1984 Washington gubernatorial election

1984 Washington gubernatorial election

← 1980 November 6, 1984 1988 →
 
Nominee Booth Gardner John Spellman
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,006,993 881,994
Percentage 53.31% 46.69%

County results
Gardner:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Spellman:      50–60%

Governor before election

John Spellman
Republican

Elected Governor

Booth Gardner
Democratic

The 1984 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican John Spellman ran for re-election to a second term but was defeated by Democrat Booth Gardner. This is the last time that the Washington Governor's office changed partisan control or that an incumbent Governor of Washington lost a general election.

Primary election

Candidates

Democratic

Republican

Third-party

  • Mark A. Calney (Independent), author
  • Bob LeRoy (Populist)
  • Cheryll Y. Hidalgo (Socialist Workers)

Results

Blanket primary results[1][2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Booth Gardner 421,087 46.07%
Republican John Spellman (incumbent) 239,463 26.20%
Democratic Jim McDermott 209,435 22.91%
Democratic John Jovanovich 23,699 2.59%
Republican Ted Parker Fix 11,193 1.23%
Populist Bob LeRoy 3,601 0.39%
Independent Mark A. Calney 2,851 0.31%
Socialist Workers Cheryll Y. Hidalgo 2,672 0.29%
Total votes 914,001 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Results

1984 Washington gubernatorial election[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Booth Gardner 1,006,993 53.31% +9.99%
Republican John Spellman (incumbent) 881,994 46.69% −9.99%
Majority 124,999 6.62%
Total votes 1,888,987 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican Swing +19.98%

Results by county

Booth Gardner is the most recent Democrat to carry Lewis County and Stevens County in a gubernatorial election. Conversely, John Spellman is the last Republican to have won San Juan County.

County[3] Booth Gardner
Democratic
John Spellman
Republican
Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # %
Adams 2,070 42.43% 2,809 57.57% -739 -15.15% 4,879
Asotin 3,833 53.68% 3,308 46.32% 525 7.35% 7,141
Benton 20,982 44.44% 26,236 55.56% -5,254 -11.13% 47,218
Chelan 8,843 42.51% 11,960 57.49% -3,117 -14.98% 20,803
Clallam 12,156 50.70% 11,820 49.30% 336 1.40% 23,976
Clark 46,144 59.33% 31,629 40.67% 14,515 18.66% 77,773
Columbia 935 44.69% 1,157 55.31% -222 -10.61% 2,092
Cowlitz 18,770 61.90% 11,553 38.10% 7,217 23.80% 30,323
Douglas 4,398 45.07% 5,361 54.93% -963 -9.87% 9,759
Ferry 1,194 56.08% 935 43.92% 259 12.17% 2,129
Franklin 5,761 47.96% 6,250 52.04% -489 -4.07% 12,011
Garfield 685 48.21% 736 51.79% -51 -3.59% 1,421
Grant 8,917 46.55% 10,238 53.45% -1,321 6.90% 19,155
Grays Harbor 18,752 70.73% 7,761 29.27% 10,991 41.46% 26,513
Island 9,160 43.99% 11,664 56.01% -2,504 -12.02% 20,824
Jefferson 4,904 53.72% 4,224 46.28% 680 7.45% 9,128
King 336,878 52.35% 306,605 47.65% 30,273 4.70% 643,483
Kitsap 37,460 55.67% 29,835 44.33% 7,625 11.33% 67,295
Kittitas 6,577 59.35% 4,504 40.65% 2,073 18.71% 11,081
Klickitat 3,797 56.61% 2,910 43.39% 887 13.22% 6,707
Lewis 13,811 58.08% 9,969 41.92% 3,842 16.16% 23,780
Lincoln 2,345 44.81% 2,888 55.19% -543 -10.38% 5,233
Mason 9,316 58.80% 6,528 41.20% 2,788 17.60% 15,844
Okanogan 6,357 48.31% 6,802 51.69% -445 -3.38% 13,159
Pacific 5,473 64.94% 2,955 35.06% 2,518 29.88% 8,428
Pend Oreille 2,298 56.55% 1,766 43.45% 532 13.09% 4,064
Pierce 112,796 58.74% 79,246 41.26% 33,550 17.47% 192,042
San Juan 2,634 48.48% 2,799 51.52% -165 -3.04% 5,433
Skagit 18,457 54.95% 15,130 45.05% 3,327 9.91% 33,587
Skamania 1,934 58.43% 1,376 41.57% 558 16.86% 3,310
Snohomish 84,328 52.66% 75,823 47.34% 8,505 5.31% 160,151
Spokane 74,244 49.25% 76,502 50.75% -2,258 -1.50% 150,746
Stevens 6,433 50.02% 6,428 49.98% 5 0.04% 12,861
Thurston 35,501 56.85% 26,950 43.15% 8,551 13.69% 62,451
Wahkiakum 1,078 63.52% 619 36.48% 459 27.05% 1,697
Walla Walla 8,473 43.28% 11,106 56.72% -2,633 -13.45% 19,579
Whatcom 30,525 60.11% 20,255 39.89% 10,270 20.22% 50,780
Whitman 7,512 44.83% 9,246 55.17% -1,734 -10.35% 16,758
Yakima 31,262 47.82% 34,111 52.18% -2,849 -4.36% 65,373
Totals 1,006,993 53.31% 881,994 46.69% 124,999 6.62% 1,888,987

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

References

  1. ^ "Elections Search Results September 1984 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  2. ^ Washington Secretary of State. "Governor". Official Abstract of the Results of the September 18, 1984 Washington State Primary. Olympia, Washington. pp. 6–7.
  3. ^ a b "Elections Search Results November 1984 General". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.