2024 Washington gubernatorial election explained

The 2024 Washington gubernatorial election will be held on November 5, 2024. The top-two primary was held on August 6. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jay Inslee announced on May 1, 2023 that he would not run for a fourth term.^[1] Inslee, who previously served in the U.S. House, was first elected governor in 2012 and won re-election in 2016 and 2020 by increasing margins each time.

Washington has not had a Republican governor since John Spellman left office in 1985,^[2] the longest streak of Democratic leadership of any state in the country and the third longest streak of one-party leadership after South Dakota (which has not had a Democratic governor since Harvey Wollman left office in 1979) and Utah (which has not had a Democratic governor since Scott Matheson left office nine days prior to Spellman in 1985).^{[3] [4] [5]}

Primary election

Washington is one of two states that holds a top-two primary, meaning that all candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two advance to the general election.

The filing deadline was May 10, 2024. On that day, two candidates named Bob Ferguson entered the race at the behest of a conservative activist who sought people with the same surname as Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who is considered the Democratic frontrunner.^[6] The two new candidates—a retired state employee and a U.S. Army veteran—resigned from the race on May 13, the deadline to withdraw, after questions about the legality of their campaigns arose. Washington's state statutes prohibit a new candidate with the same surname as an already-filed candidate from running with the intent to confuse or mislead voters.^[7]

Democratic candidates

Advanced to general

• Bob Ferguson, Washington Attorney General^[8]

Eliminated in primary

• Ricky Anthony, retiree^[9]
• Edward Cale IV, postal worker
• Fred Grant, communications professional^[2]
• Cassondra Hanson, retail worker
• Chaytan Inman, artificial intelligence engineer
• EL'ona Kearney, forgiveness coach^[10]
• Mark Mullet, state senator^[11]
• Don Rivers, retired King County Metro worker and perennial candidate

Withdrawn

• Bob Arthur Ferguson, former state employee^[12]
• Bob Benjamin Ferguson, veteran^[12]
• Hilary Franz, Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands (running for U.S. House)^[13]

Declined

• Dow Constantine, King County Executive^[14]
• Denny Heck, Lieutenant Governor of Washington and former U.S. Representative from ^[15] (running for re-election)^[16]
• Jay Inslee, incumbent governor and candidate for President of the United States in 2020 (endorsed Ferguson)

Republican candidates

Advanced to general

• Dave Reichert, former U.S. Representative for (2005–2019)^[17]

Eliminated in primary

• Semi Bird, P.C.O. and chair for the Benton County Republican Party (2022–present) and former Richland school board member (2021–2023)^[18]
• A.L. Brown^[9]
• Jim Daniel, former Klickitat Hospital Board commissioner^[9]
• Bill Hirt, retired aircraft engineer and perennial candidate^[9]
• Jennifer Hoover, pastor^[9]
• Martin Wheeler, farmer and candidate for governor in 2020^[9]

Withdrawn

• Raul Garcia, physician and candidate for governor in 2020 (endorsed Reichert, running for U.S. Senate)^[19]

Declined

• Bruce Dammeier, Pierce County Executive (2017–present) and former state senator (2013–2017)^[14] (endorsed Reichert)^[20]
• Jaime Herrera Beutler, former U.S. Representative for (2011–2023) (running for Public Lands Commissioner)^[21]
• Loren Culp, former Republic police chief, runner-up for governor in 2020, and candidate for in 2022 (endorsed Bird)^[22]
• Drew MacEwen, state senator (running for U.S. House, endorsed Reichert)^[23]
• J.T. Wilcox, state representative and former Minority Leader of the Washington House of Representatives^[24]

Third-party and independent candidates

Eliminated in primary

• Brian Bogen (Independent), businessman^[9]
• Jim Clark (Independent), computer programmer^[9]
• William Combs (Independent), U.S. Navy veteran^[25]
• Jeff Curry (Independent), school bus driver^[9]
• Frank Dare (Independent), retiree^[9]
• Michael DePaula (Libertarian), enterprise engineer^[9]
• Leon Lawson (Trump Republican), used car dealer, proponent of the QAnon conspiracy theory, candidate for governor in 2020, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2022^[25]
• Alan Makayev (Nonsense Busters), property manager^[9]
• Rosetta Marshall-Williams (Independence)^[9]
• Brad Mjelde (Independent), retired businessman^[9]
• Andre Stackhouse (Green), nonprofit executive^[9]
• Alex Tsimerman (Standup-America), business consultant and perennial candidate^[9]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Semi Bird (R)	Bob Ferguson (D)	Mark Mullet (D)	Dave Reichert (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)	data-sort-value="2024-02-16"	July 24–25, 2024	581 (LV)	± 4.0%	10%		39%	5%		28%	18%
SurveyUSA	July 10–13, 2024	564 (LV)	± 5.2%	7%		42%	4%		33%	14%
RMG Research	May 20–23, 2024	800 (RV)	–	4%		33%	5%		31%	21%
Cascade PBS/Elway Research	May 13–16, 2024	403 (RV)	± 5.0%	5%		22%	6%		20%		47%
Public Policy Polling (D)	May 15–16, 2024	615 (LV)	± 4.0%	11%		35%	4%		28%	22%
Echelon Insights	March 18–21, 2024	600 (RV)	± 4.7%	7%		23%	5%		28%		37%
Public Policy Polling (D)	February 13–14, 2024	789 (LV)	± 3.5%	9%		35%	4%		27%	25%
Echelon Insights	December 9–13, 2023	500 (RV)	± 5.5%	5%		27%	3%		28%		37%
Public Policy Polling (D)	November 14–15, 2023	700 (LV)	± 3.7%	10%		31%	5%		31%	22%

with Bird, Ferguson, Franz, Garcia, and Mullet

with Constantine, Dammeier, Ferguson, and Franz

with Inslee, generic Republican, and generic Democrat

Results

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
align=left	The Cook Political Report[26]		June 13, 2024
align=left	Inside Elections[27]		September 1, 2023
align=left	Sabato's Crystal Ball[28]		June 4, 2024
align=left	RCP[29]		July 13, 2024
align=left	Elections Daily[30]		July 12, 2023
align=left	CNalysis[31]		August 17, 2024

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of August 15, 2024
Candidate	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
	Bob Ferguson (D)		$9,378,343		$7,127,476		$2,250,867
	Dave Reichert (R)		$4,492,759		$3,900,877		$591,882
Source: Washington State Public Disclosure Commission[32]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin	Bob Ferguson (D)	Dave Reichert (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)	data-sort-value="2024-02-16"	July 24–25, 2024	581 (LV)	± 4.0%		49%	43%	8%
DHM Research	data-sort-value="2024-08-16"	July 12–17, 2024	500 (RV)	± 4.4%		45%	32%	22%
Public Policy Polling (D)	May 15–16, 2024	615 (LV)	± 4.0%		48%	42%	10%
Echelon Insights	March 18–21, 2024	600 (RV)	± 4.7%	30%		39%	31%
Public Policy Polling (D)	February 13–14, 2024	789 (LV)	± 3.5%		46%	42%	11%
Echelon Insights	December 9–13, 2023	500 (LV)	± 5.5%	35%		39%	26%
Public Policy Polling (D)	November 14–15, 2023	700 (LV)	± 3.5%	44%		46%	9%

Bob Ferguson vs. Semi Bird

Results

Notes

Partisan clients

External links

• • • Web site: League of Women Voters of Washington . (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)

Official campaign websites

• Bob Ferguson (D) for Governor
• Dave Reichert (R) for Governor

Notes and References

1. Web site: Furtado . David . May 1, 2023 . Governor Inslee announces he will not seek re-election . May 1, 2023 . KEPR . en.
2. Web site: The candidates running to be Washington's next governor . February 17, 2024 .
3. News: Wood . Benjamin . July 19, 2019 . Zachary Moses, a Democratic candidate for governor, wants to break up Republican control of Utah and build a space port . August 29, 2019 . Salt Lake Tribune.
4. News: Scott . Dylan . November 7, 2018 . Kristi Noem elected first woman governor of South Dakota . August 26, 2019 . Vox.
5. News: Camden . Jim . January 16, 2018 . John Spellman, Washington's last Republican governor, dies . August 23, 2019 . The Spokesman-Review.
6. News: Withycombe . Claire . May 10, 2024 . Three Bob Night: Two more Bob Fergusons running for WA governor . The Seattle Times . May 14, 2024.
7. News: Withycombe . Claire . May 13, 2024 . Bob's Your Uncle: 2 Bob Fergusons withdraw from WA governor's race . The Seattle Times . May 14, 2024.
8. News: . September 11, 2023 . Washington AG Bob Ferguson officially launches gubernatorial campaign. September 9, 2023 .
9. Web site: PRIMARY 2024 Candidate List . Washington Secretary of State . May 11, 2024.
10. News: Washington governor race fills up as GOP tries to win back control for the first time in 40 years . June 26, 2023 . . Villalovas . Eden . June 26, 2023.
11. Web site: Withycombe . Claire . State Sen. Mark Mullet announces bid for WA governor . . https://archive.today/20230602043953/https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/state-sen-mark-mullet-to-announce-bid-for-wa-governor/ . June 2, 2023 . June 1, 2023 . live.
12. Web site: Markovich . Matt . Both duplicate Bob Fergusons withdraw from governors race . . May 13, 2024 . May 13, 2024.
13. Web site: Brunner . Jim . WA lands commissioner Hilary Franz drops out of governor's race to run for Congress . . November 10, 2023 . November 10, 2023.
14. Web site: Brunner . Jim . King County Executive Dow Constantine won't run for WA governor . . March 18, 2023 . March 17, 2023.
15. Web site: Gonzales. Nathan. Races for governor in several states have ties to Capitol Hill. Roll Call. May 2, 2023. May 4, 2023.
16. Web site: Cornfield . Jerry . Heck launches re-election bid for lieutenant governor . Washington State Standard . June 2, 2023 . May 25, 2023.
17. News: Dave Reichert wants to be state's 'servant' as governor. Mikkelsen . Drew . . July 7, 2023 . July 7, 2023 .
18. News: Sowersby . Shauna . November 11, 2022 . Controversial Richland school board member announces bid for Washington governor in 2024 . . November 11, 2022.
19. Web site: Sowersby . Shauna . Raul Garcia steps out of gubernatorial race to make way for former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert . . July 7, 2023.
20. News: . June 28, 2023 . Villenueve . Andrew . June 28, 2023 . Is Dave Reichert getting ready to run for governor in 2024? It sure looks that way.
21. News: Brunner . Jim . Former U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler plans to run for WA lands commissioner . October 9, 2023 . . October 9, 2023.
22. Web site: Gilbert . L. B. . May 1, 2023 . Who's next for WA Governor? Top candidates to follow a decade of Inslee . May 14, 2023 . MYNorthwest.
23. News: Daily Kos Elections Live Digest: 6/22 . . June 22, 2023 . June 22, 2023 . Wolf . Stephen .
24. Web site: Santos . Melissa . May 2, 2023 - Politics With Inslee out, here's who might run for Washington governor . . June 5, 2023 . May 2, 2023.
25. News: Diamond Eye Candidate Report . Frisk, Garrett . November 10, 2023 . November 10, 2023 . Bob Ferguson Is Likely To Be Washington's Next Governor. Who Stands in His Way?.
26. Web site: 2024 Governor Race ratings . July 24, 2023 . The Cook Political Report . en.
27. Web site: Gubernatorial Ratings . July 24, 2023 . Inside Elections.
28. Web site: 2024 Gubernatorial race ratings . July 24, 2023 . . en.
29. Web site: 2024 Governor Races . 2024-07-16 . www.realclearpolling.com . en.
30. Web site: July 22, 2023 . Election Ratings . July 24, 2023 . Elections Daily . en-US.
31. Web site: Governor Forecasts . 2024-08-17 . CNalysis . en-US.
32. Web site: Candidates . . August 15, 2024 . August 15, 2024.