2008 Washington gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2008 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2008 gubernatorial election in Washington was held on November 4, 2008. Republican Dino Rossi and incumbent Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire emerged from the August 19 primary. This made the 2008 election a rematch between the candidates from the 2004 election, the closest gubernatorial election in the state's history. In contrast to the recounts and months of legal challenges in their previous contest, Gregoire was the clear winner on November 5 with about 53% of the vote. With a margin of 6.48%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2008 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in North Carolina.

2008 Washington gubernatorial election

← 2004 November 4, 2008 2012 →

Nominee Christine Gregoire Dino Rossi Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,598,738 1,404,124 Percentage 53.24% 46.76%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Gregoire:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Rossi:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      50%      No votes

Governor before election Christine Gregoire Democratic Elected Governor Christine Gregoire Democratic

Timeline

Date	Year	Event	Reference	Notes
June 6	2008	Filing deadline	[1]
August 19	2008	State primary	[2]	Same date as general primaries for other offices
November 4	2008	General election	[2]	Same date as presidential election and other offices
November 26	2008	General election	[2]	Last day for counties to deliver results to the state
December 4	2008	General election	[2]	Results certified

^[3]

Primary election

Candidates for office

Candidate	Stated party preference	Website	Notes
Christine Gregoire	Prefers Democratic Party		Incumbent governor
Dino Rossi	Prefers G.O.P. Party		Ex-state senator, 2004 gubernatorial nominee
Will Baker	Prefers Reform Party		Out; lost primary
Duff Badgley	Prefers Green Party		Out; lost primary
John W. Aiken Jr.	Prefers Republican Party		Out; lost primary
Christian Pierre Joubert	Prefers Democratic Party		Out; lost primary
Chris Tudor	States No Party Preference		Out; lost primary
Javier O. Lopez	Prefers Republican Party		Out; lost primary
Mohammad Hasan Said	States No Party Preference		Out; lost primary
James White	Prefers Independent Party		Out; lost primary
Source: [4]

The Washington primary election was held August 19, 2008. For the first time, Washington ran a top-two primary, eliminating the "pick a party" primary used since 2004. Unlike traditional primaries, wherein each party with more than one candidate is reduced to a single person to appear on the general election ballot, the system simply reduces the entire crop of candidates from all parties down to the top two candidates, resulting in no more than two candidates appearing on the general election ballot for a given position. As a result, candidates from all parties were essentially running against each other. To allow for ideological identification, each candidate in a partisan race was allowed to indicate an arbitrary party preference.^[5]

Controversy over Rossi's party preference

Under the changes to election law made by the passage of Initiative 872, partisan contests are no longer tied to registered parties, but candidates are allowed to indicate an arbitrary "party preference" to appear next to their name on the primary and general election ballots.^[6] An extreme example of this occurred in the 40th District race for state senator, where candidate Timothy Stoddard indicated a preference for the "Salmon Yoga" party.^[7]

Republican candidate Dino Rossi listed his party preference as "G.O.P." instead of the traditional party name "Republican". Critics of Rossi contended that the choice of party name was an attempt to distance himself from any negative opinions associated with the Republican Party.^[8] Rossi's campaign argued that the difference was insignificant, saying voters are already aware that the terms refer to the same party.^[9] However, an Elway Research poll taken in August 2008 found that over 25% of registered voters were not aware that the term "GOP" meant the Republican Party.^[10]

On September 23, the Washington State Democrats, alleging that the latter is a misrepresentation of his true party affiliation, filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of State to force the state to list Rossi to on the general election ballot as a Republican instead of with the "GOP Party" label.^[11] A King County Superior Court judge dismissed the suit, saying nothing in state law made the choice of party name illegal, but he acknowledged the potential confusion. Had the lawsuit succeeded, many counties would have had to reprint their ballots, and the already-cast absentee votes of military personnel may have become invalid.^[12]

Results

Results by county:

  Gregoire

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Rossi

•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%

While the primary was officially held on August 19, 2008, some counties such as King County allowed absentee ballots to be postmarked by that date in order to be valid. As a result, the primary vote tally was not officially certified until September 9, to allow time for mailed-in ballots to arrive and be counted by the counties. As an increasing number of counties allowed, encouraged, or mandated mail-in ballots for voters within the county, the number of such ballots was significant.^[13]

Nonpartisan blanket primary results^[a][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Christine Gregoire	696,306	48.27%
	Republican	Dino Rossi	668,571	46.35%
	Republican	John W. Aiken Jr.	21,564	1.49%
	Democratic	Christian Pierre Joubert	16,646	1.15%
	Independent	James White	10,884	0.75%
	Green	Duff Badgley	9,702	0.67%
	Independent	Christopher A. Tudor	5,600	0.39%
	Reform	Will Baker	5,201	0.36%
	Republican	Javier O. Lopez	4,981	0.35%
	Independent	Mohammad Hasan Said	3,002	0.21%
Total votes			1,442,457	100.00%

General election

Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi were declared the winners of the primary and placed on the ballot for the November 4 election, which coincided with the national election. However, with all Washington counties either exclusively or (in the case of Pierce and King counties) predominantly voting via mail-in ballot,^[15] many votes were cast prior to that date. King County, the largest county in the state, and the one which carried Gregoire to victory in 2004, sent out overseas absentee ballots on October 5, and resident mail-in ballots on October 17.^[16]

In Washington state, mail-in ballots only needed to be postmarked, not received, by November 4, meaning that valid ballots continued to be received and counted after that date.^[17] For the 2008 election, counties had until November 26 to send results to the state, and the Secretary of State had until December 4 to certify all state results.^[2]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report[18]	Tossup	October 16, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report[19]	Tossup	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball[20]	Lean D	November 3, 2008
Real Clear Politics[21]	Tossup	November 4, 2008

Polling

Aggregate polls

Source of poll aggregation	Dates administered	Dates updated	Christine Gregoire (D)	Dino Rossi (R)	Other/Undecided [b]	Margin
Real Clear Politics[22]	October 22 – November 2, 2008	November 2, 2008	50.7%	47.3%	2.0%	Gregoire +3.4%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Christine Gregoire (D)	Dino Rossi (R)	Undecided
Survey USA[23]	October 30-November 2, 2008	–	–	52%	46%	2%
Survey USA[24]	October 26–27, 2008	–	–	50%	48%	2%
Rasmussen Reports[25]	October 22, 2008	–	–	50%	48%	2%
Survey USA[26]	October 12–13, 2008	–	–	48%	47%	5%
Rasmussen Reports[25]	October 2, 2008	–	–	48%	48%	4%
Survey USA[27]	September 21–22, 2008	–	–	50%	48%	2%
Strategic Vision[28]	September 14–16, 2008	800	± 3.0%	46%	48%	6%
Rasmussen Reports[25]	September 10, 2008	–	–	46%	52%	2%
Survey USA[29]	September 5–7, 2008	–	–	47%	48%	5%
SurveyUSA[30]	August 11–12, 2008	718	± 3.7%	50%	48%	2%
Rasmussen Reports[31]	August 6, 2008	–	–	47%	43%	10%
Strategic Vision[32]	July 25–27, 2008	800	± 3.0%	47%	45%	8%
SurveyUSA[33]	July 13–15, 2008	666	± 3.9%	49%	46%	5%
Moore Information[34]	July 9–10, 2008	400	± 5.0%	45%	45%	11%
Rasmussen Reports[25]	July 9, 2008	–	–	49%	43%	8%
Elway Poll[35]	June 18–22, 2008	405	± 5.0%	47%	39%	14%
Rasmussen Reports[36]	June 9, 2008	–	–	50%	43%	7%
SurveyUSA[37]	June 9, 2008	637	± 4.0%	50%	47%	3%
Rasmussen Reports[38]	May 12, 2008	–	–	52%	41%	7%
Elway Poll[39]	April 21–22, 2008	405	± 5.0%	43%	38%	19%
SurveyUSA[40]	April 14–16, 2008	634	± 4.0%	50%	46%	4%
SurveyUSA[41]	April 7, 2008	607	± 4.1%	48%	47%	5%
Rasmussen Reports[42]	March 27, 2008	–	–	47%	46%	7%
Rasmussen Reports[43]	February 28, 2008	–	–	46%	47%	7%
Washington Poll[44]	February 7–18, 2008	300	± 5.6%	54%	42%	4%
Elway Poll[45]	January 3–6, 2008	405	–	48%	35%	17%
Washington Poll[46]	October 22–29, 2007	601	± 4.0%	47%	42%	11%
Strategic Vision[47]	October 5–7, 2007	800	± 3.0%	47%	45%	8%
Strategic Vision[48]	March 24–26, 2006	800	± 3.0%	38%	51%	11%

Police Guild press conference incident

At an August 7 press conference held by the Seattle Police Officers Guild to declare its endorsement of Rossi, the Guild forcibly removed Kelly Akers, a Gregoire campaign staffer who was filming the event, from the premises. The Rossi campaign reiterated a standing policy to prevent opposing campaigns from filming Rossi's appearances, to deny them the ability to take "attack footage." Rossi's campaign staff includes a cameraman tasked with filming Gregoire appearances.^[49]

Debates

Five debates were held^[50] between Gregoire and Rossi, the candidates in the general election.

Date	Time	Location	Sponsors
2008-09-20	9:00 PM	Fisher Plaza (Seattle)	Fisher Communications, League of Women Voters, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
2008-09-25	7:30 PM	Semiahmoo Resort (Blaine)	Association of Washington Business Complete video of debate - C-SPAN
2008-10-01	7:00 PM	Capitol Theatre (Yakima)	KCTS 9, Yakima Herald-Republic
2008-10-09	7:00 PM*[51]	KSPS-TV Studios (Spokane)	KSPS-TV, Spokane Spokesman-Review[52]
2008-10-15	8:00 PM[53]	TBD	KING-TV, Seattle Times, NPR

^*The Spokane debate was taped in the morning to be aired at the indicated time. All other debates were held and aired live.

The Gregoire campaign had sought a sixth debate in Tacoma, sponsored by the Tacoma News-Tribune. The Rossi campaign instead sought a sixth debate in Vancouver, Washington, sponsored by The Columbian. The local Camas-Washougal Rotary Club went so far as to reserve a venue for October 8. The campaigns could not agree on either event.^{[54][55][56][57]}

The Gregoire campaign had set aside August 15 for a pre-primary radio debate with Rossi on Seattle NPR station KUOW-FM.^[58] Rossi declined to appear, giving Gregoire solo airtime.^[59]

Results

Gregoire declared victory after late evening returns were posted, with 42% of the statewide vote counted, showing her with a 52% lead over Rossi.^[60] By 10:30 PM PST (1:30 AM EST) all five major television networks had called the race for Gregoire.^[61] The Rossi campaign called the networks' declarations "premature" and did not concede defeat that evening. Rossi held out hope that late ballots would carry him, as late returns had reversed an early Gregoire lead in 2004. Rossi conceded the next morning.

Rossi conceded defeat in the gubernatorial election on November 5. In his concession speech, he indicated that he was not planning a return to politics.^[62] Rossi's retirement from politics was short-lived: in 2010 he ran in (and lost) the race for United States Senate against Patty Murray.

2008 Washington gubernatorial election^[63]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Christine Gregoire (incumbent)	1,598,738	53.24%	+4.37%
	Republican	Dino Rossi	1,404,124	46.76%	−2.11%
Majority			194,614	6.48%
Total votes			3,002,862	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing	+6.48%

By county

County[64]	Christine Gregoire Democratic		Dino Rossi Republican		Margin		Total votes cast
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	1,453	30.17%	3,363	69.83%	-1,910	-39.66%	4,816
Asotin	4,254	43.92%	5,432	56.08%	-1,178	-12.16%	9,686
Benton	21,968	30.26%	50,635	69.74%	-28,667	-39.48%	72,603
Chelan	12,087	37.99%	19,730	62.01%	-7,643	-24.02%	31,817
Clallam	18,987	49.42%	19,431	50.58%	-444	-1.16%	38,418
Clark	87,683	48.99%	91,301	51.01%	-3,618	-2.02%	178,984
Columbia	706	31.48%	1,537	68.52%	-831	-37.05%	2,243
Cowlitz	20,723	46.38%	23,954	53.62%	-3,231	-7.23%	44,677
Douglas	5,128	33.87%	10,013	66.13%	-4,885	-32.26%	15,141
Ferry	1,330	38.33%	2,140	61.67%	-810	-23.34%	3,470
Franklin	6,365	32.41%	13,276	67.59%	-6,911	-35.19%	19,641
Garfield	434	32.01%	922	67.99%	-488	-35.99%	1,356
Grant	8,732	31.94%	18,604	68.06%	-9,872	-36.11%	27,336
Grays Harbor	15,729	53.98%	13,407	46.02%	2,322	7.97%	29,136
Island	20,891	50.24%	20,688	49.76%	203	0.49%	41,579
Jefferson	12,588	63.61%	7,200	36.39%	5,388	27.23%	19,788
King	583,357	64.16%	325,820	35.84%	257,537	28.33%	909,177
Kitsap	62,478	50.74%	60,656	49.26%	1,822	1.48%	123,134
Kittitas	6,988	39.44%	10,732	60.56%	-3,744	-21.13%	17,720
Klickitat	4,538	45.42%	5,454	54.58%	-916	-9.17%	9,992
Lewis	12,283	35.47%	22,347	64.53%	-10,064	-29.06%	34,630
Lincoln	2,052	34.66%	3,868	65.34%	-1,816	-30.68%	5,920
Mason	13,942	49.58%	14,181	50.42%	-239	-0.85%	28,123
Okanogan	6,575	39.27%	10,168	60.73%	-3,593	-21.46%	16,743
Pacific	5,695	52.28%	5,198	47.72%	497	4.56%	10,893
Pend Oreille	2,571	39.66%	3,912	60.34%	-1,341	-20.68%	6,483
Pierce	166,562	51.10%	159,363	48.90%	7,199	2.21%	325,925
San Juan	7,044	67.73%	3,356	32.27%	3,688	35.46%	10,400
Skagit	27,915	50.33%	27,545	49.67%	370	0.67%	55,560
Skamania	2,564	47.68%	2,813	52.32%	-249	-4.63%	5,377
Snohomish	167,175	52.67%	150,205	47.33%	16,970	5.35%	317,380
Spokane	104,369	48.11%	112,570	51.89%	-8,201	-3.78%	216,939
Stevens	7,771	35.02%	14,418	64.98%	-6,647	-29.96%	22,189
Thurston	72,652	57.88%	52,880	42.12%	19,772	15.75%	125,532
Wahkiakum	960	41.92%	1,330	58.08%	-370	-16.16%	2,290
Walla Walla	9,405	38.32%	15,137	61.68%	-5,732	-23.36%	24,542
Whatcom	54,249	54.67%	44,975	45.33%	9,274	9.35%	99,224
Whitman	8,363	48.46%	8,896	51.54%	-533	-3.09%	17,259
Yakima	30,172	39.27%	46,667	60.73%	-16,495	-21.47%	76,839
Totals	1,598,738	53.24%	1,404,124	46.76%	194,614	6.48%	3,002,862

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Island (largest city: Oak Harbor)
• Kitsap (largest city: Bremerton)
• Pierce (largest city: Tacoma)
• Skagit (largest city: Mount Vernon)
• Snohomish (largest city: Everett)

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Cowlitz (largest city: Longview)

By congressional district

Gregoire won 5 of 9 congressional districts, with the remaining 4 going to Rossi, including one that elected a Democrat.^[65]

District	Gregoire	Rossi	Representative
1st	56%	44%	Jay Inslee
2nd	52%	48%	Rick Larsen
3rd	49.6%	50.4%	Brian Baird
4th	35%	65%	Doc Hastings
5th	45%	55%	Cathy McMorris Rodgers
6th	54%	46%	Norm Dicks
7th	79%	21%	Jim McDermott
8th	49%	51%	Dave Reichert
9th	54%	46%	Adam Smith

Notes

1. All party affiliations are given as "Prefers x Party". Independents were listed as "States No Party Preference". Rossi's official preference was "Prefers G.O.P. Party".
2. Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.