1980 Washington gubernatorial election
(Redirected from Washington gubernatorial election, 1980)
The 1980 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic Governor Dixy Lee Ray ran for a second term, but lost in the primary to State Representative Jim McDermott. McDermott was defeated in the general election by Republican candidate John Spellman, the King County Executive. As of 2024[update], this is the last time a Republican was elected Governor of Washington, thus beginning the longest streak for Democrats holding any of the 50 state governorships once Spellman left office.
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County results Spellman: 50–60% 60–70% McDermott: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Blanket primary edit
Candidates edit
Democratic edit
- Jim McDermott, psychiatrist, state senator, and candidate for governor in 1972
- Dixy Lee Ray, incumbent Governor of Washington
- Caroline "Hope" Diamond
Republican edit
- John Spellman, King County Executive
- Duane Berentson, state speaker
- Bruce Chapman, state secretary
- Patrick Sean McGowan
Results edit
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Jim McDermott | 321,256 | 33.04% | |
Democratic | Dixy Lee Ray (incumbent) | 234,252 | 24.09% | |
Republican | John Spellman | 162,426 | 16.70% | |
Republican | Duane Berentson | 154,724 | 15.91% | |
Republican | Bruce Chapman | 70,875 | 7.29% | |
Republican | Patrick Sean McGowan | 7,324 | 0.75% | |
Democratic | Caroline Diamond | 4,184 | 0.43% | |
Total votes | 955,041 | 100.00% |
General election edit
Candidates edit
- Jim McDermott (D), psychiatrist, state senator, and candidate for governor in 1972
- John Spellman (R), King County Executive
Results edit
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
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Republican | John Spellman | 981,083 | 56.68 | ||
Democratic | Jim McDermott | 749,813 | 43.32 | ||
Total votes | 1,730,896 | 100.00 | |||
Republican gain from Democratic |
References edit
- ^ "Election Search Results - Elections & Voting - WA Secretary of State". Sos.wa.gov. Retrieved July 13, 2018.