2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2020 Washington elections.

The 2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the lieutenant governor of Washington concurrently with the 2020 Washington elections. The top-two primary was held on August 4, and Democrats Denny Heck and Marko Liias advanced to the general election, which Heck won.^[1]

2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election

← 2016 November 3, 2020 2024 →

Nominee Denny Heck Marko Liias Write–in[a] Party Democratic Democratic Popular vote 1,658,405 1,218,548 759,076 Percentage 45.6% 33.5% 20.9%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Heck:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Liias:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Write-in:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      30–40%      40–50%      50%      No data

Lieutenant Governor before election Cyrus Habib Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck Democratic

Incumbent Cyrus Habib surprised the state by announcing he was foregoing a run for re-election in order to join the Society of Jesus.^[2] The position was of special importance due to speculation that the incumbent governor, Jay Inslee, could have been appointed to a position in a Democratic presidential cabinet after winning his third term.^[3]

Background

Habib's retirement came after Gov. Inslee dropped out of the presidential election,^[4][5] which caused many potential statewide candidates in Washington to change their plans and drop exploratory bids.

At the time of Habib's announcement former Seattle City Council candidate Ann Davison Sattler and former US House candidate Joseph Brumbles had already been running as Republicans.^[6][7] On the day of his retirement, State Senator Steve Hobbs announced his second campaign for the office of lieutenant governor,^[7] after losing in the 2016 primary to then-State Senator Habib.^[8]

Nonpartisan blanket primary

Democratic Party candidates

Declared

• Denny Heck, U.S. Representative for Washington's 10th congressional district^[9]
• Michelle Jasmer, entrepreneur^[10]
• Marko Liias, State Senator from Washington's 21st legislative district and candidate for Washington State Treasurer in 2016^[11]
• James Rafferty, machinist^[10]

Withdrew

• Steve Hobbs, State Senator from Washington's 44th legislative district^[12]

Declined

• Lisa Brown, Washington Secretary of Commerce, former Congressional candidate, and former State Senate Majority Leader^[7][13]
• Dow Constantine, King County Executive^[13]
• Cyrus Habib, incumbent lieutenant governor^[2][7]

Endorsements

Denny Heck

State politicians

• Christine Gregoire, former governor (2005–2013)^[14]

Steve Hobbs (withdrawn)

State politicians

• Gary Locke, former governor (1997–2005)^[12]
• Brad Owen, former lieutenant governor (1997–2017)^[12]

Republican Party candidates

• Joseph Brumbles, former Congressional candidate^[7][15]
• Ann Davison Sattler, former Seattle City Council candidate, former staffer for John Paul Hammerschmidt^[6][7][16]
• Marty McClendon, perennial candidate^[17]
• Dick Muri, former State Representative from Washington's 28th legislative district^[17]
• Bill Penor, candidate for lieutenant governor in 2016^[10]

Minor party candidates

Declared

• Jared Frerichs (Libertarian), former Candidate for Walla Walla County Commission, consultant^[18]
• Mark Greene (Revived Citizens Party), perennial candidate^[19]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[b]	Margin of error	Joseph Brumbles (R)	Ann Sattler (R)	Denny Heck (D)	Steve Hobbs (D)	Marko Liias (D)	Other / undecided
SurveyUSA/KING 5[20]	July 22–27, 2020	513 (LV)	± 5.4%	14%	10%	34%	–	14%	29%[c]
SurveyUSA/KING 5[21]	May 16–19, 2020	650 (LV)	± 5.6%	10%	9%	15%	10%	6%	50%[d]

Results

A top-two primary took place on August 4. All candidates were listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two advanced to the general election in November.

2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Denny Heck	596,289	25.01
	Democratic	Marko Liias	441,791	18.53
	Republican	Ann Davison Sattler	285,597	11.98
	Republican	Marty McClendon	271,995	11.41
	Republican	Dick Muri	241,939	10.15
	Democratic	Michelle Jasmer	212,387	8.91
	Republican	Joseph Brumbles	174,823	7.33
	Democratic	James R. Rafferty	57,405	2.41
	Republican	Bill Penor	49,225	2.06
	Libertarian	Matt Seymour	27,125	1.14
	Libertarian	Jared Frerichs	20,847	0.87
	Write-in		5,205	0.22
Total votes			2,384,628	100

General election

After being eliminated in the August 4th gubernatorial primary, Joshua Freed announced that he would be running for lieutenant governor as a write-in candidate.^[23][24] A debate between Heck and Liias was held on October 22.^[25]

Candidates

• Denny Heck (Democratic), U.S. Representative for Washington's 10th congressional district
• Marko Liias (Democratic), State Senator from Washington's 21st legislative district and candidate for Washington State Treasurer in 2016
• Joshua Freed (Republican, write-in), former mayor of Bothell and candidate for Governor in 2020^[23][24]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[b]	Margin of error	Denny Heck (D)	Marko Liias (D)	Undecided
PPP/NPI[26]	October 14–15, 2020	610 (LV)	± 4%	32%	16%	52%
SurveyUSA/KING-TV[27]	October 8–10, 2020	591 (LV)	± 5.2%	31%	18%	52%

Results

2020 Washington lieutenant gubernatorial election^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Denny Heck	1,658,405	45.61%
	Democratic	Marko Liias	1,218,548	33.51%
	Write-in		759,076	20.88%
Total votes			3,636,029	100.00%
	Democratic hold

By congressional district

Heck won 9 of 10 congressional districts.^[29]

District	Heck	Liias	Write-in	Representative
1st	43%	33%	24%	Suzan DelBene
2nd	44%	36%	20%	Rick Larsen
3rd	43%	30%	27%	Jaime Herrera Beutler
4th	37%	28%	34%	Dan Newhouse
5th	41%	32%	27%	Cathy McMorris Rodgers
6th	51%	30%	19%	Derek Kilmer
7th	47%	48%	5%	Pramila Jayapal
8th	45%	29%	26%	Kim Schrier
9th	51%	39%	10%	Adam Smith
10th	52%	27%	21%	Denny Heck
				Marilyn Strickland

Notes

1. Most Write-ins are thought to be for Joshua Freed, who ran a write-in campaign. However, the election report does not separate the write-in votes by candidate.
2. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
3. "Some other candidate" with 5%; Undecided with 24%
4. Undecided with 50%