2020 United States presidential election in Washington (state)
2020 United States presidential election in Washington (state) Turnout 84.14% (of registered voters) ( 5.38 pp )[ 1]
County results
Congressional district results
Precinct results
Biden
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90–100%
Trump
30–40%
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
90–100%
Tie/No Data
The 2020 United States presidential election in Washington was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia participated.[ 2] Washington voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party 's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump , and running mate Vice President Mike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden , and his running mate California Senator Kamala Harris . Washington has 12 electoral votes in the Electoral College.[ 3]
Prior to the election, most news organizations forecasted Washington as a state that Biden would win, or a safe blue state . Biden won the state by 19.2%, the largest margin for a presidential candidate of any party since 1964 . He also flipped the swing county of Clallam . Biden also became the candidate with the highest vote total in the state's history, with 2,369,612 votes.[ 4] This was the first time since 1988 that Washington voted to the left of Illinois .
The Seattle metropolitan area , home to almost two-thirds of the state's population, is overwhelmingly Democratic . Despite this, even if the votes from King , Snohomish , and Pierce counties were removed, Biden would have carried the state by over 4,000 votes.[ 5] However, Trump won a considerable majority in outlying communities, garnering over 70% of the vote in rural counties such as Columbia . Eastern Washington is very rural and leans Republican , partly due to the strong tinge of social conservatism it shares with neighboring Idaho , a GOP stronghold. That said, Biden was able to improve on Clinton's margin in Whitman County —anchored by the college town of Pullman —increasing it from 4.1% in 2016 to 10.2% in 2020, the best performance for a Democrat in the county since 1936 . In addition, he narrowed Trump's margin in Spokane County from 8.4% to 4.3%. Biden earned 75% of the vote in King County, home to Seattle. This was the largest margin by any candidate in a presidential race since the county's creation.[ 6]
Per exit polls by the Associated Press , Biden's strength in Washington came from winning 57% of white voters, 71% among Latinos and 77% among Asian-Americans . Biden won 77% of irreligious voters, who comprised 34% of the electorate.[ 7] Additionally, a majority of Native Americans in the state backed Biden by about 65%, with some tribes supporting Biden by over 80%.[ 8] Biden also became the first Democrat since Washington's admission into the union to win the presidency without winning Mason County , the first Democrat since John F. Kennedy in 1960 to prevail without winning Cowlitz County , and the first Democrat since Woodrow Wilson in 1916 to prevail without winning Grays Harbor County and Pacific County .
Primary elections
The primaries for the major parties were on March 10, 2020. On March 14, 2019, Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill moving the state's presidential primary up from May to the second Tuesday in March.[ 9]
Republican primary
Donald Trump , Bill Weld , Joe Walsh , and Rocky de la Fuente had declared their candidacy for the Republican Party , but only Trump met all of the state party's criteria by the official deadline of January 21, 2020, for being included on the ballot.[ 10] Thus Trump essentially ran unopposed in the Republican primary, and thus he received all of Washington's 43 delegates to the 2020 Republican National Convention .[ 11]
2020 Washington Republican presidential primary[ 12] [ 13]
Candidate
Votes
%
Delegates[ 14]
Donald Trump (incumbent)
684,239
98.41
43
Write-ins
11,036
1.59
0
Total
695,275
100%
43
Democratic primary
A number of Democratic Party candidates ran or expressed interest in running.[ 15] [ 16] [ 17] Additionally, Seattle-based billionaire Howard Schultz announced a potential bid as an independent in early 2019, but backed out in September of that year.[ 18] The party's candidates included on the ballot at the deadline were Michael Bennet , Joe Biden , Michael Bloomberg , Cory Booker , Pete Buttigieg , John Delaney , Tulsi Gabbard , Amy Klobuchar , Deval Patrick , Bernie Sanders , Tom Steyer , Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang .[ 10]
Popular vote share by county Biden—30–40%
Biden—40–50%
Sanders—30–40%
Sanders—40–50%
2020 Washington Democratic presidential primary[ 19] [ 20]
Candidate
Votes
%
Delegates[ 21]
Joe Biden
591,403
37.94
46
Bernie Sanders
570,039
36.57
43
Elizabeth Warren (withdrawn) [ a]
142,652
9.15
Michael Bloomberg (withdrawn) [ a]
122,530
7.86
Pete Buttigieg (withdrawn) [ b]
63,344
4.06
Amy Klobuchar (withdrawn) [ b]
33,383
2.14
Tulsi Gabbard
13,199
0.85
Andrew Yang (withdrawn)
6,403
0.41
Tom Steyer (withdrawn) [ b]
3,455
0.22
Michael Bennet (withdrawn)
2,044
0.13
Cory Booker (withdrawn)
1,314
0.08
John Delaney (withdrawn)
573
0.04
Deval Patrick (withdrawn)
508
0.03
Write-in votes
1,479
0.09
Uncommitted
6,450
0.41
Total
1,558,776
100%
89
Green primary
As a minor party, Washington State's Green Party affiliate is excluded from the publicly funded Presidential Primary in Washington State. The Green Party of Washington facilitated its primary by a mail-in ballot to its members after its Spring Convention on May 23[ 22] (deadline was June 13).
All candidates recognized by the Green Party of the United States by April 23 were on the ballot, plus a write-in option:
General election
Final predictions
Polling
Graphical summary
Aggregate polls
Polls
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size[ d]
Marginof error
Donald Trump Republican
Joe Biden Democratic
Jo Jorgensen Libertarian
Howie Hawkins Green
Other
Undecided
SurveyMonkey /Axios [ 39]
Oct 20 – Nov 2, 2020
4,142 (LV)
± 2%
35%[ e]
62%
–
–
–
–
Swayable [ 40]
Oct 23 – Nov 1, 2020
489 (LV)
± 6%
39%
59%
2%
1%
–
–
SurveyMonkey /Axios [ 39]
Oct 1–28, 2020
7,424 (LV)
–
36%
62%
–
–
–
–
PPP /NPI [ 41]
Oct 14–15, 2020
610 (LV)
± 4%
37%
60%
–
–
–
2%
SurveyUSA /KING-TV [ 42]
Oct 8–10, 2020
591 (LV)
± 5.2%
34%
55%
–
–
5%[ f]
5%
SurveyMonkey /Axios [ 39]
Sep 1–30, 2020
7,953 (LV)
–
35%
64%
–
–
–
2%
Strategies 360 [ 43]
Sep 8–14, 2020
501 (RV)
± 4.4%
36%
58%
–
–
–
7%[ g]
SurveyMonkey /Axios [ 39]
Aug 1–31, 2020
7,489 (LV)
–
37%
61%
–
–
–
2%
SurveyMonkey /Axios [ 39]
Jul 1–31, 2020
7,691 (LV)
–
37%
62%
–
–
–
2%
SurveyUSA /KING-TV [ 44]
Jul 22–27, 2020
534 (LV)
± 5.2%
28%
62%
–
–
6%[ h]
–
SurveyMonkey /Axios [ 39]
Jun 8–30, 2020
3,939 (LV)
–
36%
62%
–
–
–
2%
Public Policy Polling /NPI [ 45]
May 19–20, 2020
1,070 (LV)
± 3%
37%
59%
–
–
–
5%
SurveyUSA /KING-TV [ 46]
May 16–19, 2020
530 (LV)
± 5.5%
31%
57%
–
–
5%[ i]
7%
EMC Research [ 47]
Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2020
583 (A)
± 4.1%
39%
52%
–
–
–
9%
SurveyUSA /KING-TV [ 48]
Mar 4–6, 2020
992 (RV)
± 3.8%
34%
57%
–
–
–
9%
Public Policy Polling /The Cascadia Advocate [ 49]
Oct 22–23, 2019
900 (LV)
± 3.3%
37%
59%
–
–
–
3%
Zogby Interactive /JZ Analytics [ 50]
Jul 22 – Aug 1, 2019
1,265 (LV)
± 2.8%
31%
52%
–
–
–
17%
Hypothetical polling
Donald Trump vs. Pete Buttigieg
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size[ d]
Marginof error
Donald Trump (R)
Pete Buttigieg (D)
Undecided
Zogby Interactive /JZ Analytics [ 50]
Jul 22 – Aug 1, 2019
1,265 (LV)
± 2.8%
32%
44%
24%
with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size[ d]
Marginof error
Donald Trump (R)
Kamala Harris (D)
Undecided
Zogby Interactive /JZ Analytics [ 50]
Jul 22 – Aug 1, 2019
1,265 (LV)
± 2.8%
33%
47%
20%
Donald Trump vs. Bernie Sanders
Donald Trump vs. Elizabeth Warren
with Donald Trump and generic Democrat
Poll source
Date(s) administered
Sample size[ d]
Marginof error
Donald Trump (R)
Generic Democrat
Undecided
Public Policy Polling [ 51]
May 21–22, 2019
886 (LV)
± 3.3%
34%
59%
7%
Electoral slates
These slates of electors were nominated by each party in order to vote in the Electoral College should their candidate win the state:[ 52]
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Democratic Party
Donald Trump and Mike Pence Republican Party
Jo Jorgensen and Spike Cohen Libertarian Party
Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker Green Party
Gloria La Riva and Sunil Freeman Party for Socialism and Liberation
Alyson Kennedy and Malcolm Jarrett Socialist Workers Party
Martin Chaney Jack Arends Jackie Lane Patsy Whitefoot Nancy Monacelli Julie JohnsonSophia Danenberg Jen Carter Bryan Kesterson Julian Wheeler Santiago Ramos Payton Swinford
Eric Rohrbach Timothy Hazelo Ronald Averill Richard Bilskis Dan Wallace Elizabeth Kreiselmaier Craig Keller Tamara Flaherty Timothy Tow Colleen Wise Arthur Coday Sandi Peterson
Nathan Deily Miguel Duque Nicholas Coelho Larry Nicholas Data Logan Whitney Davis Ciaran Dougherty Steve Hansen Larry Hovde Will Leonard Randy McGlenn Anna Johnson
Jody Thorsen Grage Cynthia J. Sellers Margaret J. Elisabeth Stonewall Bird Scott Charles Thompson Bruce Radtke Charles Law Richard A. Redick Frank Lockwood Noah Martin Colin Bartlett Daniel Bumbarger
Jane N. Cutter Andrew T. Freeman Emily Forschmiedt Sean Connolly Jacob Nasrallah Gregory Plancich Ryan Oliveira Nicolas Boone Mitchell Malloy Mario Carbonell Eric Buerk Charles A Susat
Michele Ann Smith Patricia Ann Scott Sara Jane Gates Keith Bryan Smith Mary Juanita Martin Edwin B. Fruit Scott A. Breen Barbara Anne Kline Rashaad Ali Robert Bruneau Dean Denno Leah Beth Finger
Results
By winning nearly 58% of the vote, Joe Biden's performance was the best showing for a presidential candidate of any party in Washington since Lyndon B. Johnson's landslide victory in 1964 .
By county
County
Joe Biden Democratic
Donald Trump Republican
Various candidates Other parties
Margin
Total
#
%
#
%
#
%
#
%
Adams
1,814
30.95%
3,907
66.65%
141
2.40%
-2,093
-35.70%
5,862
Asotin
4,250
35.56%
7,319
61.24%
382
3.20%
-3,069
-25.68%
11,951
Benton
38,706
37.57%
60,365
58.59%
3,962
3.84%
-21,659
-21.02%
103,033
Chelan
19,349
44.68%
22,746
52.52%
1,211
2.80%
-3,397
-7.84%
43,306
Clallam
24,721
50.18%
23,062
46.81%
1,481
3.01%
1,659
3.37%
49,264
Clark
140,324
50.95%
126,303
45.86%
8,776
3.19%
14,021
5.09%
275,403
Columbia
668
26.77%
1,754
70.30%
73
2.93%
-1,086
-43.53%
2,495
Cowlitz
23,938
39.71%
34,424
57.11%
1,918
3.18%
-10,486
-17.40%
60,280
Douglas
7,811
36.66%
12,955
60.80%
542
2.54%
-5,144
-24.14%
21,308
Ferry
1,486
34.03%
2,771
63.45%
110
2.52%
-1,285
-29.42%
4,367
Franklin
13,340
41.17%
18,039
55.67%
1,025
3.16%
-4,699
-14.50%
32,404
Garfield
366
24.58%
1,069
71.79%
54
3.63%
-703
-47.21%
1,489
Grant
11,819
31.37%
24,764
65.72%
1,097
2.91%
-12,945
-34.35%
37,680
Grays Harbor
17,354
45.14%
19,877
51.71%
1,210
3.15%
-2,523
-6.57%
38,441
Island
29,213
54.17%
22,746
42.18%
1,966
3.65%
6,467
11.99%
53,925
Jefferson
17,204
69.39%
6,931
27.96%
657
2.65%
10,273
41.43%
24,792
King
907,310
74.95%
269,167
22.24%
34,030
2.81%
638,143
52.71%
1,210,507
Kitsap
90,277
56.90%
61,563
38.80%
6,832
4.30%
28,714
18.10%
158,672
Kittitas
11,421
43.32%
14,105
53.50%
838
3.18%
-2,684
-10.18%
26,364
Klickitat
5,959
43.95%
7,237
53.37%
364
2.68%
-1,278
-9.42%
13,560
Lewis
14,520
32.05%
29,391
64.87%
1,398
3.08%
-14,871
-32.82%
45,309
Lincoln
1,713
24.36%
5,150
73.23%
170
2.41%
-3,437
-48.87%
7,033
Mason
17,269
46.29%
18,710
50.16%
1,324
3.55%
-1,441
-3.87%
37,303
Okanogan
8,900
41.82%
11,840
55.63%
542
2.55%
-2,940
-13.81%
21,282
Pacific
6,794
48.31%
6,953
49.44%
317
2.25%
-159
-1.13%
14,064
Pend Oreille
2,593
30.32%
5,728
66.97%
232
2.71%
-3,135
-36.65%
8,553
Pierce
249,506
53.76%
197,730
42.61%
16,845
3.63%
51,776
11.15%
464,081
San Juan
9,725
73.69%
3,057
23.16%
415
3.15%
6,668
50.53%
13,197
Skagit
38,252
52.10%
32,762
44.62%
2,409
3.28%
5,490
7.48%
73,423
Skamania
3,192
43.65%
3,885
53.13%
235
3.22%
-693
-9.48%
7,312
Snohomish
256,728
58.51%
166,428
37.93%
15,640
3.56%
90,300
20.58%
438,796
Spokane
135,765
45.96%
148,576
50.29%
11,089
3.75%
-12,811
-4.33%
295,430
Stevens
7,839
27.57%
19,808
69.67%
783
2.76%
-11,969
-42.10%
28,430
Thurston
96,608
57.46%
65,277
38.82%
6,249
3.72%
31,331
18.64%
168,134
Wahkiakum
1,165
39.08%
1,741
58.40%
75
2.52%
-576
-19.32%
2,981
Walla Walla
13,690
43.79%
16,400
52.46%
1,171
3.75%
-2,710
-8.67%
31,261
Whatcom
83,660
60.35%
50,489
36.42%
4,471
3.23%
33,171
23.93%
138,620
Whitman
11,184
52.94%
9,067
42.92%
875
4.14%
2,117
10.02%
21,126
Yakima
43,179
44.89%
50,555
52.56%
2,459
2.55%
-7,376
-7.67%
96,193
Totals
2,369,612
57.97%
1,584,651
38.77%
133,368
3.26%
784,961
19.20%
4,087,631
Swing by county
Democratic — +10–12.5%
Democratic — +7.5–10%
Democratic — +5–7.5%
Democratic — +2.5–5%
Democratic — +0–2.5%
Republican — +0–2.5%
Republican — +2.5–5%
Republican — +5–7.5%
Republican — +7.5–10%
Trend relative to the state by county
Democratic — +10–12.5%
Democratic — +7.5–10%
Democratic — +5–7.5%
Democratic — +2.5–5%
Democratic — +0–2.5%
Republican — +0–2.5%
Republican — +2.5–5%
Republican — +5–7.5%
Republican — +7.5–10%
County flips
Democratic
Hold
Gain from Republican
Republican
Hold
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
[ 54] [ 55]
By congressional district
Biden won 7 of 10 congressional districts.[ 56]
See also
Notes
^ a b Candidate withdrew after Super Tuesday when all-mail voting had already begun.
^ a b c Candidate withdrew before Super Tuesday when all-mail voting had already begun.
^ Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.
^ a b c d e f Key: A – all adults RV – registered voters LV – likely voters V – unclear
^ Overlapping sample with the previous SurveyMonkey/Axios poll, but more information available regarding sample size
^ "Another candidate" with 5%
^ Includes "Refused"
^ "Another candidate" with 6%
^ "A candidate from another party" with 5%
References
^ "November 3, 2020 General Election - Voter Turnout" .
^ Kelly, Ben (August 13, 2018). "US elections key dates: When are the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential campaign?" . The Independent . Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019 .
^ "Distribution of Electoral Votes" . National Archives and Records Administration . Retrieved January 3, 2019 .
^ Farley, Josh (November 7, 2020). "What does Clallam County know? Voters just chose a winner for the tenth straight election" . Kitsap Sun . Retrieved November 14, 2020 .
^ "Washington Election Results" . The New York Times . November 3, 2020.
^ "Washington Election Results" . The New York Times . November 3, 2020.
^ "Washington Voter Surveys: How Different Groups Voted" . The New York Times . November 3, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved November 15, 2020 .
^ Brazile, Liz; Browning, Paige (November 16, 2020). "This is why Native American voters in Washington state rallied behind Joe Biden" . KUOW-FM . Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2021 .
^ "Gov. Inslee signs bill moving presidential primary up to March" . KING. Associated Press. March 14, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019 .
^ a b "Washington presidential primary ballot is set, even as Democratic field remains in flux" . The Spokesman-Review . January 23, 2020.
^ "Washington Republican Delegation 2020" . The Green Papers. Retrieved March 20, 2020 .
^ "March 10, 2020 Presidential Primary Results – Statewide Results" . Washington Secretary of State . March 27, 2020. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020 .
^ "Final Signed Certification" (PDF) . Secretary of State of Washington . Retrieved December 3, 2024 .
^ "Washington Republican Primary Results" . USA Today . Retrieved March 31, 2020 .
^ Taylor, Kate (February 9, 2019). "Elizabeth Warren Formally Announces 2020 Presidential Bid in Lawrence, Mass" . The New York Times . Retrieved February 10, 2019 .
^ Zhou, Li (January 21, 2019). "Kamala Harris announces her historic 2020 presidential campaign" . Vox. Retrieved February 10, 2019 .
^ Detrow, Scott (February 1, 2019). "Cory Booker Makes It Official: He's Running For President In 2020" . NPR. Retrieved February 10, 2019 .
^ Emily Birnbaum (January 27, 2019). "Howard Schultz makes Twitter debut amid 2020 speculation" . The Hill . Retrieved January 27, 2019 .
^ "March 10, 2020 Presidential Primary Results – Statewide Results" . Washington Secretary of State . March 27, 2020. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2020 .
^ "Final Signed Certification" (PDF) . Secretary of State of Washington . Retrieved December 3, 2024 .
^ "Associated Press Election Services - Delegate Tracker" . Associated Press . Retrieved March 20, 2020 .
^ "Green Party Presidential Primary" . March 23, 2020.
^ "2020 POTUS Race ratings" (PDF) . The Cook Political Report . Retrieved May 21, 2019 .
^ "POTUS Ratings | Inside Elections" . insideelections.com . Retrieved May 21, 2019 .
^ "Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2020 President" . crystalball.centerforpolitics.org . Retrieved May 21, 2019 .
^ "2020 Election Forecast" . Politico . November 19, 2019.
^ "Battle for White House" . RCP . April 19, 2019.
^ 2020 Bitecofer Model Electoral College Predictions Archived April 23, 2020, at the Wayback Machine , Niskanen Center , March 24, 2020, retrieved: April 19, 2020.
^ David Chalian; Terence Burlij (June 11, 2020). "Road to 270: CNN's debut Electoral College map for 2020" . CNN . Retrieved June 16, 2020 .
^ "Forecasting the US elections" . The Economist . Retrieved July 7, 2020 .
^ "2020 Election Battleground Tracker" . CBS News . July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 13, 2020 .
^ "2020 Presidential Election Interactive Map" . 270 to Win .
^ "ABC News Race Ratings" . CBS News . July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020 .
^ "2020 Electoral Map Ratings: Trump Slides, Biden Advantage Expands Over 270 Votes" . NPR.org . Retrieved August 3, 2020 .
^ "Biden dominates the electoral map, but here's how the race could tighten" . NBC News . August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020 .
^ "2020 Election Forecast" . FiveThirtyEight . August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020 .
^ 270 to Win
^ FiveThirtyEight
^ a b c d e f SurveyMonkey/Axios
^ Swayable Archived November 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
^ PPP/NPI
^ SurveyUSA/KING-TV
^ Strategies 360
^ SurveyUSA/KING-TV
^ Public Policy Polling/NPI
^ SurveyUSA/KING-TV
^ EMC Research
^ a b c SurveyUSA/KING-TV
^ a b c Public Policy Polling/The Cascadia Advocate
^ a b c d e Zogby Interactive/JZ Analytics
^ Public Policy Polling
^ "2020 Electoral College Electors" . Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved November 19, 2020 .
^ "Official Canvass of the Returns" (PDF) . Secretary of State of Washington . Retrieved December 3, 2024 .
^ "2020 Presidential General Election Results - Washington" . Dave Leip's election atlas .
^ "2016 Presidential General Election Results - Washington" . Dave Leip's election atlas .
^ Results . sos.wa.gov (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 24, 2020.
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