2008 Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction election

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2008 Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction election
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Nominee Randy Dorn Terry Bergeson
Party Independent Independent
Popular vote1,333,2901,211,909
Percentage52.38%47.62%
2008 Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction election results map by county.svg
2008 Washington superintendent of public instruction election results map by congressional district.svg
Dorn:     50–60%
Bergeson:     50–60%
Superintendent of Public Instruction before election

Terry Bergeson
Independent

Elected Superintendent of Public Instruction

Randy Dorn
Independent

The 2008 Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction election was held on November 4, 2008, to elect the superintendent of public instruction of Washington, concurrently with the 2008 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the U.S. Senate and various state and local elections, including for U.S. House and governor of Washington. Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson ran for re-election to a fourth term in office but was defeated by former state Representative Randy Dorn. [1] While the race was officially non-partisan, both Bergeson and Dorn identified as Democrats. [2] [3]

Contents

Primary election

Washington is one of two states that holds a top-two primary, meaning all candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two advance to the general election.

Candidates

Advanced to general

Eliminated in primary

  • John P. Blair, perennial candidate and former high school teacher [6]
  • David Blomstrom, perennial candidate [4]
  • Enid Duncan [6]
  • Don Hansler, retired educator [4]

Results

Blanket primary results by county .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Bergeson 30-40% 40-50% Dorn 30-40% 40-50% 2008 Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction primary results map by county.svg
Blanket primary results by county
  Bergeson
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  Dorn
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
Blanket primary election results [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Terry Bergeson (incumbent) 477,130 39.31
Nonpartisan Randy Dorn 414,313 34.13
Nonpartisan Don Hansler108,9848.98
Nonpartisan John P. Blair90,5087.46
Nonpartisan Enid Duncan78,9836.51
Nonpartisan David Blomstrom43,9843.62
Total votes1,213,902 100.00

General election

Endorsements

Terry Bergeson

Newspapers

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Terry
Bergeson		Randy
Dorn		Undecided
SurveyUSA [9] October 30 – November 2, 2008663 (LV)± 3.9%37%45%18%
SurveyUSA [10] October 26–27, 2008630 (LV)± 4.0%38%43%19%
SurveyUSA [11] October 12–13, 2008544 (LV)± 4.3%31%43%26%
SurveyUSA [12] September 21–22, 2008682 (LV)± 3.8%35%40%25%
SurveyUSA [13] September 5–7, 2008658 (LV)± 3.9%36%41%23%
SurveyUSA [14] August 11–12, 2008718 (LV)± 3.7%32%43%25%
SurveyUSA [15] July 13–15, 2008666 (LV)± 3.9%34%32%35%

Results

2008 Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction election [16]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Nonpartisan Randy Dorn 1,333,290 52.38
Nonpartisan Terry Bergeson (incumbent)1,211,90947.62
Total votes2,545,199 100.00
Democratic hold

By county

County results
County [17] Terry Bergeson

Democratic

Randy Dorn

Democratic

MarginTotal votes
#%#%#%
Adams 2,07548.44%2,20951.56%1343.13%4,284
Asotin 4,69955.93%3,70244.07%-997-11.87%8,401
Benton 26,76641.68%37,45658.32%10,69016.65%64,222
Chelan 12,05443.83%15,44556.17%3,39112.33%27,499
Clallam 17,02652.57%15,36347.43%-1,663-5.13%32,389
Clark 74,75950.31%73,84249.69%-917-0.62%148,601
Columbia 1,05254.37%88345.63%-169-8.73%1,935
Cowlitz 20,83254.52%17,37845.48%-3,454-9.04%38,210
Douglas 5,39840.33%7,98859.67%2,59019.35%13,386
Ferry 1,51652.06%1,39647.94%-120-4.12%2,912
Franklin 7,50643.11%9,90556.89%2,39913.78%17,411
Garfield 60752.87%54147.13%-66-5.75%1,148
Grant 11,39747.28%12,71052.72%1,3135.45%24,107
Grays Harbor 11,80945.72%14,01954.28%2,2108.56%25,828
Island 16,69847.17%18,69952.83%2,0015.65%35,397
Jefferson 8,71852.90%7,76147.10%-957-5.81%16,479
King 352,26748.13%379,70251.87%27,4353.75%731,969
Kitsap 50,48546.84%57,29053.16%6,8056.31%107,775
Kittitas 6,78545.11%8,25754.89%1,4729.79%15,042
Klickitat 4,37653.70%3,77346.30%-603-7.40%8,149
Lewis 13,57145.03%16,56954.97%2,9989.95%30,140
Lincoln 2,37445.63%2,82954.37%4558.74%5,203
Mason 11,66146.55%13,39053.45%1,7296.90%25,051
Okanogan 6,84048.84%7,16651.16%3262.33%14,006
Pacific 4,96753.46%4,32446.54%-643-6.92%9,291
Pend Oreille 2,81650.54%2,75649.46%-60-1.08%5,572
Pierce 129,75545.01%158,53954.99%28,7849.98%288,294
San Juan 4,57554.62%3,80145.38%-774-9.24%8,376
Skagit 21,58745.52%25,84154.48%4,2548.97%47,428
Skamania 2,42655.14%1,97444.86%-452-10.27%4,400
Snohomish 121,32143.90%155,01156.10%33,69012.19%276,332
Spokane 97,09551.33%92,08048.67%-5,015-2.65%189,175
Stevens 8,93147.84%9,73652.16%8054.31%18,667
Thurston 50,82446.53%58,39653.47%7,5726.93%109,220
Wahkiakum 1,06158.65%74841.35%-313-17.30%1,809
Walla Walla 11,88156.64%9,09543.36%-2,786-13.28%20,976
Whatcom 39,85948.47%42,37551.53%2,5163.06%82,234
Whitman 7,38350.70%7,18049.30%-203-1.39%14,563
Yakima 36,15752.16%33,16147.84%-2,996-4.32%69,318
Totals1,211,90947.62%1,333,29052.38%121,3814.77%2,545,199

References

  1. ↑ Shaw, Linda (November 7, 2008). "Randy Dorn defeats Bergeson for state schools post". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Munro, Pritchard Endorse Bergeson For Superintendent". Spokesman.com. October 22, 1996.
  3. ↑ "Challenger poised to unseat schools chief". November 5, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 Gordon Blankinship, Donna (May 15, 2008). "State schools chief feels heat". The Seattle Times . Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Randy Dorn Campaigning in Eastern Washington". NonStop Local Tri-Cities/Yakima. June 20, 2008.
  6. 1 2 Reports, Staff (July 18, 2008). "Election registration date looms".
  7. ↑ Reed, Sam (August 19, 2008). "Superintendent of Public Instruction". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on May 2, 2025. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  8. ↑ Editorial Board, The Seattle Times (October 31, 2008). "Seattle Times endorsements for Election Day". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on April 15, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  9. ↑ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #14791". www.surveyusa.com.
  10. ↑ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #14717". www.surveyusa.com.
  11. ↑ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #14594". www.surveyusa.com.
  12. ↑ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #14443". www.surveyusa.com.
  13. ↑ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #14342". www.surveyusa.com.
  14. ↑ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #14216". www.surveyusa.com.
  15. ↑ "SurveyUSA Election Poll #14117". www.surveyusa.com.
  16. ↑ Reed, Sam (November 4, 2008). "Superintendent of Public Instruction". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on March 6, 2025. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
  17. ↑ Reed, Sam (November 4, 2008). "Superintendent of Public Instruction - County Results". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on December 15, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2025.

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