The 1972 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1972. Incumbent
Governor of Washington
The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either ...
Daniel J. Evans
Daniel Jackson Evans (October 16, 1925 – September 20, 2024) was an American politician from the state of Washington. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 1957 to 1965, gov ...
, who was first elected eight years earlier, and then re-elected in 1968, was eligible for re-election, as Washington does not have gubernatorial term limits.
On election day, Evans defeated former governor
Albert D. Rosellini by a comfortable margin of 51% to 43% in a rematch of the
1964 contest. Businessman Vick Gould, who ran with the Taxpayers Party, a third party of Gould's own creation, also received 5.9% of the vote.
Evans was the first governor of Washington to be elected to a third consecutive term.
Primary election
A total of nine candidates filed for the blanket primary on September 19, 1972. Evans and Rosellini won their party's nominations, receiving 24.66% and 30.27% of the votes in the primary, respectively.
Candidates
Republican Party
*
Daniel J. Evans
Daniel Jackson Evans (October 16, 1925 – September 20, 2024) was an American politician from the state of Washington. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 1957 to 1965, gov ...
, incumbent
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
*L. R. Kemore, candidate for governor in 1948
*Earl Monaghan
*
John "Hugo Frye" Patric,
perennial candidate
A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost ...
*
Perry B. Woodall,
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
History
There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
Democratic Party
*
Martin J. Durkan,
State Senator
A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature.
History
There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
*
James A. McDermott, psychiatrist and
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...
*
Albert D. Rosellini, former governor
*Rudolfo Valdez
Results
General election
Candidates
*Robin David (SWP)
*
Daniel J. Evans
Daniel Jackson Evans (October 16, 1925 – September 20, 2024) was an American politician from the state of Washington. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 1957 to 1965, gov ...
(R), incumbent
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
*Vick Gould (Taxpayers), businessman
*
Albert D. Rosellini (D), former governor
*Henry Killman (SLP), perennial candidate
Results
Results by county
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
*
Clark
Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...
*
Cowlitz
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
*
Ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
*
Kitsap
*
Lewis
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...
*
Okanogan
*
Skagit
*
Stevens
*
Wahkiakum
See also
*
Arthur B. Langlie
Arthur Bernard Langlie (July 25, 1900 – July 24, 1966) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Seattle, Washington and was the List of governors of Washington, 12th and 14th governor of the Washington (state), U.S. state of W ...
– A former governor of Washington who made a successful comeback in 1940
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington Gubernatorial Election, 1972
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
1972 United States gubernatorial elections
Gubernatorial
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...