2012 Washington gubernatorial election

2012 Washington gubernatorial election
	County results; Inslee: 50–60% 60–70%; McKenna: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80%
Governor before election; Christine Gregoire; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Jay Inslee; Democratic

The 2012 Washington gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012.^[1] Candidates in the election were chosen in an August 7, 2012^[2] primary election, under the state's nonpartisan blanket primary system, which allows voters to vote for any candidate running in the race, regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates who received the most votes in the primary election qualified for the general election.^[3]

Incumbent Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire decided to retire rather than seek a third term.^[4] She endorsed fellow Democrat Jay Inslee, a U.S. Congressman, as her successor. On March 20, 2012, Inslee resigned from Congress in order to focus on his gubernatorial campaign.^[5]

Inslee and Republican Rob McKenna, the Attorney General of Washington, advanced to the general election. Inslee narrowly won the election, and McKenna conceded three days later.^[6]

Primary election[]

Democratic candidates[]

Rob Hill
Jay Inslee, U.S. Representative for WA-01 (1999–2012) and WA-04 (1993–1995)^[7]

Declined[]

Lisa Brown, State Senate Majority Leader^[8]
Dow Constantine, King County Executive^[9]
Christine Gregoire, incumbent Governor^[4]
Jim McIntire, State Treasurer^[10]
Aaron Reardon, Snohomish County Executive^[11]
Ron Sims, former King County Executive and Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development^[12]
Brian Sonntag, State Auditor General^[13]^[14]

Republican candidates[]

Shahram Hadian, pastor and small business owner^[15]
Javier O. Lopez
Rob McKenna, Attorney General of Washington^[16]
Max Sampson

Declined[]

Dave Reichert, U.S. Representative^[17]

Independent candidates[]

Christian Joubert
L. Dale Sorgen, computer programmer and former pastor^[18]
James White

Results[]

Results by county:

Inslee—40–50%

Inslee—50–60%

McKenna—40–50%

McKenna—50–60%

McKenna—60–70%

Blanket primary results^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jay Inslee	664,534	47.13
	Republican	Rob McKenna	604,872	42.90
	Republican	Shahram Hadian	46,169	3.27
	Democratic	Rob Hill	45,453	3.22
	Independent	James White	13,764	0.98
	Independent	Christian Joubert	10,457	0.74
	Independent	L. Dale Sorgen	9,734	0.69
	Republican	Max Sampson	8,753	0.62
	Republican	Javier O. Lopez	6,131	0.43
Total votes			1,409,867	100.00

General election[]

Candidates[]

Jay Inslee (Democratic), former U.S. Representative
Rob McKenna (Republican), Attorney General of Washington

Debates[]

Complete video of debate, October 2, 2012 - C-SPAN

Predictions[]

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[20]	Tossup	November 1, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[21]	Lean D	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg Political Report^[22]	Tilt D	November 2, 2012
Real Clear Politics^[23]	Tossup	November 5, 2012

Polling[]

Aggregate polls

Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Jay Inslee (D)	Rob McKenna (R)	Other/Undecided ^[a]	Margin
Real Clear Politics	October 14 – November 3, 2012	November 3, 2012	47.3%	46.3%	6.4%	Inslee +1.0%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jay Inslee (D)	Rob McKenna (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling	November 1–3, 2012	932	± 3.2%	50%	48%	2%
KING5/SurveyUSA	October 28–31, 2012	555	± 4.2%	47%	46%	7%
KCTS 9/Washington Poll	October 18–31, 2012	632	± 3.9%	49%	46%	6%
Elway Poll	October 18–21, 2012	451	± 4.5%	45%	47%	10%
Strategies360	October 17–20, 2012	500	± 4.4%	45%	45%	10%
Public Policy Polling/WCV	October 15–16, 2012	574	± n/a%	48%	42%	10%
KCTS 9/Washington Poll	October 1–16, 2012	782	± 3.5%	48%	45%	8%
Rasmussen Reports	October 14, 2012	500	± 4.5%	47%	45%	9%
SurveyUSA	October 12–14, 2012	543	± 4.3%	47%	44%	9%
SurveyUSA	September 28–30, 2012	540	± 4.3%	48%	42%	10%
Rasmussen Reports	September 26, 2012	500	± 4.5%	46%	45%	9%
Public Elway Poll	September 9–12, 2012	405	± 5%	44%	41%	15%
Public Policy Polling	September 7–9, 2012	563	± n/a%	48%	42%	10%
Survey USA	September 7–9, 2012	524	± 4.4%	49%	44%	7%
Survey USA	August 2–3, 2012	524	± 4.4%	48%	45%	7%
Elway Poll	July 18–22, 2012	405	± 5.0%	43%	36%	21%
Survey USA	July 16–17, 2012	630	± 4.0%	41%	42%	16%
Public Policy Polling	June 14–17, 2012	1,073	± 3.0%	40%	43%	17%
Elway Poll	June 13–16, 2012	408	± 5.0%	40%	42%	18%
Survey USA	May 8–9, 2012	557	± 4.2%	38%	40%	22%
Public Policy Polling	February 16–19, 2012	1,264	± 2.76%	42%	42%	16%
Survey USA	February 13–15, 2012	572	± 4.2%	39%	49%	12%
Elway Poll	February 7–9, 2012	405	± 5.0%	36%	45%	19%
Survey USA	January 12–16, 2012	617	± 4.0%	43%	46%	11%
Survey USA	November 21–23, 2011	549	± 4.3%	38%	44%	17%
Washington Poll	October 10–30, 2011	938	± 3.2%	38%	44%	18%
Survey USA	September 21–22, 2011	529	± 4.3%	38%	44%	18%
Survey USA	June 24–26, 2011	600	± 4.4%	47%	44%	9%
Public Policy Polling	May 12–15, 2011	1,098	± 3.0%	38%	40%	22%
Survey USA	April 27–28, 2011	610	± 4.0%	41%	48%	11%

Results[]

The race was close throughout the night, with results too close to call after 60 percent of ballots were cast.^[24] Inslee was declared the winner early in the morning three days later; McKenna conceded later in the evening.^[25]

Inslee won only eight of the state's 39 counties, relying on heavy votes from the Seattle metropolitan area pushing him to victory.^[26]

2012 Washington gubernatorial election^[27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jay Inslee	1,582,802	51.40%	-1.84%
	Republican	Rob McKenna	1,488,245	48.33%	+1.57%
	Write-in		8,592	0.28%	N/A
Total votes			3,079,639	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

By congressional district[]

Islee won 5 of 10 congressional districts with the remaining 5 going to McKenna.^[28]

District	McKenna	Inslee	Representative
1st	52%	48%	Suzan DelBene
2nd	46%	54%	Rick Larsen
3rd	54%	46%	Jaime Herrera Beutler
4th	63%	37%	Doc Hastings
5th	58%	42%	Cathy McMorris Rodgers
6th	49%	51%	Derek Kilmer
7th	26%	74%	Jim McDermott
8th	57%	43%	Dave Reichert
9th	39%	61%	Adam Smith
10th	49%	51%	Denny Heck

Notes[]

^ Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.

References[]

^ "Washington's 2012 elections". Balletopedia - The Encyclopedia of American Politics. Balletopedia. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
^ "RCW 29a.04.311: Primaries". apps.leg.wa.gov. Archived from the original on 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
^ Pages - Top 2 Primary Archived April 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Garber, Andrew (June 13, 2011). "2 terms and out for Gov. Chris Gregoire". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
^ Grygiel, Chris (March 10, 2012). "US Rep. Inslee to resign for Wash. gov. race". The News Tribune. Associated Press.^{[dead link]}
^ Brunner, Jim (November 10, 2012). "McKenna concedes; Inslee to be governor". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
^ "Inslee Announcement Prompts More Democratic Interest" Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, Roll Call Politics
^ "Lisa Brown endorses Inslee"^{[dead link]}
^ "Inslee Running for Gov; Constantine Cheers Him on Facebook - PubliCola". 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
^ 2012 races take shape - Elections - The Olympian^{[dead link]}
^ Haglund, Noah (October 19, 2011). "Aaron Reardon says he has no plans to run for governor or Congress". The Herald (Everett). Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
^ Sims Quits HUD Post, Hotline On Call Archived June 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
^ Garber, Andrew (July 5, 2011). "Brian Sonntag will not run for governor". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
^ "State auditor Brian Sonntag makes decision on governor's race-KING5.com Seattle". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
^ Cornfield, Jerry (August 9, 2011). "Everett pastor enters governor race". The Herald (Everett). Archived from the original on August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
^ Brunner, Jim (June 8, 2011). "McKenna launches campaign for governor". The Seattle Times.
^ Connelly, Joel (June 8, 2011). "Reichert: I'll support McKenna for governor". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
^ Rathbun, Andy (November 19, 2009). "Sultan man declares 2012 governor bid". The Herald (Everett). Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
^ "Governor". Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
^ "2012 Governor Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
^ "PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
^ "2012 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
^ "2012 Elections Map - 2012 Governor Races". Real Clear Politics. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
^ "Inslee vs. McKenna could drag on". The Seattle Times. November 6, 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
^ Brunner, Jim (November 9, 2012). "McKenna concedes; Inslee to be governor". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
^ Johnson, Kirk (November 28, 2012). "In West's 'Democratopolis,' Winning an Election With Only 8 of 39 Counties". The New York Times. p. A22. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
^ "November 06, 2012 General Election Results: Governor". Washington State Secretary of State. November 27, 2012. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
^ Results (PDF). wei.sos.wa.gov (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-06-30.

External links[]

Elections & Voting at the Washington Secretary of State office

Official campaign websites

[24] Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.

[1] "Washington's 2012 elections". Balletopedia - The Encyclopedia of American Politics. Balletopedia. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.

[2] "RCW 29a.04.311: Primaries". apps.leg.wa.gov. Archived from the original on 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2011-07-02.

[3] Pages - Top 2 Primary Archived April 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

[gregoire-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b Garber, Andrew (June 13, 2011). "2 terms and out for Gov. Chris Gregoire". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2011.

[5] Grygiel, Chris (March 10, 2012). "US Rep. Inslee to resign for Wash. gov. race". The News Tribune. Associated Press.^{[dead link]}

[6] Brunner, Jim (November 10, 2012). "McKenna concedes; Inslee to be governor". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2012.

[7] "Inslee Announcement Prompts More Democratic Interest" Archived 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, Roll Call Politics

[8] "Lisa Brown endorses Inslee"^{[dead link]}

[9] "Inslee Running for Gov; Constantine Cheers Him on Facebook - PubliCola". 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2011.

[10] 2012 races take shape - Elections - The Olympian^{[dead link]}

[11] Haglund, Noah (October 19, 2011). "Aaron Reardon says he has no plans to run for governor or Congress". The Herald (Everett). Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.

[12] Sims Quits HUD Post, Hotline On Call Archived June 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

[13] Garber, Andrew (July 5, 2011). "Brian Sonntag will not run for governor". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2011.

[14] "State auditor Brian Sonntag makes decision on governor's race-KING5.com Seattle". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-07-05.

[15] Cornfield, Jerry (August 9, 2011). "Everett pastor enters governor race". The Herald (Everett). Archived from the original on August 10, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2011.

[16] Brunner, Jim (June 8, 2011). "McKenna launches campaign for governor". The Seattle Times.

[17] Connelly, Joel (June 8, 2011). "Reichert: I'll support McKenna for governor". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2011.

[18] Rathbun, Andy (November 19, 2009). "Sultan man declares 2012 governor bid". The Herald (Everett). Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2011.

[19] "Governor". Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.

[20] "2012 Governor Race Ratings for November 1, 2012". The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.

[21] "PROJECTION: OBAMA WILL LIKELY WIN SECOND TERM". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.

[22] "2012 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.

[23] "2012 Elections Map - 2012 Governor Races". Real Clear Politics. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.

[25] "Inslee vs. McKenna could drag on". The Seattle Times. November 6, 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.

[26] Brunner, Jim (November 9, 2012). "McKenna concedes; Inslee to be governor". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.

[27] Johnson, Kirk (November 28, 2012). "In West's 'Democratopolis,' Winning an Election With Only 8 of 39 Counties". The New York Times. p. A22. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2016.

[28] "November 06, 2012 General Election Results: Governor". Washington State Secretary of State. November 27, 2012. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2016.

[29] Results (PDF). wei.sos.wa.gov (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-06-30.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[a]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

show v t (2011 ←) 2012 United States elections (→ 2013)
U.S. President	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
U.S. Senate	Arizona California Connecticut Delaware Florida Hawaii Indiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Dakota Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
U.S. House (Election ratings)	Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona 8th sp Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois 2nd sp Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky 4th sp Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan 11th 11th sp Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey 10th sp New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon 1st sp Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia U.S. Virgin Islands Washington 1st sp West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Governors	American Samoa Delaware Lt. Gov Indiana Missouri Montana New Hampshire North Carolina North Dakota Puerto Rico Utah Vermont Washington West Virginia Wisconsin (recall)
Attorneys general	Missouri North Carolina Pennsylvania
State legislatures	California Assembly Senate Connecticut Senate Delaware House Florida House Hawaii House Senate Illinois House Senate Iowa Senate Michigan House Minnesota House Senate Montana House New York Senate North Carolina House Senate Oregon legislative Pennsylvania House Senate Washington House Senate
Mayoral	Anchorage, AK Austin, TX Bakersfield, CA Baton Rouge, LA Corpus Christi, TX Fort Lauderdale, FL Fresno, CA Gilbert, AZ Glendale, AZ Honolulu, HI Irvine, CA Lubbock, TX Miami-Dade County, FL Milwaukee, WI Orlando, FL Portland, OR Riverside, CA Sacramento, CA San Diego, CA San Juan, PR Scottsdale, AZ Stockton, CA Virginia Beach, VA Wilmington, DE
States and territories	Alaska American Samoa California Delaware Hawaii Illinois Indiana Kansas Massachusetts Minnesota Missouri Nevada New York North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico South Carolina U.S. Virgin Islands Vermont Washington West Virginia

2012 Washington gubernatorial election

Contents

Primary election[]

Democratic candidates[]

Declined[]

Republican candidates[]

Declined[]

Independent candidates[]

Results[]

General election[]

Candidates[]

Debates[]

Predictions[]

Polling[]

Results[]

By congressional district[]

See also[]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]