The 2020 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020. It followed a

top-two primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

held on August 4. Incumbent Governor

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 ...

, the Democratic candidate, defeated Loren Culp, the Republican candidate by a wide margin. Inslee, who was eligible to run for a third term due to the lack of gubernatorial

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...

s, initially launched a campaign for

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

in the 2020 election. When he dropped out of that race in August 2019 due to extremely low polling numbers, he announced he would seek a third term as governor. Several other Democratic political figures considered entering the race if Inslee did not run, including

Washington Attorney General The attorney general of Washington is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and head of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. The attorney general represents clients of the state and defends ...

Bob Ferguson; no other major Democratic candidates entered the race. Republican Loren Culp, the

police chief A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or sometimes just a chief, ...

Republic, Washington Republic is a city in Ferry County, Washington, United States. The population was 992 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ferry County. It was the largest mining camp in the Republic Mining District, and home to the "Hot Air Line" rail ...

, placed second in the top-two primary and advanced to the general election alongside Inslee. The election was clear and decisive, with Inslee winning re-election over Culp by over 13 points. This marked the largest margin of victory in a Washington gubernatorial race since

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 ...

won reelection in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Inslee's landslide victory included over 74% of the vote in

King County King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 12th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle ...

, the highest ever for a Democrat in the county's history. King County, home to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, has about a third of the state's voters. In addition, this was the first time since 2000 that a Democrat won a county in

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

with Inslee winning Whitman County. Culp still ran ahead of the top-ticket presidential candidate,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, by about 4 points. Despite the margin of victory, Culp refused to concede and filed a lawsuit against Republican

Washington Secretary of State The secretary of state of Washington is an independently elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Washington. Fifteen individuals have held the office of Secretary of State since statehood. Th ...

Kim 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 ...

five weeks after the election. He did not give a concession speech, while making claims of irregularities which Wyman characterized as "unsubstantiated". Culp's actions drew criticism and were compared to

's refusal to concede the

2020 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala Harris defeated the incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and vi ...

. This election marked the 10th consecutive election victory of the Democratic candidate for governor of Washington.

Background

Washington had not had a Republican governor since

John Spellman John Dennis Spellman (December 29, 1926 – January 16, 2018) was an American politician who served as the first King County executive from 1969 to 1981 and the 18th governor of Washington from 1981 to 1985. Spellman was elected governor in ...

left office in 1985, the longest streak of Democratic leadership of any state in the country and the third longest streak of one-party leadership after

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

(which had not had a Democratic governor since Harvey L. Wollman left office in 1979) and

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

(which had not had a Democratic governor since Scott M. Matheson left office nine days prior to Spellman in 1985). Incumbent Governor

, who previously served in the

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

, was first elected to the governorship in the 2012 election and won reelection in 2016. When Inslee announced his candidacy for president, several political figures expressed interest in running for Governor if Inslee won the Democratic primaries. These included

Attorney 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, Commissioner of Public Lands

Hilary 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 ...

and

executive

Dow Constantine James Dow Constantine (born November 15, 1961) is an American lawyer, urban planner, and politician who is the chief executive officer of Sound Transit. He was appointed in 2025 after resigning as county executive of King County, Washington, a p ...

. They stated they would only run if Inslee did not, avoiding a

primary challenge In U.S. politics, a primary challenge is when an incumbent holding elective office is challenged by a member of their own political party in a primary election. Such events, known informally as "being primaried," are noteworthy and not frequent i ...

. Several Republican politicians announced their own campaigns to challenge Inslee, including businessman Anton Sakharov,

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

police chief Loren Culp, and

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 ...

Phil Fortunato Philip D. Fortunato (born 1953 or 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 31st district, based in southeast King County and northeast Pierce County since 2017. A membe ...

. However, speculated candidates such as former U.S. Representative

Dave Reichert David George Reichert ( ; born August 29, 1950) is an American retired police officer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2005 to 2019. A moderate member of the Republican Party, he served as the sheriff of King Count ...

, former Seattle Port Commissioner and 2016 gubernatorial candidate Bill Bryant,

Pierce County Executive The Pierce County Executive is the head of the executive branch of Pierce County, Washington. The position is subject to four-year terms (with a term limit of 2) and is a partisan office. History County voters approved the adoption of a home- ...

and former state senator Bruce Dammeier, and state House Minority Leader J. T. Wilcox, all declined to be candidates, leaving no prominent Republicans to challenge Inslee, which was seen as a necessary prerequisite to mount a formidable challenge to him.

Primary election

Washington is one of two states that holds a

, meaning that all candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two move on to the general election. Most states have party primaries.

Democratic candidates

Advanced to the general election

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

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 ...

and candidate for

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Declined

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 ...

* Bob Ferguson,

''( running for reelection)'' *

, Washington Commissioner of Public Lands ''( running for reelection)''

Republican candidates

Advanced to the general election

*Loren Culp, police chief of

, U.S. Army veteran

Eliminated in the primary

Tim Eyman Timothy Donald Eyman (born December 22, 1965) is an American anti-tax activist and businessman. Since 1997, Eyman has become the most prolific sponsor of Washington ballot measures in its history, having qualified seventeen statewide initiatives ...

, activist, initiative promoter *

*Joshua Freed, former mayor of

Bothell Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington in the Eastside region. It had a population of 48,161 residen ...

*Raul Garcia, emergency room physician *Nate Herzog, former Lake Forest Park city councilman *Anton Sakharov, program manager

Declined

* Bill Bryant, former Seattle Port Commissioner and candidate for Governor of Washington in

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 ...

* Bruce Dammeier,

(running for reelection) * Doug Ericksen, state senator * Drew MacEwen, state representative (running for reelection) * Dori Monson, radio personality *

, former U.S. Representative for

Washington's 8th congressional district Washington's 8th congressional district is a district for the United States House of Representatives located in western Washington State. It includes the eastern portions of King County, Washington, King, Pierce County, Washington, Pierce, and S ...

* Drew Stokesbary, state representative (running for reelection) * J. T. Wilcox, minority leader of the Washington House of Representatives (running for reelection)

Green Party

Eliminated in the primary

*Liz Hallock, attorney

Independents

Eliminated in the primary

*Cregan Newhouse, City of Seattle Consumer Protection Division acting manager and former public television director

Withdrew

*Asa Palagi, U.S. Army officer and businessman

Polling

with Bryant, Constantine, Ferguson, and Franz

Results

General election

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 7, 2020 -

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 ...

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Jay Inslee vs. Tim Eyman
Jay Inslee vs. Phil Fortunato
Jay Inslee vs. Joshua Freed
Jay Inslee vs. Raul Garcia

Results

By county

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic *

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 ...

(largest city:

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

) * Skagit (largest city:

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

) * Whitman (largest city: Pullman)

By congressional district

Inslee won six of ten congressional districts, with the remaining four going to Culp, including one that elected a Democrat.

Notes

References

External links

* * * (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 ...

) * Official campaign websites *
Jay Inslee (D) for Governor
{{Washington 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 ...

Jay Inslee

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 ...