), King County Executive and former state representative
- Ellen Craswell (R), president pro tempore of the Washington Senate
Debates[]
- Complete video of debate, September 26, 1996 - C-SPAN
- Complete video of debate, October 9, 1996 - C-SPAN
Results[]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gary Locke | 1,296,492 | 57.96 | ||
| Republican | Ellen Craswell | 940,538 | 42.04 | ||
| Total votes | 2,237,030 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Notes[]
- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
References[]
- ^ "Election Search Results - Elections & Voting - WA Secretary of State". www.sos.wa.gov. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
- ^ "Election Search Results - Elections & Voting - WA Secretary of State".
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Categories:
- 1996 Washington (state) elections
- Washington (state) gubernatorial elections
- 1996 United States gubernatorial elections