The 1996 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996. Though eligible for a second term, incumbent governor

Mike Lowry Michael Edward Lowry (March 8, 1939 – May 1, 2017) was an American politician who served as the 20th governor of Washington from 1993 to 1997. His political career ended when his deputy press secretary, Susanne Albright, made accusations of ...

chose not to run for reelection following a series of personal and public scandals, including allegations of sexual harassment. This gubernatorial race was especially significant in that it resulted in the first

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

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 ...

in the mainland United States (after

George Ariyoshi George Ryoichi Ariyoshi (, born March 12, 1926) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the third governor of Hawaii from 1974 to 1986. A Democrat, he is Hawaii's longest-serving governor and the first American of Asian descent to ...

of island state

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Gary Locke Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat from the State of Washington. Locke served as the 21st governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, where he was the first Chinese-American governor ...

Primary election

Candidates

Democratic

*Max Englerius *

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee ( ; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician and lawyer who served from 2013 to 2025 as the 23rd governor of Washington. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012 as a ...

, U.S. representative from the 4th congressional district and future governor *

King County Executive The King County Executive is the elected county executive of King County, Washington. The office was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for King County on November 5, 1968. Previously the powers of the county executive w ...

and former state representative *

Norm Rice Norman Blann Rice (born May 4, 1943) is an American politician who served as the List of mayors of Seattle, 49th mayor of Seattle, Washington, serving two terms from 1990 to 1997. Rice was Seattle's first elected African-American mayor. Early l ...

, current

mayor of Seattle The Mayor of Seattle is the Head of government, head of the executive branch of the Government of Seattle, city government of Seattle, Washington. The mayor is authorized by the city charter to enforce laws enacted by the Seattle City Council, a ...

*Mohammad H. Said *Briam Zetlen

Republican

*Nona Brazier *

Ellen Craswell Ellen Craswell (May 25, 1932 – April 5, 2008) was an American politician who was a candidate in the 1996 Washington gubernatorial election. She ran as a Republican but grew disillusioned with the party and later joined the American Heritage ...

, president pro tempore of the

Washington Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Legislative Building in Olympi ...

* Dale Foreman, majority leader of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

*Warren E. Hanson *

Norm Maleng Norman "Kim" Maleng (September 17, 1938 – May 24, 2007) was an American attorney and politician who served as the King County Prosecuting Attorney for 28 years. He was also an architect of Washington's Sentencing Reform Act. Early life ...

King County Prosecuting Attorney The King County Prosecuting Attorney is a nonpartisan elected official in King County, Washington. The prosecuting attorney leads the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, and prosecutes all felonies (as well as misdemeanors in unincorporat ...

Pam Roach Pamela Jean Roach (née Norris, born April 26, 1948) is an American politician who was a member of the Pierce County Council from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing ...

, state senator *Bob Tharp *Jim Waldo

Results

General election

Candidates

(D),

and former state representative ** Third-generation Chinese-American ** Campaigned on election reform, worker retraining, and the development of social services ** Cultivated an image of

technocratic Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...

expertise *

(R), president pro tempore of the

** Born-again Christian ** Campaigned on tax cuts, restructuring of state government, and an application of biblical principles to social reform ** Likened her policy positions to

Reaganite Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Previously, he was the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and acted in Hollywood films from 1937 to 1964, the same year he energized the American conservat ...

conservatism, espousing a philosophy of small government, rights and freedoms, together with moral values

Campaign controversies

* Gary Locke's race drew many donors from the Asian-American community, including local Buddhist temples. He also raised significant funds from national donors in California and New York. * Ellen Craswell integrated

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

prayer networks with her fundraising and mobilization network, reaching more than 1000 small donors in October, whereas Locke received large contributions from business groups and Seattle elites. * Craswell opposed expanding school funding and suggested cutting

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...

programs, delegating curriculum control to local school boards, and eliminating the superintendent of public instruction. * An independent

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

made false claims that two sitting senators had endorsed Locke in a mailer. They later recanted. * The WA State GOP ran television ads, stating Locke's support for a

harm reduction Harm reduction, or harm minimization, refers to a range of intentional practices and public health policies designed to lessen the negative social and/or physical consequences associated with various human behaviors, both legal and illegal. H ...

program including sex education, counseling and condom distribution provided material support for prostitution.

Debates

Complete video of debate
September 26, 1996 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

Complete video of debate
October 9, 1996 -

Results

Results by county

This is the most recent gubernatorial election in which

Kittitas County Kittitas County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. At the 2020 census, its population was 44,337. Its county seat and largest city is Ellensburg. The county was created in November 1883 when it was carved out of Yakima Cou ...

voted for a Democrat.

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Asotin *

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 *

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

* Kitsap *

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a worker who lays bricks to assist in brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutti ...

* Skagit * Skamania *

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

* Wahkiakum * Walla Walla * Whatcom * Whitman

Subsequent controversies

The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission opened an investigation in 1997 relating to campaign contributions received from the Chinese Americans and foreign nationals. In example, the Ling Chen Zhe Buddhist temple, where a $5000 cash donation was accepted, returned and five $1000 donations were given in its place. Together with official campaign events held at the Harmony Palace restaurant, co-owned by a leader of the Chinese gang Ghost Shadows. In total, six fundraising events for the Locke campaign were organized by

John Huang John Huang (, born 1945) is a major figure in the 1996 United States campaign finance controversy. He worked for Lippo Bank in California and Worthen Bank in Arkansas, and as deputy assistant secretary for international economic affairs in U.S. P ...

, who donated $750 personally, with similar occurrences at each one. This investigation was subsequently picked up (as part of a probe into the 1996 campaign finance scandal) by the IRS, who requested records extending to 1990, the time of Locke's campaign for King County executive. Locke testified before Congress in 2006 and denied knowingly accepting campaign contributions from Chinese foreign agents. In 2015, the Locke gubernatorial campaign plead guilty to breaking three campaign fundraising laws relating to the limits for individual contribution, timely reporting of contributions, and failure to deposit cash contributions. Ellen Craswell battled cancer immediately following the election, retired in 2005, and died in 2008.

References

{{Elections in Washington (state) footer

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 ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...