Washington Supreme Court elections, 2016

2016 State Judicial Elections
Part 1: Overview
Part 2: Supreme Courts
Part 3: Partisanship
Part 4: Changes in 2016

Three seats on the Washington State Supreme Court were on the general election ballot on November 8, 2016. A primary was held on August 2. These seats were held by Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, Justice Mary Yu, and Justice Charlie Wiggins heading into the election. Each justice elected to the court serves a six-year term.

HIGHLIGHTS

All three incumbents won re-election.

This was the first state supreme court election since the 1990s in which all incumbent candidates had challengers. Frustration over the court's decision in school funding case McCleary v. Washington and in a subsequent decision barring state funding of charter schools as unconstitutional fueled challenges to all three incumbent justices.

General election candidates

Justice, Position 1

	Justice Mary Yu (Incumbent) (Winner)
	Current position: Justice, Washington State Supreme Court, 2014-2017 Past experience: Judge, King County Superior Court, Washington

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Justice Mary Yu said on her campaign website, "I was appointed to the state Supreme Court on May 1, 2014, after serving as a King County trial court judge for over 14 years. I was subsequently elected to a two-year term, and I am now running for a full term in 2016. While on the trial court, I presided over a wide range of civil and criminal cases and hundreds of family law matters. The most important values for me as a trial judge were to treat everyone with respect and fairness, to approach each case with an open mind, to decide cases impartially and to understand that every decision I made impacted the lives of real people. As a Supreme Court Justice, I continue to hold those same values."

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	David DeWolf (Defeated)
	Most recent position: Professor, Gonzaga Law School, 1991-2016 Past experience: Attorney in private practice

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David DeWolf said on his campaign website, "I have the background, the skills, and the temperament to be a member of the Court. I have spent most of my career teaching lawyers-to-be about what the law is, and how their profession can serve the community. ... "I also have the temperament to decide cases fairly, based upon the law rather than my personal policy preferences. I am an independent thinker and my long list of publications would demonstrate that I haven't fallen for the 'group think' that often characterizes the ivory tower of higher education—and much of our political process today. But at the same time my students would tell you that although I made them think about controversial issues, I didn’t use my classroom to push my own ideological views. I would bring the same sense of fairness and restraint to my role as a Supreme Court Justice—to do my best to apply the law rather than what I think the law should be. To do otherwise is a violation of the oath that judges, including Supreme Court Justices, take when they put on a black robe. "The second reason I am running is related to the first: the Washington Supreme Court has made serious mistakes in performing its task as the final arbiter of the law in Washington. It has fallen into a form of 'group think' that makes it difficult to see the pitfalls in what appears to be an attractive course of action."

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Justice, Position 5

	Chief Justice Barbara Madsen (Incumbent) (Winner)
	Current position: Justice, Washington State Supreme Court, 1993-2017 Past experience: Judge, Seattle Municipal Court, Washington

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Chief Justice Barbara Madsen said on her campaign website, "I was first elected to the court in 1992. And in 2009, I was elected chief justice. I ran for the supreme court because I believe justice is more than a black robe. Justice means that judges understand the issues that people face in their everyday lives. After I joined the supreme court, I helped establish the Access to Justice Board, the Minority and Justice Commission and the Gender and Justice Commission, and the Commission on Children in Foster Care and the Interpreter Commission—all to improve the quality of justice for everyone in our state. "As a justice of the highest court, I have made a solemn commitment to listen carefully to the people who bring their most important problems to the court and to be fair and unbiased in judging those problems. In the supreme court, we take only the toughest cases. If the answers were easy, the case would not get to the supreme court. This means a justice must have broad legal experience and the courage to make the really hard and sometimes unpopular decisions. In a just court system, when people win their case, they have a right to have their judgment enforced, whether the defendant is the state of Washington in a school funding case or two neighbors with a property dispute. No one is above the law. And everyone is equal under the law. My record demonstrates courage and fair-minded judgment in the hundreds of decisions I have made on the court."

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	Greg Zempel (Defeated)
	Current position: Prosecutor, Kittitas County, Washington, 1995-Present Past experience: Deputy prosecutor, Kittitas County, Washington

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Greg Zempel said when asked why he is running, "I've been an elected prosecutor for 22 years, a prosecutor for 24, and a defense attorney before that for a couple of years. And over the years, I've just become more frustrated with the rulings of the court and in particular, Barbara Madsen. As a prosecutor, I’ve always put the emphasis on victims and communities, and time and again I’ve seen our court hand down opinions that really favor defendants to the detriment of victims. The second part of that is that law enforcement needs to have a court that gives clear guidelines so that we know where we’re going and what we can do. ... [T]oo often what we see is a court that will change case law and precedent—25-30 years that we’ve done it in a particular fashion, and boom, it’s overturned. "A case that really hits both of those points is IN RE: PRP of Andress (2002). It was a felony murder case where Justice Madsen was looking at felony murder statute, thought it was not fair, that it didn’t require a mental element. ... Rather than drawing the conclusion and saying, well, you know, it’s lawful to do it this way, what she said instead was we believe—and again her opinion—we believe that the legislation never intended to include an assault in a felony murder. So 35 years of prosecutors, law enforcement officers, trial court judges, defense attorneys, thinking this was law, including the legislature, boom, changed with the stroke of a pen. The legislature immediately in a special session said, 'This is wrong, it was always intended, it’s never not been intended, and we affirm it was intended.' The consequence was that 385 individuals convicted of felony murder were then turned back to the trial courts to sort out what you can do with them now. That’s one of the cases, but that emphasizes what’s been happening with this court."

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Justice, Position 6

	Justice Charlie Wiggins (Incumbent) (Winner)
	Current position: Justice, Washington State Supreme Court, 2011-2017 Past experience: Attorney in private practice

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Justice Charlie Wiggins said on his campaign website, "You elected me in 2010, and I've spent the past six years upholding the values of the people of Washington. It has been an honor to sit on the court, protecting your constitutional rights, interpreting the law consistently with the words and intent of the legislature, and administering justice. ... "Six years ago, when I first asked for your vote, I promised I would decide cases impartially, independently, and with integrity. Impartially: treating everyone in court equally, applying the same rules to everyone. Independently: without regard to special interests, free of improper influence by anyone. With integrity: deciding cases honestly, without bending the law or misstating the facts. My record shows that I have kept my promise of impartiality, independence, and integrity. ... "Justice requires us to protect children, minorities, and the poor. That is why I am proud to have signed the McCleary decision, ordering the legislature to comply with Article 9, Section 1, of our state constitution, which declares that the paramount duty of the state is to amply provide for the education of our children."

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	Judge Dave Larson (Defeated)
	Current position: Judge, Federal Way Municipal Court, 2008-2018

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	Judge Dave Larson said on his campaign website, "Our state Supreme Court should be the most respected institution in our state government; unfortunately it’s become far too political and needs to return to being a neutral and respected defender of the law and constitution. This will be my first priority as your Justice."

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Race background

The 2016 election was the first since the 1990s in which all three state supreme court justices up for re-election faced opponents. At least one justice in every election typically runs unopposed, but this year all three incumbents drew challengers. Republican state Representative Matt Manweller said he and other lawmakers actively recruited candidates to run against the justices. This was partly because of the court's decisions in the long-running school funding case McCleary v. Washington, over which the court drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats for holding the state in contempt of court, and in a separate case about the state funding of charter schools.

Those in favor of replacing the justices said the court has overstepped its boundaries into legislation and policymaking and failed to respect the autonomy of the state legislature. In the McCleary school funding case, the court both found the state government in contempt and fined the state $100,000 per day until the state complied with the court's orders.

In a separate case, the court ruled unconstitutional the state funding of charter schools right before those schools were set to open in 2015.

Satellite spending

The political action committee arm of the group Stand for Children spent $116,000 promoting the campaign of Greg Zempel, who challenged Chief Justice Barbara Madsen for her seat on the court. Madsen authored the court's 2015 decision declaring Washington's charter schools, in their form at that time, unconstitutional. The legislature passed a new bill in 2016 that allowed charter schools to continue; opponents threatened to sue over this law as well. Stand for Children's spending on Zempel's campaign was funded by several of the backers of charter schools who were opposed to the court's 2015 decision. The primary donors include Connie Ballmer, wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer; Reed Hastings, founder and CEO of Netflix; and Vulcan Inc., owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Vulcan and Ballmer were also among the primary backers of the ballot initiative that paved the way for the charter schools.

Election results

November 8 general election

Incumbent Mary Yu defeated David DeWolf in the general election for the Washington Supreme Court, Position 1.

Washington Supreme Court, Position 1, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mary Yu Incumbent	57.33%	1,577,495
David DeWolf	42.67%	1,174,263
Total Votes (100% reporting)		2,751,758
Source: Washington Secretary of State Official Results

Incumbent Barbara Madsen defeated Greg Zempel in the general election for the Washington Supreme Court, Position 5.

Washington Supreme Court, Position 5, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Barbara Madsen Incumbent	61.95%	1,679,786
Greg Zempel	38.05%	1,031,698
Total Votes (100% reporting)		2,711,484
Source: Washington Secretary of State Official Results

Incumbent Charlie Wiggins defeated Dave Larson in the general election for the Washington Supreme Court, Position 6.

Washington Supreme Court, Position 6, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Charlie Wiggins Incumbent	57.49%	1,535,554
Dave Larson	42.51%	1,135,285
Total Votes (100% reporting)		2,670,839
Source: Washington Secretary of State Official Results

August 2 primary election

Incumbent Justice Barbara Madsen and challenger Greg Zempel defeated John Scannell and advanced to the November 8 general election.

Washington Supreme Court Primary, Position 5, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Barbara Madsen Incumbent	63.90%	759,475
Greg Zempel	29.71%	353,149
John Scannell	6.38%	75,849
Total Votes (2000 of 2000 reporting: 100%)		1,188,473
Source: Washington Secretary of State Official Results

Endorsements

The candidates received the following endorsements.

Key endorsements
Mary Yu	David DeWolf	Barbara Madsen	Greg Zempel	Charlie Wiggins	Dave Larson
The Seattle Times	Washington State Republican Party	The Seattle Times	Association of Washington Business	Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO	The Seattle Times
Tri-City Herald	Mainstream Republicans of Washington	Tri-City Herald	Association of General Contractors	Washington Education Association	Tri-City Herald
American Federation of Teachers Washington State		Washington Education Association	Stand.Org	Washington Federation of State Employees
NARAL Pro-Choice Washington		Washington State Federation of Democratic Women	Washington State Farm Bureau	Washington State Council of Fire Fighters
National Women’s Political Caucus of WA		Women's Political Caucus of the Northwest	Washington State Dairy Pac	Washington Conservation Voters
Washington Conservation Voters		Washington Conservation Voters	We Believe - We Vote	Washington State Patrol Troopers Association
Washington Education Association		Former Governor Christine Gregoire	Washington Food Industry Association	NARAL Pro-Choice Washington
Washington State Association for Justice/Justice for All PAC		Washington State Council of Fire Fighters	Washington Retail Association	Washington's Paramount Duty
Washington State Council of Fire Fighters		Washington State Labor Council	Law Enforcement Administrators of Washington	Current Democratic Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson
Washington State Labor Council		Washington State Patrol Troopers Association	Current Republican Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman	All sitting Washington State Supreme Court justices
Washington State Patrol Troopers Association		All sitting Washington State Supreme Court justices		The News Tribune
Governor Jay Inslee		The News Tribune
Former Governor Christine Gregoire
Former Governor Gary Locke
All sitting Washington State Supreme Court justices
The News Tribune

Campaign finance

The campaign finance data below shows the candidates' contributions and expenditures through September 2016.

Individual candidate campaign finance details

Mary Yu Campaign Finance, 2016
Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand	Debt
$272,534	$133,242	$139,292	$11,204
Source:	Washington Public Disclosure Commission

David DeWolf Campaign Finance, 2016
Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand	Debt
$78,874	$45,224	$33,650	$983
Source:	Washington Public Disclosure Commission

Barbara Madsen Campaign Finance, 2016
Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand	Debt
$67,300	$12,279	$55,021	$6,000
Source:	Washington Public Disclosure Commission

Greg Zempel Campaign Finance, 2016
Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand	Debt
$85,032	$42,943	$42,089	$5,000
Source:	Washington Public Disclosure Commission

Charlie Wiggins Campaign Finance, 2016
Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
$172,186	$70,909	$101,277
Source:	Washington Public Disclosure Commission

Dave Larson Campaign Finance, 2016
Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
$91,677	$49,764	$41,913
Source:	Washington Public Disclosure Commission

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The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may not represent all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer, and campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Main article: Political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns

Groups unaffiliated with candidates or campaigns—such as political action committees, super PACs, nonprofit public welfare organizations, and labor unions—often spend money to influence the outcome of an election. This satellite spending can take the form of express advocacy, which encourages votes for or against a candidate, or issue advocacy, which supports broad political or social issues. Some groups are restricted on which kind of advocacy they can engage in based on their tax status.

Disclosure regulations vary from state to state and vary based on type of organization, complicating the process of determining a comprehensive picture of all spending in a given election.

For example, nonprofits are not always required to disclose their donors to the government; they submit financial information to the federal government through regular tax filings with the Internal Revenue Service, which are only publicly available through a Freedom of Information Act request. Other organizations are required to report election expenditures to a state elections division.

Ads

Ballotpedia was unable to locate online campaign advertisements for this race.

Political composition

Washington's supreme court justices are elected in nonpartisan elections. Prior to the 2016 elections, three of the nine current justices were appointed by Democratic governors to fill terms left by retired justices: Debra Stephens, Steven Gonzalez, and Mary Yu.

Chief Justice Barbara Madsen
Justice Charles W. Johnson
Justice Debra Stephens
Justice Mary Fairhurst
Justice Susan Owens
Justice Steven Gonzalez
Justice Mary Yu
Justice Charlie Wiggins
Justice Sheryl McCloud

Selection

See also: Judicial selection in Washington

The rules for electing justices to the court are set out in Article IV of the Washington Constitution and in Chapter 2.06 of the Revised Code of Washington. The Article calls for nine justices to be elected to six-year terms in nonpartisan elections. In the case of a vacancy, the replacement justice is appointed by the governor.

Qualifications

To be considered a qualified candidate to serve on the Washington State Supreme Court, a person must be licensed to practice law in Washington, as laid out in Section 17 of Article IV.

Justices must also retire from service at the end of the calendar year that he or she turns 75, according to Section 3(a) of Article IV of the state constitution. The state legislature is given the leeway under the constitution to reduce the retirement age to 70 should they see fit to do so.

Additionally, according to Section 15 of Article IV, justices of the court are ineligible to serve in any other form of public employment during their term on the court, nor, according to Section 19, are they allowed to practice law in any Washington state court during their tenure on the court.

Chief justice

The chief justice serves as the court's chief spokesperson, presiding over the court’s public hearings and serving as the administrative head of the state’s trial and appellate court system. The chief justice also chairs the Board for Judicial Administration (BJA), which is the policy-setting group of the state judiciary. Until 1995, the chief justice was determined through a rotation system. In 1995, the voters of the state passed a constitutional amendment changing this system to one where the chief justice is elected by the other justices. That same amendment changed the term of the chief justice from two to four years.

Barbara Madsen is the current chief justice of the court. She was sworn in on January 11, 2010, to fill the remainder of Gerry Alexander's term. Madsen is only the second woman to fill the role of chief justice on the Washington State Supreme Court.

State profile

Demographic data for Washington
	Washington	U.S.
Total population:	7,160,290	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	66,456	3,531,905
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.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Washington

Washington voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Washington, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Washington had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Washington coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Washington
• United States congressional delegations from Washington
• Public policy in Washington
• Endorsers in Washington
• Washington fact checks
• More...

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Washington Supreme Court election 2016' OR 'Washington Supreme Court'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Washington Supreme Court elections, 2016 - Google News

See also

Washington	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Washington Washington Court of Appeals Washington Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Washington	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

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• Washington State Supreme Court

Footnotes

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