Washington 2016 Election Results

Washington held its general election on November 8, 2016, deciding 124 legislative seats and 9 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.

Highlights

• Divided government held. Jay Inslee (D) won a second term, and Democrats kept a 50-48 House majority. Republicans lost a Senate seat but kept control by one seat through the Majority Coalition Caucus, a bloc of Republicans plus one Democrat, Sen. Tim Sheldon.
• Inslee easily dispensed with Bill Bryant (R) by about 9 points, extending a GOP losing streak in governor's races that dates to 1980, the longest in the country.
• Republicans' lone statewide gain was the treasurer's office, which they had not held since 1957. Three Democrats split the primary vote, so two Republicans advanced, and Duane Davidson (R) beat Michael Waite (R). Democrats held the open auditor's office: Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy (D) beat state Sen. Mark Miloscia (R) by about 5 points to succeed Troy Kelley (D), whose term was marred by a federal fraud indictment. Secretary of State Kim Wyman (R) won a second term by about 9 points, and Chris Reykdal (NP) edged Erin Jones (NP) by about 1 point for the nonpartisan superintendent's office.
• In the House, the two parties traded seats evenly:
  • In the Federal Way-area 30th District, Democrats ousted both Republican incumbents: Mike Pellicciotti (D) beat Rep. Linda Kochmar (R) by about 9 points, and Kristine Reeves (D) unseated Rep. Teri Hickel (R) by about 1,100 votes.
  • Republicans took two Democratic-held seats that had no incumbent on the November ballot. Jim Walsh (R) won the 19th District by about 560 votes. Rep. JD Rossetti (D), who had replaced Dean Takko in the seat, finished third in the top-two primary, and Walsh's opponent, Teresa Purcell (D), had led narrowly the day after the election. Phil Fortunato (R) won the 31st District seat of retiring Rep. Chris Hurst, who had run as an independent Democrat.
• The Senate's one change came in the 41st District, where Lisa Wellman (D) defeated Sen. Steve Litzow (R) by about 4 points. In the 5th District, Sen. Mark Mullet (D) held off Rep. Chad Magendanz (R) by about 500 votes; Magendanz had given up his House seat to run.
• Voters approved 5 of 9 measures, including the gun-control and minimum-wage initiatives: Initiative 1491 created court orders to temporarily remove a person's access to firearms, and Initiative 1433 raised the minimum wage and required paid sick leave. Initiative 732, the nation's first state carbon-tax measure, failed; Inslee and the Sierra Club had opposed it. Initiative 1464, a public campaign-financing plan, also lost.

Legislature

• House (98 seats): 51 D, 47 R before the election, 50 D, 48 R after; control stayed with Democrats.
• Senate (49 seats): 24 D, 25 R before the election, 25 D, 24 R after; control stayed with a bipartisan coalition.

Statewide races

Legislative races

Ballot measures