United States presidential elections in Washington (state) explained

Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Since its admission to the Union in November 1889, the state has participated in 33 United States presidential elections.^[1] It has had twelve electoral votes since 2012, when it gained a tenth congressional district during reappropriation based on the results of the 2010 U.S. census.^{[2] [3]} Washington has conducted its presidential elections through mail-in voting since 2012 for general elections and 2016 for party primaries.^[4]

In the 1892 presidential election, incumbent president Benjamin Harrison received 41.45% of the popular vote in Washington and obtained the state's four electoral votes in his unsuccessful re-election campaign. Washington generally favored the Republican Party in presidential elections until 1932, reflecting its state and congressional voting patterns.^[5] The state was won by Progressive Party presidential nominee Theodore Roosevelt in the 1912 election; Roosevelt, who had been a Republican during his presidency, remains the most only third party candidate to have won Washington's presidential election.^{[5] [6]}

From 1932 to 1948, Democratic candidates won Washington in landslide victories for the presidency and state offices as a result of the Great Depression and New Deal.^{[5] [7]} Washington was characterized as a swing state for the remainder of the 20th century and voted 21 times for the winning candidate from 1892 to 1996.^{[5] [6]} Since 1984, no Republican candidate has won a presidential election in Washington.^[8] In 2009, American journalist Ron Brownstein referred to Washington and 17 other states collectively as the "blue wall" due to its strong preference for Democrats.^{[9] [10]}

Washington is typically thought of as politically divided by the Cascade Mountains, with Western Washington generally being liberal and Eastern Washington generally being conservative.^[11] However, due to Democratic dominance in the Seattle metropolitan area, which has the majority of the state's population, Washington is generally labeled as a blue state.^{[12] [13]} The state adopted a single-ballot blanket primary system in 1936 to replace earlier party primaries; until 2020, these were non-binding and not used to determine delegates in national party conventions.^{[14] [15]}

Washington state has signed the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an interstate compact in which signatories award all of their electoral votes to the winner of the federal-level popular vote in a presidential election, even if there are other candidate won some of individual signatorys' popular vote. However, it has not yet gone into force as of 2023.^[16]

Presidential elections

Year! scope="col" style="border-left:3px solid darkgray;" colspan="4"

Winner	Runner-up				Other candidate
Candidate		Votes	%	Candidate		Votes	%	Candidate			Votes	%
			36,460				29,802				19,165		4
			53,314				39,153				968		4
			57,456				44,833				2,363		4
			101,540				28,098				10,023		5
			106,062				58,691				14,177		5
			113,698				86,840				70,445		7
			183,388				167,208				22,800		7
			223,137				84,298				77,246		7
			220,224				150,727				42,842		7
			335,844				156,772				4,068		7
			353,260				208,645				30,308		8
			459,579				206,892				17,463		8
			462,145				322,123				4,586		8
			486,774				361,689				3,824		8
			486,774				361,689				3,824		8
			599,107				492,845				7,290		9
			620,430				523,002				7,457		9
			620,430				523,002				7,457		9
			779,881				470,366				7,772		9
			616,037				588,510				96,990		9
			837,135				568,334				58,906		9
			717,323				717,323				36,986		8
			865,244				650,193				185,073		9
			1,051,670				807,352				8,844		10
			933,516				903,835				17,240		10
			993,037				731,234				541,780		11
			1,123,323				840,712				201,003		11
			1,247,652				1,108,864				103,002		11
			1,510,201				1,304,894				23,283		11
			1,750,848				1,229,216				29,489		11
			1,755,396				1,290,670				42,202		12
			1,742,718				1,221,747				160,879		8
			2,369,612				1,584,651				80,500		12

See also

• Elections in Washington (state)

Works cited

• Book: Guide to U.S. Elections. SAGE Publications. 2010. 978-1-60426-536-1. 430736650. .
• Book: Presidential elections, 17891996. Congressional Quarterly. 1997. 978-1-56802-065-5. 97019084. 673017M. .

Notes and References

1. Web site: Oldham . Kit . March 1, 2022 . Washington is admitted as the 42nd state to the United States of America on November 11, 1889. . . June 21, 2023.
2. Web site: Road to the White House . . August 19, 2024.
3. News: December 21, 2010 . Washington one of few Dem-leaning states to gain congressional seat . . August 19, 2024.
4. News: Gutman . David . April 7, 2019 . Washington Democrats choose presidential primary for 2020, ditching precinct caucuses . The Seattle Times . August 19, 2024.
5. Book: Bone, Hugh A. . 1985 . Political Life in Washington: Governing the Evergreen State . 8–9 . . Pullman, Washington . 0-87422-018-1.
6. News: Postman . David . November 12, 2000 . Strong Gore vote hints Washington no longer has swing-state status . A1 . The Seattle Times . August 19, 2024.
7. Book: Phillips . Kevin . The Emerging Republican Majority . 2015 . Princeton University Press . 978-0-691-16324-6 . 485 . j.ctt9qh063 . STU - Student . June 22, 2023.
8. News: Balk . Gene . May 17, 2021 . 'Most important election of our lifetime' brought record voter turnout in Washington . The Seattle Times . August 19, 2024.
9. News: Brownstein . Ron . Ron Brownstein . November 2, 2016 . Clinton's Campaign Is Focused on Battleground States She Doesn't Really Need . subscription . . August 19, 2024.
10. News: Steinhauser . Paul . November 12, 2012 . Holding Democratic 'blue wall' was crucial for Obama victory . . June 21, 2023.
11. News: Carlsen . Audrey . September 1, 2016 . Red state, blue state: Watch 40 years of political change in Washington . . June 27, 2023.
12. Web site: Brown . Justin . Exploring Washington State's East-West Divide . Battleground . June 21, 2023 . December 8, 2022.
13. Time . A State Divided: As Washington Becomes More Liberal, Republicans Push Back . January 15, 2013 . Kayla . Webley.
14. Book: Clayton . Cornell W. . Donovan . Todd . Lovrich . Nicholas P. . 2018 . Governing the Evergreen State: Political Life in Washington . 46–47, 54 . Washington State University Press . Pullman, Washington . 978-0-87422-355-2 . 1015824451.
15. News: Gutman . David . April 7, 2019 . Washington Democrats choose presidential primary for 2020, ditching precinct caucuses . The Seattle Times . August 26, 2024.
16. Web site: Status of National Popular Vote Bill in Each State . . June 21, 2023 . en . November 11, 2016.