2020 Washington Elections on:
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General elections were held in the
Elections & Voting
at the Washington Secretary of State
Washington
at
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of 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 ...
on November 3, 2020. A primary was held on August 4.
Federal
President of the United States
Washington has 12 electoral votes for thepresidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The p ...
, remaining unchanged from 2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
. A presidential primary for both parties was held on March 10, 2020, with 13 candidates for the Democrats and one candidate for the Republicans. The 2020 Democratic primary was the first in the state's history to have a binding vote, replacing the caucus system that overrode the nonbinding primary vote.
United States House of Representatives
All 10 of Washington's seats in theUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
were up for re-election. All but one of the incumbents ran for re-election, the exception being Denny Heck
Dennis Lynn Heck (born July 29, 1952) is an American politician serving as the 17th lieutenant governor of Washington, since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 10th congress ...
(D) of the 10th district.
Statewide executive
Governor
Incumbentgovernor
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 ...
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 ...
(D) was re-elected to a third term in a landslide.
Lieutenant governor
Incumbentlieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Cyrus Habib
Kamyar Cyrus Habib (born August 22, 1981) is an American Jesuit, lawyer, and politician who served as both a state legislator from 2013 to 2017 and then as the 16th lieutenant governor of Washington from 2017 to 2021. He also served as the sta ...
(D) retired from politics. U.S. Representative Denny Heck
Dennis Lynn Heck (born July 29, 1952) is an American politician serving as the 17th lieutenant governor of Washington, since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 10th congress ...
won the open seat.
Attorney general
Incumbentattorney general
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Bob Ferguson (D) was re-elected to a third term.
Polling
=Blanket primary
==General election
=
Secretary of state
Incumbent secretary of stateKim Wyman
Kimberley Marie Wyman (born July 15, 1962) is an American politician who served as the 15th Secretary of State of Washington from 2013 to 2021. Wyman resigned as Secretary of State on November 19, 2021, to work on election security at the Cyberse ...
(R) was re-elected to a third term. State Representative Gael Tarleton (D–Seattle) unsuccessfully challenged Wyman.
Public Lands Commissioner
Incumbent Public Lands CommissionerHilary Franz
Hilary S. Franz (born July 3, 1970) is an American politician and conservation attorney who previously served as the 16th Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands from 2017 to 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party who was previous ...
(D) was re-elected to a second term. She defeated Republican nominee Sue Kuehl Pederson in the general election by 13.5%.
Polling
=General election
=
State auditor
Incumbentstate auditor
State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, or state examiners, among others) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, program eval ...
Pat McCarthy (D) was re-elected to a second term.
Polling
=General election
=
State treasurer
Incumbentstate treasurer
In the state and territorial governments of the United States, 54 of the 56 states and territories have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the office of New York State Treasurer in 1926, in which the duties were transfer ...
Duane Davidson (R) ran for a second term. State Representative Mike Pellicciotti
Michael John Pellicciotti (born July 17, 1978) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 24th Washington State Treasurer since 2021. He previously served as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Washingt ...
(D–Federal Way) defeated Davidson.
Polling
=General election
=
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent state superintendentChris Reykdal
Christopher Paul Simon Reykdal (born September 12, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the 15th Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2017. Previously, he served as a Democratic member of the Washingt ...
(non-partisan election) was re-elected to a second term.
Polling
=General election
=Insurance Commissioner
Incumbentinsurance commissioner
An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with their office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office of ...
Mike Kreidler
Myron Bradford Kreidler (born September 28, 1943) is an American physician and politician who previously served as the eighth Washington Insurance Commissioner. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served one term in the Congress, re ...
(D) was re-elected to a sixth term. With over 65% of the vote, Kreidler had the best performance of any statewide candidate in this cycle.
Polling
=General election
=
Supreme Court
Seats 3, 4, and 7 of theWashington Supreme Court
The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. ...
were up for six-year terms. Debra L. Stephens, Charles W. Johnson, and Raquel Montoya-Lewis ran for new terms. Seat 6 Justice Charles Wiggins retired and Governor Inslee's appointee G. Helen Whitener ran for the final two years of the term.
Polling
Position 3
Position 6
Legislative
State senate
Twenty-five of the forty-nine seats in theWashington State 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 Washington State Capitol, Legis ...
were up for election. Democrats kept a 28–21 majority in the Senate. Senators retiring this election were Senators Randi Becker
Randi L. Becker (born July 12, 1948) is an American politician of the Republican Party. She served as a member of the Washington Senate
The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists o ...
(R-Olympia), Maureen Walsh (R-Walla Walla), and Hans Zeiger (R-Puyallup). Senators Dean Takko (D) and Steve O'Ban (R) lost reelection.
State House of Representatives
All 98 seats in theWashington 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 ...
were up for election. Democrats kept a 57–41 majority in the House. House members who didn't run for re-election were Representatives Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo), Richard DeBolt
Richard Charles DeBolt (born November 3, 1965) is an American politician of the Republican Party. He was a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 20th district from 1997 to 2021. He was House Republican Leader from 2 ...
(R-Chehalis), Beth Doglio (D-Olympia), Chris Gildon (R-Puyallup), Bill Jenkin (R-Prosser), Christine Kilduff
Christine J. Kilduff (born 1966) is an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, she served in the Washington House of Representatives January 12, 2015 to January 11, 2021. She was elected in 2014, narrowly defeating Paul Wagemann of the Repu ...
(D-University Place), Mike Pellicciotti
Michael John Pellicciotti (born July 17, 1978) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 24th Washington State Treasurer since 2021. He previously served as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Washingt ...
(D-Federal Way), Eric Pettigrew (D-Seattle), Norma Smith
Norma Ruth Smith (née Creighton; born October 8, 1951) is an American politician of the Republican Party. She was a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 10th Legislative District from 2008 to 2021.Jessie Stenslan ...
(R-Clinton), and Gael Tarleton (D-Seattle). Representatives Luanne Van Werven
Luanne Miller Van Werven (born 1957) is an American politician. Van Werven is a former Republican member of Washington House of Representatives for District 42. Van Werven served from January 12, 2015 to January 11, 2021. She was elected vice ...
(R) and Brian Blake
Brian Ernest Blake (born August 26, 1960) is an American logger, forester, and politician who served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the Washington's 19th legislative district, 19th district from 2002 to 202 ...
(D) lost reelection.
Ballot measures
No initiatives to the people qualified for the ballot. One referendum was on the ballot, on Senate Bill 5395 regarding sexual education. One constitutional amendment was on the ballot, regarding the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account and the Long-Term Care Services and Supports Trust Account. It passed with 58% in favor.Ballot initiatives
Polling
Referendum 90Results
Notes
See also
* Elections in Washington (state)References
External links
Elections & Voting
at the Washington Secretary of State
Washington
at
Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...
*
*
* (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...
)
*
{{2020 United States elections
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 ...