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
editCandidates
editDemocratic
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
editParty | 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
editCandidates
edit- Jim McDermott (D), psychiatrist, state senator, and candidate for governor in 1972
- John Spellman (R), King County Executive
Results
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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.