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United States Senate election in Washington (August 7, 2018 top-two primary)

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2022
2016
U.S. Senate, Washington
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Top-two primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: May 18, 2018
Primary: August 7, 2018
General: November 6, 2018

Pre-election incumbent:
Maria Cantwell (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: No polling hours (vote-by-mail)
Voting in Washington
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
U.S. Senate, Washington
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th10th
Washington elections, 2018
U.S. Congress elections, 2018
U.S. Senate elections, 2018
U.S. House elections, 2018

A top-two primary election took place on August 7, 2018, in Washington to determine which two candidates would earn the right to compete in the state's November 6, 2018, general election.

Washington utilizes a top-two primary system, which allows all candidates to run and all voters to vote but only moves the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, to the general election.[1][2][3]

This page focuses on the top-two primary. For an overview of the election in general, click here.

Three-term incumbent Sen. Maria Cantwell (D) won her last re-election bid by 21 points. She was the only senatorial candidate in Washington, from any party, who reported raising money through the third quarter of 2017, with $3.7 million in contributions.[4]



See also: United States Senate top-two primaries, 2018

Candidates and election results

See also: Statistics on U.S. Congress candidates, 2018

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. Senate Washington on August 7, 2018.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. Senate Washington

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Maria Cantwell
Maria Cantwell (D)
 
54.7
 
929,961
Image of Susan Hutchison
Susan Hutchison (R)
 
24.3
 
413,317
Image of Keith Swank
Keith Swank (R) Candidate Connection
 
2.3
 
39,818
Image of Joseph Gibson
Joseph Gibson (R)
 
2.3
 
38,676
Image of Clint Tannehill
Clint Tannehill (D)
 
2.1
 
35,770
David R. Bryant (R)
 
2.0
 
33,962
Image of Arthur Coday Jr.
Arthur Coday Jr. (R)
 
1.8
 
30,654
Image of Jennifer Ferguson
Jennifer Ferguson (Independent)
 
1.5
 
25,224
Tim Owen (R)
 
1.4
 
23,167
Image of Matt Hawkins
Matt Hawkins (R) Candidate Connection
 
0.8
 
13,324
Image of Don Rivers
Don Rivers (D) Candidate Connection
 
0.7
 
12,634
Image of Mike Luke
Mike Luke (L)
 
0.7
 
12,302
Glen Stockwell (R)
 
0.7
 
11,611
Image of Thor Amundson
Thor Amundson (Independent)
 
0.6
 
9,393
Image of Mohammad Said
Mohammad Said (D)
 
0.5
 
8,649
Image of Matthew Heines
Matthew Heines (R)
 
0.5
 
7,737
Image of Steve Hoffman
Steve Hoffman (Freedom Socialist Party)
 
0.4
 
7,390
Image of GoodSpaceGuy
GoodSpaceGuy (R)
 
0.4
 
7,057
Image of John Orlinski
John Orlinski (R)
 
0.4
 
6,905
David Lee Strider (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
0.4
 
6,821
Image of Roque De La Fuente
Roque De La Fuente (R)
 
0.3
 
5,724
Image of James Robert Deal
James Robert Deal (G)
 
0.2
 
3,849
Sam Wright (The Human Rights Party)
 
0.2
 
3,761
Image of Brad Chase
Brad Chase (FDFR Party)
 
0.2
 
2,655
George Kalberer (D)
 
0.1
 
2,448
Image of Charlie Jackson
Charlie Jackson (Independent)
 
0.1
 
2,411
RC Smith (R)
 
0.1
 
2,238
Image of Jon Butler
Jon Butler (Independent)
 
0.1
 
2,016
Image of Alex Tsimerman
Alex Tsimerman (Standup-America Party)
 
0.1
 
1,366

Total votes: 1,700,840
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Washington heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

State executives

State legislature

  • Democrats controlled both chambers of the Washington State Legislature. They had a 50-48 majority in the state House and a 26-23 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

  • Washington was a Democratic trifecta, meaning that the Democrats controlled the office of the governor, the state House, and the state Senate.

2018 elections

See also: Washington elections, 2018

Washington held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for Washington
 WashingtonU.S.
Total population:7,160,290316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):66,4563,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:77.8%73.6%
Black/African American:3.6%12.6%
Asian:7.7%5.1%
Native American:1.3%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0.6%0.2%
Two or more:5.2%3%
Hispanic/Latino:12%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:90.4%86.7%
College graduation rate:32.9%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$61,062$53,889
Persons below poverty level:14.4%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Washington.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, Washington's three largest cities were Seattle (pop. est. 724,745), Spokane (pop. est. 217,108), and Tacoma (pop. est. 213,418).[5][6]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Washington from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Washington Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Washington every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Washington 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 54.3% Republican Party Donald Trump 38.1% 16.2%
2012 Democratic Party Barack Obama 51.2% Republican Party Mitt Romney 41.2% 10.0%
2008 Democratic Party Barack Obama 57.6% Republican Party John McCain 40.5% 17.1%
2004 Democratic Party John Kerry 52.8% Republican Party George W. Bush 45.6% 7.2%
2000 Democratic Party Al Gore 50.2% Republican Party George W. Bush 44.6% 5.8%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Washington from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Washington 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Democratic Party Patty Murray 59.0% Republican Party Chris Vance 40.1% 18.9%
2012 Democratic Party Maria Cantwell 60.4% Republican Party Michael Baumgartner 39.5% 20.9%
2010 Democratic Party Patty Murray 52.4% Republican Party Dino Rossi 47.6% 4.8%
2006 Democratic Party Maria Cantwell 56.9% Republican Party Michael McGavick 39.9% 17.0%
2004 Democratic Party Patty Murray 55.0% Republican Party George R. Nethercutt, Jr. 44.7% 10.3%
2000 Democratic Party Maria Cantwell 48.7% Republican Party Slade Gorton 48.6% 0.1%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Washington.

Election results (Governor), Washington 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Democratic Party Jay Inslee 54.4% Republican Party Bill Bryant 45.6% 8.8%
2012 Democratic Party Jay Inslee 51.5% Republican Party Rob McKenna 48.6% 0.9%
2008 Democratic Party Christine Gregoire 53.2% Republican Party Dino Rossi 46.8% 6.4%
2004 Democratic Party Christine Gregoire 48.9% Republican Party Dino Rossi 48.9% 0.0%
2000 Democratic Party Gary Locke 58.4% Republican Party John Carlson 39.7% 7.1%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Washington in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Washington 2000-2016
Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
2016 Republican Party 4 40% Democratic Party 6 60% D+2
2014 Republican Party 4 40% Democratic Party 6 60% D+2
2012 Republican Party 4 44.4% Democratic Party 5 55.5% D+1
2010 Republican Party 4 44.4% Democratic Party 5 55.5% D+1
2008 Republican Party 3 33.3% Democratic Party 6 66.7% D+2
2006 Republican Party 3 33.3% Democratic Party 6 66.7% D+2
2004 Republican Party 3 33.3% Democratic Party 6 66.7% D+2
2002 Republican Party 3 33.3% Democratic Party 6 66.7% D+2
2000 Republican Party 3 33.3% Democratic Party 6 66.7% D+2

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Washington Party Control: 1992-2024
Eighteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Governor D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
Senate R D D D D R R D D D D R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R[7] D D D D D D D
House D D D R R R R S S S D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

See also

Footnotes


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
Democratic Party (10)
Republican Party (2)