2012 Washington State Treasurer election

2012 Washington State Treasurer election

←  2008 November 6, 2012 2016  →

Nominee James McIntire Sharon Hanek Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,695,401 1,192,150 Percentage 58.71% 41.29%

County results Congressional district results McIntire:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Hanek:      50–60%     60–70%

State Treasurer before election James McIntire Democratic Elected State Treasurer James McIntire Democratic

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

Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer James McIntire was first elected back in 2008 defeating then-assistant state treasurer Allan Martin. ^[1] He was re-election to a second term in office, defeating Republican challenger Sharon Hanek in a landslide. ^[2]

The top-two primary was held on August 7.

Primary election

Democratic Party

Advanced to general

• James McIntire, incumbent state treasurer (2009–2017) ^[3]

Republican Party

Advanced to general

• Sharon Hanek, CPA (write-in candidate) ^[4]

Results

Blanket primary results by county

  McIntire

•   90–100%

Blanket primary results ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	James McIntire (incumbent)	925,850	96.62
	Republican	Sharon Hanek (write-in)	32,339	3.38
Total votes			958,189	100.00

General election

Endorsements

Jim McIntire (D)

Newspapers

• The Seattle Times ^[6]

Results

2012 Washington State Treasurer election ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	James McIntire (incumbent)	1,695,401	58.71	+7.63
	Republican	Sharon Hanek	1,192,150	41.29	–7.63
Total votes			2,887,551	100.00	N/A
	Democratic hold

By county

County results

County [8]	James McIntire Democratic		Sharon Hanek Republican		Margin		Total votes
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	1,598	35.73%	2,875	64.27%	-1,277	-28.55%	4,473
Asotin	4,104	44.64%	5,090	55.36%	-986	-10.72%	9,194
Benton	30,583	41.58%	42,972	58.42%	-12,389	-16.84%	73,555
Chelan	13,228	44.41%	16,556	55.59%	-3,328	-11.17%	29,784
Clallam	19,529	54.62%	16,226	45.38%	3,303	9.24%	35,755
Clark	93,410	52.60%	84,180	47.40%	9,230	5.20%	177,590
Columbia	749	36.43%	1,307	63.57%	-558	-27.14%	2,056
Cowlitz	22,732	54.76%	18,782	45.24%	3,950	9.51%	41,514
Douglas	5,514	39.55%	8,429	60.45%	-2,915	-20.91%	13,943
Ferry	1,368	42.64%	1,840	57.36%	-472	-14.71%	3,208
Franklin	9,119	42.34%	12,420	57.66%	-3,301	-15.33%	21,539
Garfield	410	35.25%	753	64.75%	-343	-29.49%	1,163
Grant	9,594	37.06%	16,295	62.94%	-6,701	-25.88%	25,889
Grays Harbor	16,054	59.59%	10,888	40.41%	5,166	19.17%	26,942
Island	20,902	53.49%	18,173	46.51%	2,729	6.98%	39,075
Jefferson	12,607	67.65%	6,030	32.35%	6,577	35.29%	18,637
King	619,970	70.64%	257,737	29.36%	362,233	41.27%	877,707
Kitsap	65,873	57.01%	49,674	42.99%	16,199	14.02%	115,547
Kittitas	7,851	47.49%	8,682	52.51%	-831	-5.03%	16,533
Klickitat	4,715	49.10%	4,888	50.90%	-173	-1.80%	9,603
Lewis	13,134	41.43%	18,565	58.57%	-5,431	-17.13%	31,699
Lincoln	1,995	36.35%	3,494	63.65%	-1,499	-27.31%	5,489
Mason	14,584	54.87%	11,997	45.13%	2,587	9.73%	26,581
Okanogan	7,324	46.53%	8,418	53.47%	-1,094	-6.95%	15,742
Pacific	5,696	57.70%	4,176	42.30%	1,520	15.40%	9,872
Pend Oreille	2,670	42.72%	3,580	57.28%	-910	-14.56%	6,250
Pierce	181,663	56.93%	137,436	43.07%	44,227	13.86%	319,099
San Juan	6,726	68.13%	3,147	31.87%	3,579	36.25%	9,873
Skagit	27,890	54.36%	23,413	45.64%	4,477	8.73%	51,303
Skamania	2,625	51.67%	2,455	48.33%	170	3.35%	5,080
Snohomish	178,494	58.17%	128,333	41.83%	50,161	16.35%	306,827
Spokane	102,991	49.55%	104,864	50.45%	-1,873	-0.90%	207,855
Stevens	7,989	38.11%	12,974	61.89%	-4,985	-23.78%	20,963
Thurston	72,586	61.76%	44,940	38.24%	27,646	23.52%	117,526
Wahkiakum	1,117	53.60%	967	46.40%	150	7.20%	2,084
Walla Walla	10,532	45.33%	12,701	54.67%	-2,169	-9.34%	23,233
Whatcom	54,251	56.71%	41,414	43.29%	12,837	13.42%	95,665
Whitman	7,999	50.56%	7,823	49.44%	176	1.11%	15,822
Yakima	35,225	48.33%	37,656	51.67%	-2,431	-3.34%	72,881
Totals	1,695,401	58.71%	1,192,150	41.29%	503,251	17.43%	2,887,551

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Clallam (largest city: Port Angeles)
• Clark (largest city: Vancouver)
• Island (largest city: Oak Harbor)
• Kitsap (largest city: Bremerton)
• Mason (largest city: Shelton)
• Pierce (largest city: Tacoma)
• Skagit (largest city: Mount Vernon)
• Skamania (largest city: Carson)
• 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%

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 — +12.5-15%
•   Republican — +>15%

County flips

Legend

• Democratic   Hold   Gain from Republican

  Republican   Hold

By congressional district

McIntire won eight of ten congressional districts, including two that elected Republicans. ^[9]

District	McIntire	Hanek	Representative
1st	55%	45%	Suzan DelBene
2nd	60%	40%	Rick Larsen
3rd	52%	48%	Jaime Herrera Beutler
4th	43%	57%	Doc Hastings
5th	48%	52%	Cathy McMorris Rodgers
6th	59%	41%	Derek Kilmer
7th	81%	19%	Jim McDermott
8th	52%	48%	Dave Reichert
9th	70%	30%	Adam Smith
10th	59%	41%	Denny Heck

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 24, 2025. ...Democrat Jim McIntire defeated Republican Allan Martin for state treasurer, which was an open seat.
2. https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/inslee-to-be-next-washington-governor-as-gops-mckenna-concedes-race
3. "2012 Primary Candidates Who Have Filed". eledataweb.votewa.gov. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
4. Shannon, Brad (September 17, 2012). "Write-in candidate makes it onto ballot in state treasurer's race". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on January 25, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
5. Reed, Sam (August 7, 2012). "State Treasurer". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on May 8, 2025. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
6. Editorial Board, The Seattle Times (October 23, 2012). "The Times recommends Jim McIntire for state treasurer". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
7. Reed, Sam (November 6, 2012). "State Treasurer". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on May 2, 2025. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
8. Reed, Sam (November 6, 2012). "State Treasurer - County Results". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on March 18, 2025. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
9. "2012 General Data". sos.wa.gov. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024.