WASHINGTON 11 Electoral Votes
Population 
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Washington Secretary of State)
Total Population, April 1, 2000 5,894,121
Voting Age Population, Nov. 2000 4,368,000 % change from '96  +6.3
Total Registration, Nov. 2000  3,335,714
Washington does not require party affiliation when registering.
Washington has: 39 counties.
Five largest counties: King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Clark.
Five largest cities: Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, Bellevue.

Government
Governor: Gary Locke (D) First elected 1996; faces re-election in 2000.
State Legislature: Washington State Legislature  House: 49D, 49R  Senate: 27D, 22R
Local: Cities and Towns, Counties...   NACO Counties
U.S. House: 5D, 4R - 1. J.Inslee (D) | 2. J.Metcalf (R) | 3. B.Baird (D) | 4. D.Hastings (R) | 5. G.Nethercutt (R) | 6. N.Dicks (D) 7. J.McDermott (D) | 8. J.Dunn (R) | 9. A.Smith (D).
U.S. Senate: Slade Gorton (R) faces re-election in 2000, Patty Murray (D) re-elected 1998.
Changes as of the November 2000 Elections
Governor: Gary Locke (D) re-elected. 
State Legislature: All 98 House seats and 26 of 49 Senate seats were up.  The House remained deadlocked and the Senate moved closer to parity.  House: 49D, 49R  Senate 25D, 24R.
U.S. House: Democrats gained the open seat formerly held by J.Metcalf, 2. R.Larsen (D).  6D, 3R.
U.S. Senate: Maria Cantwell (D) defeated incumbent Slade Gorton (R).

The Evergreen State
 

State of Washington
Secretary of State

Constitution Party of WA
Libertarian Party of WA
Natural Law Party-WA
Reform Party of WA
Seattle Greens
WA State Democratic Party
WA State Republican Party

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
More Media (Newsp.)
More Media (TV)

Politics1-WA

 
General Election -- Tuesday, November 7, 2000
Past Results
1996
Clinton (Dem.).....1,123,323 (49.84)
Dole (Rep.)............840,712 (37.30)
Perot (Ref.)............201,003
 (8.92)
Nader (Ind.).............60,322
(2.68)
Others (6)................28,477
(1.26)
Total........2,253,837

1992
Clinton (Dem.)........993,037 (43.40)
Bush (Rep.)...........731,234 (31.96)
Perot (Ind.)............541,780
 (23.68)
Others (8+w/ins).......22,177
(0.97)
Total........2,288,228

Results
2000
+Gore/Lieberman (Dem.)
 1,247,652
(50.15)
Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
 1,108,864
(44.57)
Browne/Olivier (Lib.)
 13,135
(0.52)
McReynolds/Hollis (Soc.)
 660
(0.02)
Nader/LaDuke (Grn.)
 103,002
(4.14)
Moorehead/La Riva(WWP)
 1,729
(0.07)
Phillips/Frazier (Const.)
1,989
 (0.08)
Buchanan-Foster (FDM)
7,171
(0.28)
Harris-Trowe (SWP)
304
(0.01)
Hagelin-Goldhaber (NLP)
2,927
(0.11)
Total........2,487,433

2,517,028 total votes were cast; of these 1,364,607, or 54.2%, were absentee ballots.  (Absentee ballots can be requested up to 45 days before the Election).

Overview
Washington had gone Democratic for the past three elections, but the Nader factor created a degree of uncertainty. The Bush campaign invested significant resources; Gore-Lieberman nonetheless ended up winning the state with a plurality of 138,788 votes (5.58 percentage points).  Gore carried 11 counties to 28 for Bush.  Washington was the scene of one of the most closely fought U.S. Senate races as Maria Cantwell (D) defeated incumbent Slade Gorton (R) with a plurality of just 2,229 votes (0.09 percentage points).  Voters also faced seven ballot measures. 
General Election Activity

State Primary: Sept. 19, 2000
Primary Date:  Tuesday, February 29, 2000
Caucuses:  Democratic and Republican precinct caucuses on Tuesday, March 7, 2000 
Statute: Chapter 29:19 RCW Presidential Primary     Press Release
Washington state has a blanket primary system.  On April 19, 1999 a 9-member committee made up of the Secretary of State, the chair and vice chair of the state's two major political parties, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and the co-Speakers of the House of Representatives voted to hold the presidential primary on Feb. 29, 2000.  In the Feb. 29 presidential primary, voters had a choice of three separate ballots: Unaffiliated--listing all candidates; Democratic--listing only the candidates of the Democratic Party; and Republican--listing only the candidates of the Republican Party.  For Republicans, 12 of 37 delegates were allocated based on the Republican ballots in the Feb. 29 primary, and the remaining 25 delegates based on the caucuses.  For Democrats, the March 7 caucuses marked the start of the delegate selection process, but the primary assumed symbolic importance because Sen. Bill Bradley chose to make it a cornerstone of his challenge to Vice President Al Gore.  However, on primary day Sen. John McCain swamped Bradley among independent voters, finishing  a close second overall to Gov. George W. Bush, while Bradley finished fourth overall.
 

All Ballots
Total Vote Percent
Bill Bradley 162,725 12.43%
Al Gore
310,406
23.71%
Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr.
2,576
0.20%
Gary Bauer 2,870
0.22%
+George W. Bush 402,287 30.72%
Steve Forbes 5,136 0.39%
Orrin G. Hatch
2,263
0.17%
Alan Keyes 21,122 1.61%
John McCain
399,980
30.55%
Total 1,340,921
 
Republican Ballots
Total Vote Percent
Gary Bauer 1,469 0.30%
+George W. Bush 284,053 57.83%
Steve Forbes 1,749 0.36%
Orrin G. Hatch
1,023
0.21%
Alan Keyes 11,753 2.39%
John McCain
191,101
38.91%
Total 491,148
Republican ........
Total Delegates 37 of 2,066 (1.8%)
Democratic Ballots
Total Vote Percent
Bill Bradley 93,375 31.44%
+Al Gore 202,456 68.06%
Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. 1,170 0.39%
Total 297,001
Democratic ....... 
Total Pledged Delegates 
75 of 3,537 (2.1%).

Total Delegates 
94of 4,335 (2.2%).

Unaffiliated Ballots
Total Vote Percent
Bill Bradley 69,352 13.31%
Al Gore
107,950
20.71%
Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr.
1,406
0.27%
Gary Bauer
1,401
0.27%
George W. Bush 118,234 22.68%
Steve Forbes 3,387 0.65%
Orrin G. Hatch
1,240
0.24%
Alan Keyes 9,369 1.80%
+John McCain
208,879
40.08%
Total 521,218

Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.
 



Recent Electoral History (General Elections)
1998 U.S. Senate Patty Murray (D) 1,103,184 58.41
Linda Smith (R) 785,377 41.59
Total 1,888,561
1996 U.S. President  Bill Clinton (D) 1,123,323     49.84
Bob Dole (R) 840,712 37.30
Ross Perot (REF) 201,003 8.92
Ralph Nader (I) 60,322 2.68
Others  28,477 1.26
Total 2,253,837
1996 Governor Gary Locke(D) 1,296,492 58.0
Ellen Craswell (R) 940,538 42.0
Total 2,237,030
1994 U.S.Senate Slade Gorton (R) 947,821 55.7
Ron Sims (D) 752,352 44.3
Total 1,700,173
1992 U.S. President Bill Clinton (D) 993,037 43.40
George Bush (R) 731,234 31.96
Ross Perot  (I) 541,780 23.68
Total 2,288,228
1992 U.S. Senate Patty Murray (D) 1,197,973 53.99
Rod Chandler (R) 1,020,829 46.01
Total 2,219,162
1992 Governor Mike Lowry(D)  1,184,315 52.15
Ken Eikenberry(R) 1,086,216 47.83
Total 2,270,826