2000 Washington gubernatorial election

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2000 Washington gubernatorial election
Flag of Washington.svg
  1996 November 7, 2000 2004  
  Gary Locke (cropped).jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Gary Locke John Carlson
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote1,441,973980,060
Percentage58.38%39.68%

2000 Washington gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results

Locke:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Carlson:     40–50%     50–60%

Governor before election

Gary Locke
Democratic

Elected Governor

Gary Locke
Democratic

The 2000 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democratic governor Gary Locke defeated the Republican candidate John Carlson for his second term in a landslide.

Contents

As of 2024, this was the earliest gubernatorial election in Washington in which both candidates are currently still living. This is the last time a Democratic nominee for governor outperformed the Democratic nominee for president in Washington.

This would also be the last gubernatorial election in Washington in which the margin of victory was in double digits and in which any counties in Eastern Washington voted for a Democrat until Jay Inslee's 2020 landslide victory. This is the last and the most recent Washington gubernatorial election in which the winning candidate carried a majority of Washington's counties.

Primary election

Candidates

Democratic

Republican

Libertarian

  • Steve W. LePage

Results

Blanket primary results [1] [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Gary Locke 701,929 54.32%
Republican John Carlson 446,142 34.52%
Republican Harold Hochstatter93,4677.23%
Democratic Meta Heller28,5782.21%
Libertarian Steve W. LePage22,1861.72%
Total votes1,292,302 100.00%

General election

Candidates

Debates

Results

2000 Washington gubernatorial election [3] [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Gary Locke (incumbent) 1,441,973 58.38% +0.43%
Republican John Carlson 980,06039.68−2.36%
Libertarian Steve W. LePage47,8191.94
Majority 461,91318.70%
Total votes2,469,852 100.00%
Democratic hold Swing +2.79%

Results by county

Kittitas County voted for the losing candidate for the first time since 1948. Locke is the most recent Democrat to win the following the counties: Asotin, Klickitat, Mason, Pend Oreille, Skamania, Spokane, Wahkiakum, and Walla Walla. Whitman County would not vote Democratic again until 2020. Clallam would not vote Democratic again until 2024.

County [4] Gary Locke
Democratic
John Carlson
Republican
Steve W. LePage
Libertarian
MarginTotal votes cast
#%#%#%#%
Adams 2,25045.49%2,62953.15%671.35%-379-7.66%4,946
Asotin 4,71859.64%3,07038.81%1231.55%1,64820.83%7,911
Benton 28,89248.72%29,24549.32%1,1651.96%-353-0.60%59,302
Chelan 10,98441.69%14,97056.82%3911.48%-3,986-15.13%26,345
Clallam 17,12853.93%13,79543.43%8392.64%3,33310.49%31,762
Clark 71,99854.20%57,46443.26%3,3822.55%14,53410.94%132,844
Columbia 95045.28%1,11653.19%321.53%-166-7.91%2,098
Cowlitz 20,91957.28%14,58939.95%1,0102.77%6,33017.33%36,518
Douglas 5,14940.12%7,45458.08%2321.81%-2,305-17.96%12,835
Ferry 1,25441.62%1,62453.90%1354.48%-370-12.28%3,013
Franklin 6,75748.53%6,83249.07%3332.39%-75-0.54%13,922
Garfield 64448.42%64648.57%303.01%-2-0.15%1,330
Grant 9,49140.05%13,67357.70%5312.24%-4,182-17.65%23,695
Grays Harbor 15,81760.93%9,56636.85%5782.23%6,25124.08%25,961
Island 17,73654.31%14,38144.04%5411.66%3,35510.27%32,658
Jefferson 9,71261.71%5,62835.76%3982.53%4,08425.95%15,735
King 522,22966.46%250,10331.83%13,4751.71%272,12634.63%785,807
Kitsap 58,60356.94%42,35841.15%1,9661.91%16,24515.78%102,927
Kittitas 6,42345.88%7,26251.87%3152.25%-839-5.99%14,000
Klickitat 4,27853.48%3,46843.36%2533.16%81010.13%7,999
Lewis 12,54542.18%16,42255.21%7772.61%-3,877-13.03%29,744
Lincoln 2,08340.20%2,98457.58%1152.22%-901-17.39%5,182
Mason 12,31955.27%9,47342.50%4972.23%2,84612.77%22,289
Okanogan 5,62638.36%8,55958.36%4813.28%-2,933-20.00%14,666
Pacific 5,51958.68%3,64338.73%2442.59%1,87619.94%9,406
Pend Oreille 2,62148.76%2,59048.19%1643.05%310.58%5,375
Pierce 148,45055.60%113,63342.56%4,9001.84%34,81713.04%266,983
San Juan 5,38564.83%2,68432.31%2372.85%2,70132.52%8,306
Skagit 24,19153.70%19,99044.37%8711.93%4,2019.32%45,052
Skamania 2,14853.25%1,65641.05%2305.70%49212.20%4,034
Snohomish 142,19656.89%102,99341.21%4,7561.90%39,20315.68%249,945
Spokane 99,49257.85%69,84840.61%2,6521.54%29,64417.24%171,992
Stevens 7,42641.64%9,87155.35%5363.01%-2,445-13.71%17,833
Thurston 58,91561.07%35,40436.70%2,1472.23%23,51124.38%96,466
Wahkiakum 1,11257.00%77039.47%693.54%34217.53%1,951
Walla Walla 10,86951.31%9,93646.90%3801.79%9334.40%21,185
Whatcom 42,31358.22%28,86139.71%1,5002.06%13,45218.51%72,674
Whitman 9,11356.75%6,67641.57%2691.68%2,43715.18%16,058
Yakima 33,71848.80%34,19449.48%1,1881.72%-476-0.69%69,100
Totals1,441.97358.38%980,06039.68%47,8191.94%461,91318.70%2,469,852

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

References

  1. "Elections Search Results September 2000 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  2. Washington Secretary of State. "Governor". Official Returns of the Washington State Primary September 19, 2000. Olympia, Washington. p. 7.
  3. "Elections Search Results November 2000 General". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Washington Secretary of State. "Governor". Official Returns of the State General Election November 7, 2000. Olympia, Washington. p. 10.