2012 Washington State Auditor election

2012 Washington State Auditor election

←  2008 November 6, 2012 2016  →

Nominee Troy Kelley James Watkins Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,512,620 1,344,137 Percentage 52.95% 47.05%

County results Congressional district results Kelley:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Watkins:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

State Auditor before election Brian Sonntag Democratic Elected State Auditor Troy Kelley Democratic

The 2012 Washington State Auditor election was held on November 6, 2012, to elect the Washington State Auditor, 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. 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.

Five-term incumbent Democratic State Auditor Brian Sonntag retired. ^[1] Democratic state Representative Troy Kelley defeated Republican James Watkins to succeed Sonntag. ^[2]

The top-two primary was held on August 7.

Primary election

Democratic Party

Advanced to general

• Troy Kelley, state representative (2007–2013) ^[3]

Eliminated in primary

• Mark Miloscia, state representative (1999–2013) ^[4]
• Craig Pridemore, state senator (2005–2013) ^[5]

Declined

• Brian Sonntag, incumbent state auditor (1993–2013) ^[1]

Republican Party

Advanced to general

• James Watkins, business consultant and candidate for Washington's 1st congressional district in 2010 ^[6]

Endorsements

Troy Kelley (D)

Newspapers

• The Seattle Times (co-endorsement with Watkins) ^[7]

James Watkins (R)

Newspapers

• The Seattle Times (co-endorsement with Kelley) ^[7]

Results

Blanket primary results by county

  Watkins

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

Blanket primary results ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Watkins	584,444	46.09
	Democratic	Troy Kelley	291,335	22.98
	Democratic	Craig Pridemore	268,220	21.15
	Democratic	Mark Miloscia	123,936	9.77
Total votes			1,267,935	100.00

General election

Post-primary endorsements

Troy Kelley (D)

Newspapers

• The Seattle Times ^[9]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Troy Kelley (D)	James Watkins (R)	Undecided
Elway Research [10]	October 18–21, 2012	451 (RV)	± 4.5%	34%	29%	37%
Elway Research [11]	September 9–12, 2012	405 (RV)	± 5.0%	36%	27%	38%

Results

2012 Washington State Auditor election ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Troy Kelley	1,512,620	52.95	–10.59
	Republican	James Watkins	1,344,137	47.05	+10.59
Total votes			2,856,757	100.00	N/A
	Democratic hold

By county

County results

County [13]	Troy Kelley Democratic		James Watkins Republican		Margin		Total votes
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	1,348	30.47%	3,076	69.53%	-1,728	-39.06%	4,424
Asotin	3,771	41.07%	5,411	58.93%	-1,640	-17.86%	9,182
Benton	24,989	34.20%	48,083	65.80%	-23,094	-31.60%	73,072
Chelan	11,016	37.36%	18,471	62.64%	-7,455	-25.28%	29,487
Clallam	16,216	46.21%	18,875	53.79%	-2,659	-7.58%	35,091
Clark	82,405	46.85%	93,481	53.15%	-11,076	-6.30%	175,886
Columbia	577	28.33%	1,460	71.67%	-883	-43.35%	2,037
Cowlitz	20,787	50.36%	20,486	49.64%	301	0.73%	41,273
Douglas	4,586	33.19%	9,233	66.81%	-4,647	-33.63%	13,819
Ferry	1,221	38.66%	1,937	61.34%	-716	-22.67%	3,158
Franklin	7,737	36.13%	13,680	63.87%	-5,943	-27.75%	21,417
Garfield	336	29.12%	818	70.88%	-482	-41.77%	1,154
Grant	8,377	32.52%	17,380	67.48%	-9,003	-34.95%	25,757
Grays Harbor	14,381	54.01%	12,245	45.99%	2,136	8.02%	26,626
Island	18,708	48.37%	19,967	51.63%	-1,259	-3.26%	38,675
Jefferson	11,263	61.63%	7,013	38.37%	4,250	23.25%	18,276
King	558,930	64.58%	306,553	35.42%	252,377	29.16%	865,483
Kitsap	58,390	51.05%	55,989	48.95%	2,401	2.10%	114,379
Kittitas	6,765	41.36%	9,590	58.64%	-2,825	-17.27%	16,355
Klickitat	4,209	44.21%	5,312	55.79%	-1,103	-11.58%	9,521
Lewis	11,381	36.23%	20,033	63.77%	-8,652	-27.54%	31,414
Lincoln	1,606	29.40%	3,856	70.60%	-2,250	-41.19%	5,462
Mason	13,026	49.59%	13,239	50.41%	-213	-0.81%	26,265
Okanogan	6,451	41.32%	9,162	58.68%	-2,711	-17.36%	15,613
Pacific	5,142	52.49%	4,654	47.51%	488	4.98%	9,796
Pend Oreille	2,381	38.34%	3,829	61.66%	-1,448	-23.32%	6,210
Pierce	164,758	51.90%	152,714	48.10%	12,044	3.79%	317,472
San Juan	6,347	64.87%	3,437	35.13%	2,910	29.74%	9,784
Skagit	24,818	48.85%	25,987	51.15%	-1,169	-2.30%	50,805
Skamania	2,347	46.75%	2,673	53.25%	-326	-6.49%	5,020
Snohomish	160,487	52.81%	143,403	47.19%	17,084	5.62%	303,890
Spokane	90,855	44.06%	115,340	55.94%	-24,485	-11.87%	206,195
Stevens	7,156	34.43%	13,628	65.57%	-6,472	-31.14%	20,784
Thurston	63,094	54.58%	52,515	45.42%	10,579	9.15%	115,609
Wahkiakum	947	46.24%	1,101	53.76%	-154	-7.52%	2,048
Walla Walla	8,533	37.04%	14,504	62.96%	-5,971	-25.92%	23,037
Whatcom	50,325	53.22%	44,235	46.78%	6,090	6.44%	94,560
Whitman	6,806	44.05%	8,646	55.95%	-1,840	-11.91%	15,452
Yakima	30,148	41.72%	42,121	58.28%	-11,973	-16.57%	72,269
Totals	1,512,620	52.95%	1,344,137	47.05%	168,483	5.90%	2,856,757

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Asotin (largest city: Clarkston)
• Chelan (largest city: Wenatchee)
• Clallam (largest city: Port Angeles)
• Clark (largest city: Vancouver)
• Island (largest city: Oak Harbor)
• Kittitas (largest city: Ellensburg)
• Klickitat (largest city: Goldendale)
• Lewis (largest city: Centralia)
• Mason (largest city: Shelton)
• Okanogan (largest city: Omak)
• Skagit (largest city: Mount Vernon)
• Skamania (largest city: Carson)
• Spokane (largest city: Spokane)
• Wahkiakum (largest city: Puget Island)
• Walla Walla (largest city: Walla Walla)
• Whitman (largest city: Pullman)
• Yakima (largest city: Yakima)

Swing by county

Legend

•   Republican — +10-12.5%
•   Republican — +>15%

Trend relative to the state by county

Legend

•   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 — +>15%

County flips

Legend

• Democratic   Hold

  Republican   Hold   Gain from Democratic

By congressional district

Kelley won five of ten congressional districts, with the remaining five going to Watkins, including one that elected a Democrat. ^[14]

District	Kelley	Watkins	Representative
1st	49.7%	50.3%	Suzan DelBene
2nd	56%	44%	Rick Larsen
3rd	46%	54%	Jaime Herrera Beutler
4th	37%	63%	Doc Hastings
5th	42%	58%	Cathy McMorris Rodgers
6th	53%	47%	Norm Dicks
			Derek Kilmer
7th	75%	25%	Jim McDermott
8th	46%	54%	Dave Reichert
9th	64%	36%	Adam Smith
10th	54%	46%	Denny Heck

References

1. https://www.heraldnet.com/news/state-auditor-brian-sonntag-to-end-long-political-career/
2. https://www.heraldnet.com/news/watkins-concedes-in-state-auditor-race/
3. https://patch.com/washington/universityplace/election-troy-kelley-to-run-for-state-auditor
4. https://www.federalwaymirror.com/news/state-rep-miloscia-enters-race-for-washington-state-auditor/
5. https://www.columbian.com/news/2011/nov/02/pridemore-run-state-auditors-post/
6. https://nwdailymarker.com/2012/03/james-watkins-enters-race-for-state-auditor-promises-to-be-citizens-watchdog-in-olympia/
7. Editorial Board, The Seattle Times (July 26, 2012). "The Times recommends: Kelley and Watkins for state auditor". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
8. Reed, Sam (August 7, 2012). "State Auditor". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on May 7, 2025. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
9. Editorial Board, The Seattle Times (October 14, 2012). "In blistering campaign for auditor, Troy Kelley has the edge". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
10. Elway Research
11. Elway Research
12. Reed, Sam (November 6, 2012). "State Auditor". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on May 2, 2025. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
13. Reed, Sam (November 6, 2012). "State Auditor - County Results". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on June 27, 2025. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
14. "2012 General Data". sos.wa.gov. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024.