2012 Washington Public Lands Commissioner election

2012 Washington Public Lands Commissioner election

←  2008 November 6, 2012 2016  →

Candidate Peter J. Goldmark Clint Didier Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,692,083 1,188,411 Percentage 58.74% 41.26%

County results Congressional district results Goldmark:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Didier:      50–60%     60–70%

Public Lands Commissioner before election Peter J. Goldmark Democratic Elected Public Lands Commissioner Peter J. Goldmark Democratic

The 2012 Washington Public Lands Commissioner election was held on November 6, 2012, to elect the Washington Public Lands Commissioner, concurrently with the 2012 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 Democratic Public Lands Commissioner Peter J. Goldmark was re-elected to a second term, defeating Republican Clint Didier in a landslide. ^[1]

Background

Golmark was elected in 2008, defeating then-incumbent public lands commissioner Doug Sutherland. ^[2] He ran for re-election to a second term in office. ^[3]

Candidates

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

Democratic Party

Advanced to general

• Peter J. Goldmark, incumbent public lands commissioner (2009–2017) ^[3]

Republican Party

Advanced to general

• Clint Didier, former NFL player and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010 ^[3]

Third-party and independent candidates

Eliminated in primary

• Stephen A. Sharon (Independent) ^[3]

Results

Blanket primary results by county

  Goldmark

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Didier

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

Blanket primary election results ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Peter J. Goldmark (incumbent)	683,448	51.88
	Republican	Clint Didier	540,907	41.06
	Independent	Stephen A. Sharon	92,993	7.06
Total votes			1,317,348	100.00

General election

Results

2012 Washington Public Lands Commissioner election ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Peter J. Goldmark (incumbent)	1,692,083	58.74%	+8.19%
	Republican	Clint Didier	1,188,411	41.26%	–8.19%
Total votes			2,880,494	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

By county

County results

County [6]	Peter J. Goldmark Democratic		Clint Didier Republican		Margin		Total votes
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	1,552	34.02%	3,010	65.98%	-1,458	-31.96%	4,562
Asotin	4,246	46.07%	4,970	53.93%	-724	-7.86%	9,216
Benton	25,868	34.48%	49,148	65.52%	-23,280	-31.03%	75,016
Chelan	12,946	43.08%	17,107	56.92%	-4,161	-13.85%	30,053
Clallam	18,328	51.63%	17,171	48.37%	1,157	3.26%	35,499
Clark	92,716	52.67%	83,301	47.33%	9,415	5.35%	176,017
Columbia	728	34.10%	1,407	65.90%	-679	-31.80%	2,135
Cowlitz	22,326	54.06%	18,973	45.94%	3,353	8.12%	41,299
Douglas	5,445	38.57%	8,671	61.43%	-3,226	-22.85%	14,116
Ferry	1,424	43.36%	1,860	56.64%	-436	-13.28%	3,284
Franklin	7,753	35.36%	14,172	64.64%	-6,419	-29.28%	21,925
Garfield	433	36.66%	748	63.34%	-315	-26.67%	1,181
Grant	9,241	35.25%	16,974	64.75%	-7,733	-29.50%	26,215
Grays Harbor	15,024	56.12%	11,745	43.88%	3,279	12.25%	26,769
Island	21,006	53.70%	18,110	46.30%	2,896	7.40%	39,116
Jefferson	12,455	67.42%	6,020	32.58%	6,435	34.83%	18,475
King	626,897	71.86%	245,435	28.14%	381,462	43.73%	872,332
Kitsap	66,262	57.73%	48,521	42.27%	17,741	15.46%	114,783
Kittitas	7,200	43.36%	9,404	56.64%	-2,204	-13.27%	16,604
Klickitat	4,467	46.36%	5,169	53.64%	-702	-7.29%	9,636
Lewis	12,883	40.60%	18,846	59.40%	-5,963	-18.79%	31,729
Lincoln	2,024	36.00%	3,598	64.00%	-1,574	-28.00%	5,622
Mason	14,327	54.30%	12,056	45.70%	2,271	8.61%	26,383
Okanogan	7,500	46.05%	8,788	53.95%	-1,288	-7.91%	16,288
Pacific	5,461	55.63%	4,356	44.37%	1,105	11.26%	9,817
Pend Oreille	2,772	43.58%	3,588	56.42%	-816	-12.83%	6,360
Pierce	181,272	57.24%	135,415	42.76%	45,857	14.48%	316,687
San Juan	6,923	69.89%	2,983	30.11%	3,940	39.77%	9,906
Skagit	27,501	53.91%	23,510	46.09%	3,991	7.82%	51,011
Skamania	2,570	50.95%	2,474	49.05%	96	1.90%	5,044
Snohomish	178,169	58.16%	128,173	41.84%	49,996	16.32%	306,342
Spokane	108,255	51.67%	101,241	48.33%	7,014	3.35%	209,496
Stevens	8,459	39.80%	12,793	60.20%	-4,334	-20.39%	21,252
Thurston	71,180	60.98%	45,548	39.02%	25,632	21.96%	116,728
Wahkiakum	1,072	51.17%	1,023	48.83%	49	2.34%	2,095
Walla Walla	9,697	41.36%	13,747	58.64%	-4,050	-17.28%	23,444
Whatcom	54,723	57.29%	40,801	42.71%	13,922	14.57%	95,524
Whitman	8,291	52.82%	7,407	47.18%	884	5.63%	15,698
Yakima	32,687	44.88%	40,148	55.12%	-7,461	-10.24%	72,835
Totals	1,692,083	58.74%	1,188,411	41.26%	503,672	17.49%	2,880,494

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Okanogan (largest city: Omak)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Clallam (largest city: Port Angeles)
• Clark (largest city: Vancouver)
• Cowlitz (largest city: Longview)
• Grays Harbor (largest city: Aberdeen)
• Island (largest city: Oak Harbor)
• Kitsap (largest city: Bremerton)
• Mason (largest city: Shelton)
• Pacific (largest city: Raymond)
• Pierce (largest city: Tacoma)
• Skagit (largest city: Mount Vernon)
• Skamania (largest city: Carson)
• Spokane (largest city: Spokane)
• Thurston (largest city: Lacey)
• Wahkiakum (largest city: Puget Island)
• Whitman (largest city: Pullman)

Swing by county

Legend

•   Democratic — +>15%
•   Democratic — +12.5-15%
•   Democratic — +10-12.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   Democratic — +5-7.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5-5%
•   Democratic — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +2.5–5%
    Republican — +7.5-10%

Trend relative to the state by county

Legend

•   Democratic — +>15%
•   Democratic — +10-12.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   Democratic — +5-7.5%
•   Democratic — +2.5-5%
•   Democratic — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +0-2.5%
•   Republican — +2.5-5%
•   Republican — +5-7.5%
•   Republican — +7.5-10%
•   Republican — +10-12.5%
•   Republican — +12.5-15%
•   Republican — +>15%

County flips

Legend

• Democratic   Hold   Gain from Republican

  Republican   Hold   Gain from Democratic

By congressional district

Goldmark won eight of ten congressional districts, including two that elected Republicans. ^[7]

District	Goldmark	Didier	Representative
1st	56%	44%	Suzan DelBene
2nd	61%	39%	Rick Larsen
3rd	51%	49%	Jaime Herrera Beutler
4th	39%	61%	Doc Hastings
5th	49%	51%	Cathy McMorris Rodgers
6th	59%	41%	Derek Kilmer
7th	82%	18%	Jim McDermott
8th	52%	48%	Dave Reichert
9th	71%	29%	Adam Smith
10th	59%	41%	Denny Heck

References

1. https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/inslee-to-be-next-washington-governor-as-gops-mckenna-concedes-race
2. Heffter, Emily; Cornwall, Warren (November 7, 2008). "Goldmark declares victory in lands-commissioner race, Sutherland won't concede". The Seattle Times . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
3. Geranios, Nicholas K. (July 15, 2012). "GOP's Didier jumps in to challenge Lands Commissioner Goldmark". The Seattle Times . Retrieved October 29, 2025.
4. Reed, Sam (August 7, 2012). "Commissioner of Public Lands". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on October 6, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
5. Reed, Sam (November 6, 2012). "Commissioner of Public Lands". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on March 18, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
6. Reed, Sam (November 6, 2012). "Commissioner of Public Lands - County Results". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on March 18, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
7. "2012 General Data". sos.wa.gov. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024.