1984 Washington gubernatorial election

For related races, see 1984 United States gubernatorial elections.

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 despite Republican President Ronald Reagan carrying the state by 13 points in the concurrent 1984 Election. 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

• Booth Gardner, Pierce County Executive
• Jim McDermott, psychiatrist, state senator, candidate for governor in 1972, and nominee for governor 1980
• John Jovanovich, state representative

Republican

• John Spellman, incumbent governor of Washington
• Ted Parker Fix

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

• John Spellman (R), incumbent governor of Washington
• Booth Gardner (D), Pierce County Executive

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

• Asotin
• Clallam
• Clark
• Cowlitz
• King
• Kitsap
• Kittitas
• Lewis
• Mason
• Pend Oreille
• Pierce
• Skagit
• Snohomish
• Stevens
• Thurston
• Whatcom

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. "Elections Search Results November 1984 General". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.