# 2016 Washington gubernatorial election

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The 2016 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016.
Under Washington's top-two primary law, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party. In the August 2 primary, residents voted for one of several candidates from a range of party affiliations. The top two finishers, incumbent Governor Jay Inslee (Democratic) and Port of Seattle Commissioner Bill Bryant (Republican), moved on to the November general election, which Inslee won. As of 2025, this was the last gubernatorial election in Washington in which the margin of victory was within single digits.

## Background

Democratic governor Christine Gregoire declined to seek a third term in 2012. Democratic former U.S. Representative Jay Inslee was elected to succeed her, defeating Republican Rob McKenna, the outgoing Attorney General of Washington, by 51.4% to 48.3%.

## Primary election
### Democratic Party
#### Declared

* James Robert Deal
* Johnathan Dodds
* Jay Inslee, incumbent governor
* Patrick O'Rourke

### Republican Party
#### Declared

* Bill Bryant, former Seattle Port Commissioner
* Goodspaceguy, perennial candidate
* Bill Hirt

#### Declined

* Andy Hill, state senator
* Steve Litzow, state senator (running for reelection)
* Rob McKenna, former Attorney General of Washington and nominee for governor in 2012
* Dave Reichert, U.S. Representative for Washington's 8th congressional district (running for reelection)

### Third Party and independent candidates
#### Declared

* David Blomstrom (Fifth Republic)
* Christian Joubert (Holistic)
* Mary Martin (Socialist Workers)
* Steve Rubenstein (Independent)

#### Declined

* Randy Dorn, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

### Polling

with Inslee, Bryant, and Dorn
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Bill Bryant (R) | Randy Dorn (I) | Undecided |
| Elway Poll | April 14–17, 2016 | 503 | ± 3.5% | 41% | 26% | 7% | 25% |

### Results

Blanket primary election results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jay Inslee (incumbent) | 687,412 | 49.30 |
| | Republican | Bill Bryant | 534,519 | 38.33 |
| | Republican | Bill Hirt | 48,382 | 3.47 |
| | Democratic | Patrick O'Rourke | 40,572 | 2.91 |
| | Independent | Steve Rubenstein | 22,582 | 1.62 |
| | Democratic | James Robert Deal | 14,623 | 1.05 |
| | Democratic | Johnathan Dodds | 14,152 | 1.01 |
| | Republican | Goodspaceguy | 13,191 | 0.95 |
| | Socialist Workers | Mary Martin | 10,374 | 0.74 |
| | Independent | David Blomstrom | 4,512 | 0.32 |
| | Independent | Christian Joubert | 4,103 | 0.29 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,394,422 | 100 |

## General election
### Debates

* Complete video of debate, October 19, 2016 - C-SPAN

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Safe D | August 12, 2016 |
| Daily Kos | Safe D | November 8, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe D | November 3, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe D | November 7, 2016 |
| Real Clear Politics | Lean D | November 1, 2016 |
| Governing | Likely D | November 7, 2016 |

### Endorsements

U.S Presidents
* Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
Newspapers
* The News Tribune
* The Olympian
* The Seattle Times
* The Stranger
U.S. Senators
* Slade Gorton, former U.S. Senator from Washington
U.S. Representatives
* Sid Morrison, former U.S. Representative from Washington's 4th congressional district
* Dan Newhouse, U.S. Representative from Washington's 4th congressional district
Statewide officials
* Dan Evans, 16th Governor of Washington and former U.S. Senator from Washington
* Rob McKenna, 17th Attorney General of Washington and runner up for governor in 2012
State legislators
* Jan Angel, state senator
* Mary Dye, state representative
* Curtis King, state senator
* Brad Klippert, state representative
* Matt Manweller, state representative
* Joe Schmick, state representative
* Maureen Walsh, state representative
Newspapers
* The Spokesman-Review
* Tri-City Herald
* Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
* Yakima Herald-Republic

### Polling

Aggregate polls
| Source of poll aggregation | Dates administered | Dates updated | Jay Inslee (D) | Bill Bryant (R) | Other/Undecided | Margin |
| Real Clear Politics | October 6 – November 2, 2016 | November 2, 2016 | 50.7% | 42.3% | 7.0% | Inslee +8.4% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Bill Bryant (R) | Undecided |
| SurveyMonkey | November 1–7, 2016 | 1,451 | ± 4.6% | 55% | 42% | 3% |
| Insights West | November 4–6, 2016 | 402 | ± 4.9% | 49% | 40% | 10% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 31 – November 6, 2016 | 1,292 | ± 4.6% | 55% | 42% | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 28 – November 3, 2016 | 944 | ± 4.6% | 56% | 41% | 3% |
| SurveyUSA | October 31 – November 2, 2016 | 667 | ± 3.9% | 50% | 43% | 6% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 27 – November 2, 2016 | 807 | ± 4.6% | 56% | 41% | 3% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 26 – November 1, 2016 | 698 | ± 4.6% | 55% | 41% | 4% |
| SurveyMonkey | October 25–31, 2016 | 745 | ± 4.6% | 55% | 42% | 3% |
| Elway Poll | October 20–22, 2016 | 502 | ± 4.5% | 51% | 39% | 10% |
| KCTS 9/YouGov | October 6–13, 2016 | 750 | ± 4.4% | 51% | 45% | 4% |
| Strategies 360/KOMO News | September 29 – October 3, 2016 | 500 | ± 4.4% | 50% | 40% | 8% |
| Elway Poll | August 9–13, 2016 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 48% | 36% | 16% |
| Moore Information | May 16–18, 2016 | 500 | ± 4.0% | 43% | 36% | 18% |
| Elway Poll | April 14–17, 2016 | 503 | ± 3.5% | 48% | 36% | 16% |
| Elway Poll | December 28–30, 2015 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 39% | 30% | 31% |
| Public Policy Polling | May 14–17, 2015 | 879 | ± 3.3% | 46% | 34% | 21% |
Jay Inslee vs. Andy Hill
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Andy Hill (R) | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | May 14–17, 2015 | 879 | ± 3.3% | 45% | 31% | 24% |
Jay Inslee vs. Rob McKenna
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Rob McKenna (R) | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | May 14–17, 2015 | 879 | ± 3.3% | 43% | 38% | 19% |
Jay Inslee vs. Dave Reichert
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Dave Reichert (R) | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling | May 14–17, 2015 | 879 | ± 3.3% | 45% | 34% | 22% |
Jay Inslee vs. generic Republican
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Generic Republican | Undecided |
| Elway Poll | December 28–30, 2015 | 500 | ± 4.5% | 30% | 25% | 45% |
Jay Inslee vs. generic opponent
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Jay Inslee (D) | Generic Opponent | Undecided |
| Moore Information | May 16–18, 2016 | 500 | ± 4.0% | 38% | 47% | 15% |
| Moore Information | May 2015 | 500 | ± 4.0% | 38% | 44% | 18% |
Generic Democrat vs. generic Republican
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Generic Democrat | Generic Republican | Other | Undecided |
| Moore Information | May 16–18, 2016 | 500 | ± 4.0% | 41% | 34% | 5% | 20% |
| Moore Information | May 2015 | 500 | ± 4.0% | 34% | 30% | 16% | 20% |

### Results

2016 Washington gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Democratic | Jay Inslee (incumbent) | 1,760,520 | 54.25% | +2.85% |
| | Republican | Bill Bryant | 1,476,346 | 45.49% | −2.84% |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 8,416 | 0.26% | -0.02% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 3,245,282 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

#### By county

County results :
| County | Jay Inslee Democratic | Jay Inslee Democratic | Bill Bryant Republican | Bill Bryant Republican | Write-in Various | Write-in Various | Total votes |
| County | # | % | # | % | # | % | Total votes |
| Adams | 1,533 | 32.64% | 3,151 | 67.1% | 12 | 0.26% | 4,696 |
| Asotin | 4,149 | 42.46% | 5,609 | 57.4% | 13 | 0.13% | 9,771 |
| Benton | 31,128 | 37.95% | 50,730 | 61.84% | 172 | 0.21% | 82,030 |
| Chelan | 13,866 | 40.94% | 19,934 | 58.86% | 65 | 0.19% | 33,865 |
| Clallam | 19,354 | 48.87% | 20,180 | 50.78% | 140 | 0.35% | 39,602 |
| Clark | 96,032 | 47.93% | 103,787 | 51.8% | 560 | 0.28% | 200,379 |
| Columbia | 688 | 31.5% | 1,491 | 68.27% | 5 | 0.23% | 2,184 |
| Cowlitz | 19,593 | 42.75% | 26,116 | 56.98% | 124 | 0.27% | 45,833 |
| Douglas | 5,441 | 34.73% | 10,197 | 65.09% | 28 | 0.18% | 15,666 |
| Ferry | 1,360 | 37.56% | 2,252 | 62.19% | 9 | 0.25% | 3,621 |
| Franklin | 9,731 | 40.27% | 14,387 | 59.54% | 45 | 0.19% | 24,163 |
| Garfield | 370 | 29.65% | 875 | 70.11% | 3 | 0.24% | 1,248 |
| Grant | 9,242 | 32.16% | 19,401 | 67.5% | 99 | 0.34% | 28,742 |
| Grays Harbor | 14,038 | 48.43% | 14,843 | 51.2% | 107 | 0.37% | 28,988 |
| Island | 21,797 | 50.16% | 21,560 | 49.61% | 98 | 0.23% | 43,455 |
| Jefferson | 13,399 | 65.24% | 7,049 | 34.32% | 90 | 0.44% | 20,538 |
| King | 677,943 | 67.69% | 321,242 | 32.07% | 2,409 | 0.24% | 1,001,594 |
| Kitsap | 66,392 | 52.47% | 59,762 | 47.23% | 368 | 0.29% | 126,522 |
| Kittitas | 7,984 | 41.66% | 11,139 | 58.13% | 40 | 0.21% | 19,163 |
| Klickitat | 4,517 | 41.82% | 6,260 | 57.96% | 24 | 0.22% | 10,801 |
| Lewis | 11,163 | 32.09% | 23,539 | 67.66% | 86 | 0.25% | 34,788 |
| Lincoln | 1,616 | 27.92% | 4,160 | 71.89% | 11 | 0.19% | 5,787 |
| Mason | 13,126 | 45.92% | 15,365 | 53.75% | 93 | 0.33% | 28,584 |
| Okanogan | 7,437 | 43.06% | 9,794 | 56.71% | 39 | 0.23% | 17,270 |
| Pacific | 5,313 | 49.29% | 5,428 | 50.36% | 37 | 0.34% | 10,778 |
| Pend Oreille | 2,520 | 36.5% | 4,364 | 63.21% | 20 | 0.29% | 6,904 |
| Pierce | 176,825 | 49.94% | 176,287 | 49.79% | 953 | 0.27% | 354,065 |
| San Juan | 7,509 | 68.89% | 3,356 | 30.79% | 35 | 0.32% | 10,900 |
| Skagit | 28,273 | 49.47% | 28,701 | 50.22% | 173 | 0.3% | 57,147 |
| Skamania | 2,476 | 44.35% | 3,094 | 55.42% | 13 | 0.23% | 5,583 |
| Snohomish | 182,544 | 52.12% | 166,770 | 47.61% | 937 | 0.27% | 350,251 |
| Spokane | 106,009 | 45.87% | 124,576 | 53.91% | 508 | 0.22% | 231,093 |
| Stevens | 7,148 | 31.02% | 15,851 | 68.79% | 45 | 0.2% | 23,044 |
| Thurston | 71,835 | 54.67% | 59,014 | 44.91% | 559 | 0.43% | 131,408 |
| Wahkiakum | 941 | 39.89% | 1,413 | 59.9% | 5 | 0.21% | 2,359 |
| Walla Walla | 10,705 | 41.77% | 14,880 | 58.06% | 44 | 0.17% | 25,629 |
| Whatcom | 62,634 | 56.45% | 47,953 | 43.22% | 370 | 0.33% | 110,957 |
| Whitman | 8,727 | 49.41% | 8,892 | 50.35% | 43 | 0.24% | 17,662 |
| Yakima | 35,162 | 44.96% | 43,016 | 55.0% | 34 | 0.04% | 78,212 |
| Totals | 1,760,520 | 54.25% | 1,476,346 | 45.49% | 8,416 | 0.26% | 3,245,282 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
* Grays Harbor (largest city: Aberdeen)
* Pacific (largest city: Raymond)
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
* Island (largest city: Oak Harbor)
* Kitsap (largest city: Bremerton)
* Pierce (largest city: Tacoma)

#### By congressional district

Inslee won 6 of 10 congressional districts.
| District | Inslee | Bryant | Representative |
| 1st | 51% | 49% | Suzan DelBene |
| 2nd | 57% | 43% | Rick Larsen |
| 3rd | 45% | 55% | Jaime Herrera Beutler |
| 4th | 40% | 60% | Dan Newhouse |
| 5th | 44% | 56% | Cathy McMorris Rodgers |
| 6th | 54% | 46% | Derek Kilmer |
| 7th | 78% | 22% | Jim McDermott |
| 7th | 78% | 22% | Pramila Jayapal |
| 8th | 46% | 54% | Dave Reichert |
| 9th | 67% | 33% | Adam Smith |
| 10th | 53% | 47% | Denny Heck |