2024 Washington Insurance Commissioner election

2024 Washington Insurance Commissioner election

←  2020 November 5, 2024 2028 →

Candidate Patty Kuderer Phil Fortunato Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,091,969 1,598,032 Percentage 56.62% 43.26%

County results Congressional district results Kuderer:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Fortunato:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Insurance Commissioner before election Mike Kreidler Democratic Elected Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer Democratic

The 2024 Washington Insurance Commissioner election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the next insurance commissioner of Washington, concurrently with the 2024 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 Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler was eligible to seek re-election to a seventh term but instead chose to retire. ^[1] Democratic state Senator Patty Kuderer won the election over Republican state Senator Phil Fortunato. ^[2]

Background

Incumbent Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, first elected in 2000 and re-elected five times, most recently in 2020, retired. ^[1]

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.

Democratic candidates

Advanced to general

• Patty Kuderer (Democratic), state senator ^[3]

Eliminated in primary

• Bill Boyd (Democratic), insurance broker ^[4]
• Chris Chung (Democratic) ^[4]
• John Pestinger (Democratic), project manager at the Office of the Insurance Commissioner ^[4]

Declined

• Mike Kreidler, incumbent Insurance Commissioner (2001–2025) ^[1]

Republican candidates

Advanced to general

• Phil Fortunato, state senator ^[5]

Eliminated in primary

• Justin Murta (Republican) ^[4]

Third-party and independent candidates

Eliminated in primary

• Jonathan Hendrix (Independent), insurance executive ^[4]
• Tim Verzal (Independent), retired auto body mechanic ^[4]

Endorsements

John Pestinger (D)

Newspapers

• The Seattle Times ^[6]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Bill Boyd (D)	Chris Chung (D)	Phil Fortunato (R)	Jonathan Hendrix (NP)	Patty Kuderer (D)	Justin Murta (R)	John Pestinger (D)	Tim Verzal (NP)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [7] [A]	July 24–25, 2024	581 (LV)	± 4.0%	3%	2%	13%	2%	8%	10%	5%	2%	56%

Results

Blanket primary results by county

  Kuderer

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

  Fortunato

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%

Blanket primary election results ^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patty Kuderer	845,148	45.18
	Republican	Phil Fortunato	533,560	28.52
	Republican	Justin Murta	189,582	10.13
	Democratic	John Pestinger	103,986	5.56
	No party preference	Jonathan Hendrix	68,961	3.69
	Democratic	Bill Boyd	57,387	3.07
	Democratic	Chris D. Chung	54,469	2.91
	No party preference	Tim Verzal	15,742	0.84
	Write-in		1,738	0.09
Total votes			1,870,573	100.00

General election

Post-primary endorsements

Patty Kuderer (D)

Newspapers

• The Seattle Times ^[9]

Polling

Hypothetical polling

Patty Kuderer vs. Chris Corry

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Patty Kuderer (D)	Chris Corry (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D) [7] [A]	May 15–16, 2023	615 (LV)	± 4.0%	39%	31%	29%

Results

2024 Washington Insurance Commissioner election ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Patty Kuderer	2,091,969	56.62	–8.77
	Republican	Phil Fortunato	1,598,032	43.26	+9.13
	Write-in		4,430	0.12	–0.36
Total votes			3,694,431	100.00	N/A
	Democratic hold

By county

County results

County [11]	Patty Kuderer Democratic		Phil Fortunato Republican		Write-in Various		Margin		Total votes
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	1,334	26.05%	3,768	73.58%	19	0.37%	-2,434	-47.53%	5,121
Asotin	3,864	35.69%	6,948	64.17%	16	0.15%	-3,084	-28.48%	10,828
Benton	35,459	36.96%	60,407	62.96%	85	0.09%	-24,948	-26.00%	95,951
Chelan	16,633	42.15%	22,793	57.77%	32	0.08%	-6,160	-15.61%	39,458
Clallam	23,851	52.22%	21,780	47.68%	45	0.10%	2,071	4.53%	45,676
Clark	132,987	51.81%	123,228	48.01%	482	0.19%	9,759	3.80%	256,697
Columbia	590	25.21%	1,745	74.57%	5	0.21%	-1,155	-49.36%	2,340
Cowlitz	21,995	39.11%	34,183	60.78%	59	0.10%	-12,188	-21.67%	56,237
Douglas	6,927	34.58%	13,079	65.29%	25	0.12%	-6,152	-30.71%	20,031
Ferry	1,259	31.91%	2,685	68.06%	1	0.03%	-1,426	-36.15%	3,945
Franklin	11,413	37.38%	19,099	62.55%	22	0.07%	-7,686	-25.17%	30,534
Garfield	300	23.27%	988	76.65%	1	0.08%	-688	-53.37%	1,289
Grant	10,252	29.82%	24,102	70.12%	20	0.06%	-13,850	-40.29%	34,374
Grays Harbor	16,373	45.74%	19,364	54.10%	55	0.15%	-2,991	-8.36%	35,792
Island	27,515	55.25%	22,196	44.57%	93	0.19%	5,319	10.68%	49,804
Jefferson	16,900	71.08%	6,862	28.86%	14	0.06%	10,038	42.22%	23,776
King	773,243	72.89%	286,357	27.00%	1,177	0.11%	486,886	45.90%	1,060,777
Kitsap	85,257	57.42%	63,074	42.48%	143	0.10%	22,183	14.94%	148,474
Kittitas	9,817	39.63%	14,921	60.24%	33	0.13%	-5,104	-20.60%	24,771
Klickitat	5,468	42.92%	7,255	56.95%	17	0.13%	-1,787	-14.03%	12,740
Lewis	13,567	31.77%	29,077	68.09%	60	0.14%	-15,510	-36.32%	42,704
Lincoln	1,516	22.14%	5,323	77.73%	9	0.13%	-3,807	-55.59%	6,848
Mason	16,089	46.33%	18,588	53.52%	51	0.15%	-2,499	-7.20%	34,728
Okanogan	8,093	41.06%	11,593	58.82%	24	0.12%	-3,500	-17.76%	19,710
Pacific	6,486	48.53%	6,854	51.28%	25	0.19%	-368	-2.75%	13,365
Pend Oreille	2,408	29.58%	5,719	70.24%	15	0.18%	-3,311	-40.67%	8,142
Pierce	219,159	52.52%	197,725	47.38%	416	0.10%	21,434	5.14%	417,300
San Juan	8,941	73.66%	3,180	26.20%	17	0.14%	5,761	47.46%	12,138
Skagit	34,199	52.12%	31,358	47.79%	56	0.09%	2,841	4.33%	65,613
Skamania	2,922	42.93%	3,874	56.92%	10	0.15%	-952	-13.99%	6,806
Snohomish	219,767	56.75%	167,015	43.13%	441	0.11%	52,752	13.62%	387,223
Spokane	123,170	45.10%	149,557	54.76%	386	0.14%	-26,387	-9.66%	273,113
Stevens	7,115	26.40%	19,790	73.44%	43	0.16%	-12,675	-47.04%	26,948
Thurston	90,149	58.05%	64,968	41.83%	190	0.12%	25,181	16.21%	155,307
Wahkiakum	1,134	39.38%	1,743	60.52%	3	0.10%	-609	-21.15%	2,880
Walla Walla	12,246	43.21%	16,069	56.70%	23	0.08%	-3,823	-13.49%	28,338
Whatcom	78,967	60.53%	51,382	39.39%	106	0.08%	27,585	21.15%	130,455
Whitman	9,706	51.25%	9,209	48.63%	22	0.12%	497	2.62%	18,937
Yakima	34,898	40.93%	50,174	58.85%	189	0.22%	-15,276	-17.92%	85,261
Totals	2,091,969	56.62%	1,598,032	43.26%	4,430	0.12%	493,937	13.37%	3,694,431

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Chelan (largest city: Wenatchee)
• Franklin (largest city: Pasco)
• Grays Harbor (largest city: Aberdeen)
• Kittitas (largest city: Ellensburg)
• Klickitat (largest city: Goldendale)
• Mason (largest city: Shelton)
• Okanogan (largest city: Omak)
• Pacific (largest city: Raymond)
• Skamania (largest city: Stevenson)
• Spokane (largest city: Spokane)
• Walla Walla (largest city: Walla Walla)
• Yakima (largest city: Yakima)

Swing by county

Legend

•   Republican — +5–7.5%
•   Republican — +7.5–10%
•   Republican — +12.5–15%
•   Republican — +>15%

Trend relative to the state by county

Legend

•   Democratic — +10-12.5%
•   Democratic — +7.5-10%
•   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 — +>15%

County flips

Legend

• Democratic   Hold

  Republican   Hold   Gain from Democratic

By congressional district

Kuderer won six of ten congressional districts, with the remaining four going to Fortunato, including two that elected Democrats. ^[12]

District	Kuderer	Fortunato	Representative
1st	61%	39%	Suzan DelBene
2nd	59%	40%	Rick Larsen
3rd	47%	53%	Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
4th	38%	62%	Dan Newhouse
5th	42%	58%	Cathy McMorris Rodgers (118th Congress)
			Michael Baumgartner (119th Congress)
6th	57%	43%	Derek Kilmer (118th Congress)
			Emily Randall (119th Congress)
7th	85%	15%	Pramila Jayapal
8th	49%	51%	Kim Schrier
9th	68%	31%	Adam Smith
10th	57%	43%	Marilyn Strickland

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

Partisan clients

1. Poll sponsored by the Northwest Progressive Institute

References

1. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/longtime-wa-insurance-commissioner-mike-kreidler-will-not-seek-reelection/
2. "Patty Kuderer defeats Phil Fortunato in insurance commissioner race". The Seattle Times. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
3. https://news.ambest.com/newscontent.aspx?altsrc=23&refnum=249517
4. Dennis, Ellen. "Washington will soon elect a new insurance commissioner for the first time in decades. Here's a look at who's running and why you should care". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
5. https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/candidates-vie-for-washington-insurance-commissioner-job
6. Editorial Board, The Seattle Times (July 8, 2024). "The Seattle Times editorial board recommends: John Pestinger for insurance commissioner". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on August 2, 2024. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
7. Public Policy Polling (D)
8. Hobbs, Steve (August 22, 2024). "Canvass of the Returns of the Primary Held on August 6, 2024" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington . Archived (PDF) from the original on July 6, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
9. Editorial Board, The Seattle Times (August 29, 2024). "The Seattle Times editorial board recommends: Patty Kuderer for WA insurance commissioner". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on April 13, 2025. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
10. Hobbs, Steve (December 4, 2024). "Canvass of the Returns of the General Election Held on November 5, 2024" (PDF). Secretary of State of Washington . Archived (PDF) from the original on July 4, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
11. Hobbs, Steve (November 5, 2024). "Insurance Commissioner - County Results". Secretary of State of Washington . Archived from the original on May 29, 2025. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
12. "2024Gen Results by Congressional District" (PDF). sos.wa.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 28, 2024.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Patty Kuderer (D) for Insurance Commissioner