2024 Washington Public Lands Commissioner election

The 2024 Washington Public Lands Commissioner election was held on November 5, 2024. Democrat Dave Upthegrove, a King County councilmember, defeated Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler, a former U.S. Representative from Washington's 3rd congressional district.^[1] The top-two primary was held on August 6.^[2] Incumbent Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz, elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, did not seek a third term, opting to run instead for governor.^[3][4]

2024 Washington Public Lands Commissioner election

← 2020 November 5, 2024 2028 →

Candidate Dave Upthegrove Jaime Herrera Beutler Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,969,936 1,765,121 Percentage 52.62% 47.15%

County results Congressional district results Precinct results Upthegrove:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Herrera Beutler:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Tie:      40–50%      50%      No votes

Public Lands Commissioner before election Hilary Franz Democratic Elected Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove Democratic

The primary saw a close race with the Democratic vote split across five candidates, causing a recount in order to determine the winners and narrowly avoiding a lockout for the Democratic Party.^[5]

Background

Current Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz, elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, did not seek a third term. She initially chose to run for governor, later dropping out of that race to instead run for the U.S. House.^[6] During the primary election, the race drew many candidates, including five Democrats and two Republicans. It was suggested that the numerous Democratic candidates might split the vote enough so that the two Republican candidates advance to the general election, locking out Democrats from the office.^[7]

The results of the primary election had Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler lead while the second-place position remained tight between Democrat Dave Upthegrove and Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson, with a margin of only 51 votes between the two. This triggered an automatic hand recount per Washington state laws.^[8][9] After a recount and certification of the results showed Upthegrove with a lead of 49 votes, he advanced to the general election thus ensuring that Democrats would not be locked out of the general election.^[10]

During their campaigns, both Upthegrove and Beutler focused on the protection and management of forests and public lands albeit with differing views of how such aims would be achieved. Upthegrove emphasized preservation of public lands, especially legacy forests (mature natural forests), and maintaining a balance between conservation and economical value of the forests. Beutler focused on the generation of revenue via logging and other activities to keep lands economically and environmentally sustainable, claiming that excessive preservation of legacy forests can lead to susceptibility to disease, raise wildfire risks, and reduce the stream of revenue on which schools and other public services rely. On tribal issues, Upthegrove supported strengthening the role of co-management with tribes while Beutler supported continuing Franz's creation of a tribal liaison.^[11][8]

Primary election

Washington is one of two states that holds a top-two primary, meaning all candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two advance to the general election.

Democratic candidates

Advanced to general

• Dave Upthegrove, King County councilmember (2014–2025)^[12]

Eliminated in primary

• Jeralee Anderson, Redmond city councilor (2021–present)^[13]
• Patrick DePoe, director of tribal relations for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources^[14]
• Allen Lebovitz, wildland fire and forest health liaison for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources^[15]
• Kevin Van De Wege, state senator from the 24th district (2017–present)^[12]

Withdrawn

• Mona Das, former state senator from the 47th district (2019–2023)^[15]
• Rebecca Saldaña, state senator from the 37th district (2016–present)^[15]

Declined

• Hilary Franz, incumbent Public Lands Commissioner (2017–present) (ran for U.S. House, endorsed DePoe)^[6][14]

Republican candidates

Advanced to general

• Jaime Herrera Beutler, former U.S. Representative from Washington's 3rd congressional district (2011–2023)^[16]

Eliminated in primary

• Sue Kuehl Pederson, retired utility manager and runner-up for public lands commissioner in 2020^[12]

Endorsements

Jaime Herrera Beutler (R)

U.S. Representatives

• Dan Newhouse, U.S. Representative from Washington's 4th congressional district (2015–present)^[17]

Statewide officials

• Dan Evans, governor of Washington (1965–1977)^[17]

Individuals

• Joe Kent, project manager^[18]

Labor unions

• Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers^[17]
• International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 5^[19]

Organizations

• Mainstream Republicans of Washington^[20]
• Washington Association of Police Organizations^[21]
• Washington Farm Bureau^[22]

Newspapers

• The Columbian^[23]
• The Everett Herald^[24]
• The Seattle Times^[25]

Tribes

• Yakama Nation^[26]

Sue Kuehl Pederson (R)

Political parties

• Washington State Republican Party^[27]

Patrick DePoe (D)

Statewide officials

• Hilary Franz, Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands (2017–present)^[14]

Labor unions

• Washington Education Association^[28]

Tribes

• Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation^[29]

Newspapers

• The Seattle Times^[30]

Dave Upthegrove (D)

Statewide officials

• Peter Goldmark, Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands (2009–2017)^[31]

Organizations

• 314 Action^[32]
• LGBTQ Victory Fund^[33]
• Sierra Club^[34]

Newspapers

• The Stranger^[35]

Mona Das (D) (withdrawn)

State legislators

• Claudia Kauffman, state senator^[12]

Local officials

• Tina Podlodowski, former Seattle city councilor and former chair of the Washington State Democratic Party^[12]

Rebecca Saldaña (D) (withdrawn)

Organizations

• Latino Victory Fund^[36]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[a]	Margin of error	Patrick DePoe (D)	Jaime Herrera Beutler (R)	Allen Lebovitz (D)	Sue Kuehl Pederson (R)	Dave Upthegrove (D)	Kevin Van De Wege (D)	Other	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)[37][A]	July 24–25, 2024	581 (LV)	± 4.0%	4%	18%	3%	12%	6%	5%	5%[b]	48%
Public Policy Polling (D)[38][A]	May 15–16, 2024	615 (LV)	± 4.0%	1%	16%	5%	12%	4%	2%	–	58%
Public Policy Polling (D)[39][A]	November 14–15, 2023	700 (LV)	± 3.7%	5%	18%	–	14%	3%	2%	11%[c]	48%

Forum

2024 Washington Public Lands Commissioner primary candidate forum

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Democratic	Republican	Republican	Democratic	Democratic	Democratic
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Anderson	DePoe	Herrera Beutler	Kuehl Pederson	Lebovitz	Upthegrove	Van De Wege
1	Jul. 18, 2024	League of Women Voters of Washington The Columbian The Reflector	Craig Brown	TVW	P	P	P	P	P	P	P

Results

A top-two primary took place on August 6. All candidates were listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two advanced to the general election in November. Results were certified by county canvassing boards on August 20, showing Democrat Dave Upthegrove in second place, with a margin of only 51 votes (0.0027% of the total votes) over Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson, enough to trigger an automatic hand recount per Washington state laws.^[40][9]

On September 3, hand recounts returned with Upthegrove holding a 53-vote margin over Pederson.^[34][41] Results were certified on September 4, with Dave Upthegrove holding a final margin of 49 votes over Sue Kuehl Pederson, ensuring that Democrats would not be locked out of the general election.^[42][10]

Blanket primary results by county

  Herrera Beutler

•   20–30%
•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%

  Upthegrove

•   20–30%
•   30–40%

  Pederson

•   20–30%
•   30–40%
•   40–50%

  Van De Wege

•   20–30%

Blanket primary election results^[43][44]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jaime Herrera Beutler	419,309	22.033
	Democratic	Dave Upthegrove	396,304	20.824
	Republican	Sue Kuehl Pederson	396,255	20.821
	Democratic	Patrick DePoe	267,944	14.079
	Democratic	Allen Lebovitz	194,118	10.200
	Democratic	Kevin Van De Wege	143,174	7.523
	Democratic	Jeralee Anderson	84,353	4.432
	Write-in		1,658	0.087
Total votes			1,903,115	100.0

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size[d]	Margin of error	Dave Upthegrove (D)	Jaime Herrera Beutler (R)	Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)[45][A]	October 16–17, 2024	571 (LV)	± 4.1%	46%	38%	16%
Strategies 360[46]	October 11–16, 2024	600 (RV)	± 4.0%	47%	38%	15%
Cascade PBS/Elway Research[47]	October 8–12, 2024	401 (LV)	± 5.0%	41%	35%	24%

Debates & forums

2024 Washington Public Lands Commissioner debates & candidate forums

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Democratic	Republican
Key:  P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Dave Upthegrove	Jaime Herrera Beutler
1	Sep. 18, 2024	Association of Washington Business	Bill Lucia	TVW	P	P
2	Sep. 25, 2024	League of Women Voters of Washington and Benton-Franklin Counties Northwest Public Broadcasting	Matt Loveless	YouTube	P	P
3	Oct. 2, 2024	The Impact	Mike McClanahan	TVW	P	P
4	Oct. 7, 2024	Society of American Foresters	Samantha Chang	TVW	P	P

Results

2024 Washington Public Lands Commissioner election^[48]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Dave Upthegrove	1,969,936	52.62%	−4.07%
	Republican	Jaime Herrera Beutler	1,765,121	47.15%	+3.94%
	Write-in		8,394	0.22%	+0.12%
Total votes			3,743,451	100.00%	N/A
	Democratic hold

By congressional district

Upthegrove won six of 10 congressional districts, with the remaining four going to Herrera Beutler, including two that elected Democrats.^[49]

District	Upthegrove	Herrera Beutler	Representative
1st	57%	43%	Suzan DelBene
2nd	56%	44%	Rick Larsen
3rd	42%	57%	Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
4th	34%	66%	Dan Newhouse
5th	39%	61%	Cathy McMorris Rodgers (118th Congress)
			Michael Baumgartner (119th Congress)
6th	54%	46%	Derek Kilmer (118th Congress)
			Emily Randall (119th Congress)
7th	79%	21%	Pramila Jayapal
8th	46%	54%	Kim Schrier
9th	65%	35%	Adam Smith
10th	53%	47%	Marilyn Strickland

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Jeralee Anderson (D) with 5%
3. Rebecca Saldaña (D) with 6%; Mona Das (D) with 5%
4. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

Partisan clients

1. Poll conducted for The Cascadia Advocate