1984 Washington gubernatorial election
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 County results Gardner: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Spellman: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The 1984 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican John Spellman ran for re-election to a second term but was defeated by Democrat Booth Gardner. Despite Republican President Ronald Reagan carrying the state by 13 points in the concurrent 1984 Election. This is the last time that the Washington Governor's office changed partisan control or that an incumbent Governor of Washington lost a general election.
Primary election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Democratic
[edit]- Booth Gardner, Pierce County Executive
- Jim McDermott, psychiatrist, state senator, candidate for governor in 1972, and nominee for governor 1980
- John Jovanovich, state representative
Republican
[edit]- John Spellman, incumbent governor of Washington
- Ted Parker Fix
Third-party
[edit]- Mark A. Calney (Independent), author
- Bob LeRoy (Populist)
- Cheryll Y. Hidalgo (Socialist Workers)
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Booth Gardner | 421,087 | 46.07% | |
| Republican | John Spellman (incumbent) | 239,463 | 26.20% | |
| Democratic | Jim McDermott | 209,435 | 22.91% | |
| Democratic | John Jovanovich | 23,699 | 2.59% | |
| Republican | Ted Parker Fix | 11,193 | 1.23% | |
| Populist | Bob LeRoy | 3,601 | 0.39% | |
| Independent | Mark A. Calney | 2,851 | 0.31% | |
| Socialist Workers | Cheryll Y. Hidalgo | 2,672 | 0.29% | |
| Total votes | 914,001 | 100.00% | ||
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- John Spellman (R), incumbent governor of Washington
- Booth Gardner (D), Pierce County Executive
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Booth Gardner | 1,006,993 | 53.31% | +9.99% | |
| Republican | John Spellman (incumbent) | 881,994 | 46.69% | −9.99% | |
| Majority | 124,999 | 6.62% | |||
| Total votes | 1,888,987 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | Swing | +19.98% | |||
Results by county
[edit]Booth Gardner is the most recent Democrat to carry Lewis County and Stevens County in a gubernatorial election. Conversely, John Spellman is the last Republican to have won San Juan County.
| County[3] | Booth Gardner Democratic |
John Spellman Republican |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 2,070 | 42.43% | 2,809 | 57.57% | -739 | -15.15% | 4,879 |
| Asotin | 3,833 | 53.68% | 3,308 | 46.32% | 525 | 7.35% | 7,141 |
| Benton | 20,982 | 44.44% | 26,236 | 55.56% | -5,254 | -11.13% | 47,218 |
| Chelan | 8,843 | 42.51% | 11,960 | 57.49% | -3,117 | -14.98% | 20,803 |
| Clallam | 12,156 | 50.70% | 11,820 | 49.30% | 336 | 1.40% | 23,976 |
| Clark | 46,144 | 59.33% | 31,629 | 40.67% | 14,515 | 18.66% | 77,773 |
| Columbia | 935 | 44.69% | 1,157 | 55.31% | -222 | -10.61% | 2,092 |
| Cowlitz | 18,770 | 61.90% | 11,553 | 38.10% | 7,217 | 23.80% | 30,323 |
| Douglas | 4,398 | 45.07% | 5,361 | 54.93% | -963 | -9.87% | 9,759 |
| Ferry | 1,194 | 56.08% | 935 | 43.92% | 259 | 12.17% | 2,129 |
| Franklin | 5,761 | 47.96% | 6,250 | 52.04% | -489 | -4.07% | 12,011 |
| Garfield | 685 | 48.21% | 736 | 51.79% | -51 | -3.59% | 1,421 |
| Grant | 8,917 | 46.55% | 10,238 | 53.45% | -1,321 | 6.90% | 19,155 |
| Grays Harbor | 18,752 | 70.73% | 7,761 | 29.27% | 10,991 | 41.46% | 26,513 |
| Island | 9,160 | 43.99% | 11,664 | 56.01% | -2,504 | -12.02% | 20,824 |
| Jefferson | 4,904 | 53.72% | 4,224 | 46.28% | 680 | 7.45% | 9,128 |
| King | 336,878 | 52.35% | 306,605 | 47.65% | 30,273 | 4.70% | 643,483 |
| Kitsap | 37,460 | 55.67% | 29,835 | 44.33% | 7,625 | 11.33% | 67,295 |
| Kittitas | 6,577 | 59.35% | 4,504 | 40.65% | 2,073 | 18.71% | 11,081 |
| Klickitat | 3,797 | 56.61% | 2,910 | 43.39% | 887 | 13.22% | 6,707 |
| Lewis | 13,811 | 58.08% | 9,969 | 41.92% | 3,842 | 16.16% | 23,780 |
| Lincoln | 2,345 | 44.81% | 2,888 | 55.19% | -543 | -10.38% | 5,233 |
| Mason | 9,316 | 58.80% | 6,528 | 41.20% | 2,788 | 17.60% | 15,844 |
| Okanogan | 6,357 | 48.31% | 6,802 | 51.69% | -445 | -3.38% | 13,159 |
| Pacific | 5,473 | 64.94% | 2,955 | 35.06% | 2,518 | 29.88% | 8,428 |
| Pend Oreille | 2,298 | 56.55% | 1,766 | 43.45% | 532 | 13.09% | 4,064 |
| Pierce | 112,796 | 58.74% | 79,246 | 41.26% | 33,550 | 17.47% | 192,042 |
| San Juan | 2,634 | 48.48% | 2,799 | 51.52% | -165 | -3.04% | 5,433 |
| Skagit | 18,457 | 54.95% | 15,130 | 45.05% | 3,327 | 9.91% | 33,587 |
| Skamania | 1,934 | 58.43% | 1,376 | 41.57% | 558 | 16.86% | 3,310 |
| Snohomish | 84,328 | 52.66% | 75,823 | 47.34% | 8,505 | 5.31% | 160,151 |
| Spokane | 74,244 | 49.25% | 76,502 | 50.75% | -2,258 | -1.50% | 150,746 |
| Stevens | 6,433 | 50.02% | 6,428 | 49.98% | 5 | 0.04% | 12,861 |
| Thurston | 35,501 | 56.85% | 26,950 | 43.15% | 8,551 | 13.69% | 62,451 |
| Wahkiakum | 1,078 | 63.52% | 619 | 36.48% | 459 | 27.05% | 1,697 |
| Walla Walla | 8,473 | 43.28% | 11,106 | 56.72% | -2,633 | -13.45% | 19,579 |
| Whatcom | 30,525 | 60.11% | 20,255 | 39.89% | 10,270 | 20.22% | 50,780 |
| Whitman | 7,512 | 44.83% | 9,246 | 55.17% | -1,734 | -10.35% | 16,758 |
| Yakima | 31,262 | 47.82% | 34,111 | 52.18% | -2,849 | -4.36% | 65,373 |
| Totals | 1,006,993 | 53.31% | 881,994 | 46.69% | 124,999 | 6.62% | 1,888,987 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
[edit]- Asotin
- Clallam
- Clark
- Cowlitz
- King
- Kitsap
- Kittitas
- Lewis
- Mason
- Pend Oreille
- Pierce
- Skagit
- Snohomish
- Stevens
- Thurston
- Whatcom
References
[edit]- ^ "Elections Search Results September 1984 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
- ^ Washington Secretary of State. "Governor". Official Abstract of the Results of the September 18, 1984 Washington State Primary. Olympia, Washington. pp. 6–7.
- ^ a b "Elections Search Results November 1984 General". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.