The 2012 Washington gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2012. Candidates in the election were chosen in an August 7, 2012 primary election, under the state's

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...

system, which allows voters to vote for any candidate running in the race, regardless of party affiliation. The two candidates who received the most votes in the primary election qualified for the general election. Incumbent Democratic Governor

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated Republican candidate Dino Rossi in 2004, and ag ...

decided to retire rather than seek a third term. She endorsed fellow Democrat Jay Inslee, a U.S. Congressman, as her successor. On March 20, 2012, Inslee resigned from Congress in order to focus on his gubernatorial campaign. Inslee and Republican

Rob McKenna Robert Marion McKenna (born October 1, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 17th attorney general of Washington from 2005 to 2013 after serving on the Metropolitan King County Council from 1996 to 2005. A member of the Re ...

, the

Attorney General of Washington The Attorney General of Washington is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Washington and head of the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. The attorney general represents clients of the state and defends the public interest i ...

, advanced to the general election. Inslee narrowly won the election, and McKenna conceded three days later.

Primary election

Democratic candidates

* Rob Hill *

Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

, U.S. Representative for

WA-01 Washington's 1st congressional district encompasses the majority of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom, Skagit County, Washington, Skagit, and Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish counties, as well as nearly one-third of King County, Washingt ...

(1999–2012) and WA-04 (1993–1995)

Declined

* Lisa Brown,

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

Majority Leader *

Dow Constantine James Dow Constantine (born November 15, 1961) is an American politician, lawyer, and urban planner in the state of Washington who is serving his third term as King County Executive, an office he has held since November 2009. He was in the stat ...

King County Executive The King County Executive is the highest elected official representing the government of King County, Washington. The post was established with the implementation of the Home Rule Charter for King County on November 5, 1968. Previously the powers o ...

, incumbent Governor * Jim McIntire, State Treasurer * Aaron Reardon,

Snohomish County Executive The Snohomish County Executive is the head of the executive branch of Snohomish County, Washington. The position is subject to four-year terms (with a term limit of 3) and is a partisan office. History County voters approved the adoption of a ...

Ron Sims Ronald Cordell Sims (born July 5, 1948) is the former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, having served in the position from May 8, 2009 to July 2011. He is also the former King County Executive. Sims ...

, former King County Executive and Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development *

Brian Sonntag Brian S. Sonntag (born December 28, 1951) was the ninth Washington State Auditor. He served five terms, from 1993 until his retirement in 2013. He is a Democrat. Personal Sonntag was born in 1951 in Tacoma, Washington. He attended Tacoma Com ...

State Auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, state examiners, or inspectors general) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financi ...

Republican candidates

* Shahram Hadian, pastor and small business owner * Javier O. Lopez *

* Max Sampson

Declined

Dave Reichert David George Reichert (; born August 29, 1950) is an American politician, veteran, and former sheriff who served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 8th congressional district from 2005 to 2019. He is a Republican and is the former ele ...

, U.S. Representative

Independent candidates

* Christian Joubert * L. Dale Sorgen, computer programmer and former pastor * James White

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

(Democratic), former U.S. Representative *

(Republican),

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 2, 2012 -

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

;Aggregate polls ;Christine Gregoire vs. Rob McKenna ;Christine Gregoire vs. Dave Reichert ;Jay Inslee vs. Dave Reichert ;Lisa Brown vs. Rob McKenna

Results

The race was close throughout the night, with results too close to call after 60 percent of ballots were cast. Inslee was declared the winner early in the morning three days later; McKenna conceded later in the evening. Inslee won only eight of the state's 39 counties, relying on heavy votes from the

Seattle metropolitan area The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state—King, Snohomish, and Pierce ...

pushing him to victory.

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

(largest city: Oak Harbor) * Kitsap (largest city:

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

) * Pierce (largest city: Tacoma) * Skagit (largest city:

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

)

By congressional district

Inslee won 5 of 10 congressional districts with the remaining 5 going to McKenna, including both districts that were previously represented by Inslee.

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

External links

Elections & Voting
at the Washington Secretary of State office ;Official campaign websites
Jay Inslee (D) for Governor

Rob McKenna (R) for Governor

Shahram Hadian (R) for Governor
{{Washington elections

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Jay Inslee

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Primary election

Democratic candidates

Declined

Republican candidates

Declined

Independent candidates

Polling

Results

General election

Candidates

Debates

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Results by county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

See also

Notes

References

External links