The 1988 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1988. Incumbent Democratic governor

Booth Gardner William Booth Gardner (August 21, 1936 – March 15, 2013) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. He also served as the ambassador of the GATT. A member of the Democratic Party, Gardner previ ...

won a second term, defeating Republican state representative Bob Williams in a landslide. This election was the first time since

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

that an incumbent Democratic governor of Washington was re-elected. Gardner won the highest share of the vote since

Clarence Martin Clarence Daniel Martin (June 29, 1886 – August 11, 1955) was an American politician who served as the 11th governor of Washington from 1933 to 1941. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Washington Hous ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

. Gardner's 62.21% of the vote is third-highest of any gubernatorial candidate in Washington's history.

Primary election

Candidates

Democratic

*Jeanne Dixon *Ted Parker Fix *

, incumbent governor of Washington *Richard "Onery Dick" Short

Republican

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 prosecutor *Paul Dean Santos * Bob Williams, state representative

Independent

*Baba Jeanne "BJ" Mangaoang, party leader

Results

General election

Candidates

(D), incumbent governor of Washington * Bob Williams (R), state representative

Debates

Complete video of debate
October 30, 1988 -

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 ...

Results

Results by county

Gardner's landslide win made him the first Democrat since

to carry Chelan County,

Garfield County Garfield County is the name of several counties in the United States: * Garfield County, Colorado *Garfield County, Montana *Garfield County, Nebraska *Garfield County, Oklahoma * Garfield County, Utah *Garfield County, Washington Garfie ...

, Lincoln County, San Juan County,

Walla Walla County Walla Walla County ( ) is a county located in the southeast of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 62,584. The county seat and most populous city is Walla Walla. The county was formed on April 25, 1854 and i ...

, and Whitman County. However, since this election, no Democrat has won Chelan County, Douglas County,

Ferry County Ferry County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,178, making it the fourth-least populous county in Washington. The county seat and largest city is Republic. T ...

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States * Grant County, Arkansas * Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky Grant County is a county located in the northern pa ...

, Lincoln County, and

Okanogan County Okanogan County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington along the Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,104. The county seat is Okanogan, while the most populous city is Omak. It is the largest c ...

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Chelan *

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis (cartoonist), Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976 (later changed to ''Garfield'' in 1977), then in nationwide Print syndication, syndication from 1978, it chro ...

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the Un ...

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 ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

* Okanogan *

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

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 ...

* Walla Walla * Whitman

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Cowlitz *

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 ...

Stevens Stevens may refer to: People * Stevens (surname), including a list of people with the surname Given name * Stevens Baker (1791–1868), farmer and member of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada * Stevens T. Mason (1811–1843), territorial ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington Gubernatorial Election, 1988

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1988 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 ...