1996 Washington gubernatorial election
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 County results Locke: 50–60% 60–70% Craswell: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Washington |
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The 1996 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996. Though eligible for a second term, incumbent governor Mike Lowry chose not to run for reelection following a series of personal and public scandals, including allegations of sexual harassment.[1] This gubernatorial race was especially significant in that it resulted in the first Asian American governor in the mainland United States (after George Ariyoshi of island state Hawaii), Democrat Gary Locke.
Primary election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]Democratic
[edit]- Max Englerius
- Jay Inslee, U.S. Representative from the 4th congressional district
- Gary Locke, King County Executive and former state representative
- Norm Rice, current Mayor of Seattle
- Mohammad H. Said
- Briam Zetlen
Republican
[edit]- Nona Brazier
- Ellen Craswell, president pro tempore of the Washington Senate
- Dale Foreman, majority leader of the Washington House of Representatives
- Warren E. Hanson
- Norm Maleng, King County Prosecuting Attorney
- Pam Roach, state senator
- Bob Tharp
- Jim Waldo
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gary Locke | 287,762 | 23.65% | |
| Democratic | Norm Rice | 212,888 | 17.50% | |
| Republican | Ellen Craswell | 185,680 | 15.26% | |
| Republican | Dale Foreman | 162,615 | 13.37% | |
| Democratic | Jay Inslee | 118,571 | 9.75% | |
| Republican | Norm Maleng | 109,088 | 8.97% | |
| Republican | Jim Waldo | 63,854 | 5.25% | |
| Republican | Pam Roach | 29,533 | 2.43% | |
| Republican | Nona Brazier | 21,237 | 1.75% | |
| Democratic | Brian Zetlen | 6,152 | 0.51% | |
| Republican | Warren E. Hanson | 4,886 | 0.40% | |
| Republican | Bob Tharp | 4,825 | 0.40% | |
| Socialist Workers | Jeff Powers | 3,742 | 0.31% | |
| Democratic | Mohammad H. Said | 3,007 | 0.25% | |
| Democratic | Max Englerius | 2,837 | 0.23% | |
| Total votes | 1,216,677 | 100.00% | ||
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Gary Locke (D), King County Executive and former state representative
- Third Generation Chinese American
- Campaigned on election reform, worker retraining, and the development of social services.[4]
- Cultivated an image of Technocratic expertise[5][6]
- Ellen Craswell (R), president pro tempore of the Washington Senate
Campaign Controversies
[edit]- Gary Locke's race drew many donors from the Asian American Community, including local Buddhist temples.[9] He also raised significant funds from national donors, in California and New York.[10]
- Ellen Craswell integrated evangelical prayer networks with her fundraising and mobilization network,[11] reaching more that 1000 small donors in October, where Locke received large contributions from business groups and Seattle elites.[12]
- Craswell opposed expanding school funding: suggested cutting English as Second Language programs; delegating curriculum control to local school boards; and eliminating the superintendent of public instruction.[13]
- An independent Political action committee made false claims that two sitting senators endorsed Locke in a mailer. They later recanted.[14]
- The WA State GOP ran television ads, stating Locke's support for a Harm reduction program including sex education, counseling and condom distribution provided material support for prostitution.[15]
Debates
[edit]- Complete video of debate, September 26, 1996 - C-SPAN
- Complete video of debate, October 9, 1996 - C-SPAN
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gary Locke | 1,296,492 | 57.96% | +5.80% | |
| Republican | Ellen Craswell | 940,538 | 42.04% | −5.80% | |
| Majority | 355,954 | 15.91% | |||
| Total votes | 2,237,030 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | Swing | +11.59% | |||
Results by county
[edit]This is the most recent gubernatorial election in which Kittitas County has voted for a Democrat.
| County[17] | Gary Locke Democratic |
Ellen Craswell Republican |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 1,829 | 40.13% | 2,729 | 59.87% | -900 | -19.75% | 4,558 |
| Asotin | 3,696 | 50.89% | 3,567 | 49.11% | 129 | 1.78% | 7,263 |
| Benton | 25,899 | 48.34% | 27,682 | 51.66% | -1,783 | -3.33% | 53,581 |
| Chelan | 9,928 | 42.23% | 13,584 | 57.77% | -3,656 | -15.55% | 23,512 |
| Clallam | 14,536 | 49.31% | 14,941 | 50.69% | -405 | -1.37% | 29,477 |
| Clark | 58,400 | 52.65% | 52,525 | 47.35% | 5,875 | 5.30% | 110,925 |
| Columbia | 863 | 44.10% | 1,094 | 55.90% | -231 | -11.80% | 1,957 |
| Cowlitz | 19,175 | 58.07% | 13,843 | 41.93% | 5,332 | 16.15% | 33,018 |
| Douglas | 4,353 | 40.27% | 6,456 | 59.73% | -2,103 | -19.46% | 10,809 |
| Ferry | 1,251 | 44.76% | 1,544 | 55.24% | -293 | -10.48% | 2,795 |
| Franklin | 5,685 | 46.66% | 6,499 | 53.34% | -814 | -6.68% | 12,184 |
| Garfield | 511 | 40.56% | 749 | 59.44% | -238 | -18.89% | 1,260 |
| Grant | 8,916 | 41.04% | 12,807 | 58.96% | -3,891 | -17.91% | 21,723 |
| Grays Harbor | 15,851 | 60.66% | 10,278 | 39.34% | 5,573 | 21.33% | 26,129 |
| Island | 14,874 | 52.59% | 13,409 | 47.41% | 1,465 | 5.18% | 28,283 |
| Jefferson | 8,268 | 59.18% | 5,702 | 40.82% | 2,566 | 18.37% | 13,970 |
| King | 490,284 | 67.03% | 241,134 | 32.97% | 249,150 | 34.06% | 731,418 |
| Kitsap | 50,121 | 54.84% | 41,275 | 45.16% | 8,846 | 9.68% | 91,396 |
| Kittitas | 6,609 | 53.17% | 5,822 | 46.83% | 787 | 6.33% | 12,431 |
| Klickitat | 3,337 | 49.20% | 3,445 | 50.80% | -108 | -1.59% | 6,782 |
| Lewis | 11,377 | 42.15% | 15,613 | 57.85% | -4,236 | -15.69% | 26,990 |
| Lincoln | 1,947 | 38.92% | 3,055 | 61.08% | -1,108 | -22.15% | 5,002 |
| Mason | 11,421 | 55.30% | 9,231 | 44.70% | 2,190 | 10.60% | 20,652 |
| Okanogan | 5,489 | 42.36% | 7,468 | 57.64% | -1,979 | -15.27% | 12,957 |
| Pacific | 5,699 | 62.85% | 3,368 | 37.15% | 2,331 | 25.71% | 9,067 |
| Pend Oreille | 2,308 | 46.94% | 2,609 | 53.06% | -301 | -6.12% | 4,917 |
| Pierce | 131,194 | 55.43% | 105,500 | 44.57% | 25,694 | 10.86% | 236,694 |
| San Juan | 4,567 | 63.19% | 2,660 | 36.81% | 1,907 | 26.39% | 7,227 |
| Skagit | 21,522 | 52.81% | 19,232 | 47.19% | 2,290 | 5.62% | 40,754 |
| Skamania | 1,915 | 52.04% | 1,765 | 47.96% | 150 | 4.08% | 3,680 |
| Snohomish | 126,425 | 57.40% | 93,827 | 42.60% | 32,598 | 14.80% | 220,252 |
| Spokane | 84,740 | 53.30% | 74,249 | 46.70% | 10,491 | 6.60% | 158,989 |
| Stevens | 6,687 | 40.62% | 9,777 | 59.38% | -3,090 | -18.77% | 16,464 |
| Thurston | 53,106 | 61.10% | 33,813 | 38.90% | 19,293 | 22.20% | 86,919 |
| Wahkiakum | 1,013 | 56.47% | 781 | 43.53% | 232 | 12.93% | 1,794 |
| Walla Walla | 9,710 | 50.11% | 9,669 | 49.89% | 41 | 0.21% | 19,379 |
| Whatcom | 34,679 | 54.02% | 29,517 | 45.98% | 5,162 | 8.04% | 64,196 |
| Whitman | 8,743 | 55.60% | 6,981 | 44.40% | 1,762 | 11.21% | 15,724 |
| Yakima | 29,564 | 47.76% | 32,338 | 52.24% | -2,774 | -4.48% | 61,902 |
| Totals | 1,296,492 | 57.96% | 940,538 | 42.04% | 355,954 | 15.91% | 2,237,030 |
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
[edit]- Asotin
- Clark
- Cowlitz
- Island
- Kitsap
- Mason
- Skagit
- Skamania
- Spokane
- Wahkiakum
- Walla Walla
- Whatcom
- Whitman
Subsequent controversies
[edit]The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission opened an investigation in 1997 relating to campaign contributions received from the Chinese Americans and foreign nationals. In example, the Ling Chen Zhe Buddhist temple,[18] where a $5000 cash donation was accepted, returned and five $1000 donations were given in its place. Together with official campaign events held at the Harmony Palace restaurant, co-owned by a leader of the Chinese gang Ghost Shadows. In total, six fundraising events for the Locke campaign were organized by John Huang, who donated $750 personally, with similar occurrences at each one.[19]
This investigation was subsequently picked up (as part of a probe into the 1996 campaign finance scandal) by the IRS, who requested records extending to 1990, the time of Locke's campaign for King County executive.[20] Locke testified before Congress in 2006[21] and denied knowingly accepting campaign contributions from Chinese foreign agents. In 2015, the Locke gubernatorial campaign plead guilty to breaking three campaign fundraising laws relating to the limits for individual contribution, timely reporting of contributions, and failure to deposit cash contributions.[22]
Ellen Craswell battled cancer immediately following the election, retired in 2005, and died in 2008.[23]
References
[edit]- ^ "Lowry Declares He's Out Of Running Surprise Announcement Throws Governor's Race Wide Open | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
- ^ "Elections Search Results September 1996 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
- ^ Washington Secretary of State. "Governor". Official Returns of the Washington State Primary September 17, 1996. Olympia, Washington. pp. 2–4.
- ^ "| The Seattle Times Subscribers Archives". seattletimessubs.newsbank.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "| The Seattle Times Subscribers Archives". seattletimessubs.newsbank.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "| The Seattle Times Subscribers Archives". seattletimessubs.newsbank.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "| The Seattle Times Subscribers Archives". seattletimessubs.newsbank.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "Craswell Has Higher Calling For Government Gop Governor Candidate Puts God In Her Campaign | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "| The Seattle Times Subscribers Archives". seattletimessubs.newsbank.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "| The Seattle Times Subscribers Archives". seattletimessubs.newsbank.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "Proquest". proquest. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "| The Seattle Times Subscribers Archives". seattletimessubs.newsbank.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "LOCKE, CRASWELL DIFFER ON EDUCATION TOO LOCKE: - ProQuest". www.proquest.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "| The Seattle Times Subscribers Archives". seattletimessubs.newsbank.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "| The Seattle Times Subscribers Archives". seattletimessubs.newsbank.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "Elections Search Results November 1996 General". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
- ^ a b Washington Secretary of State. "Governor". Official Returns of the State General Election November 5, 1996. Olympia, Washington. p. 10.
- ^ "| The Seattle Times Subscribers Archives". seattletimessubs.newsbank.com. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ Atkins, Drew. "The scandals of former Gov. Gary Locke | Cascade PBS". www.cascadepbs.org. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
- ^ "Authenticate for Database Access". proquest. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "The grilling of Gary Locke". Seattle Weekly. October 9, 2006. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "Authenticate for Database Access". proquest. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
- ^ "Former state Sen. Ellen Craswell dies; she ran for governor as conservative". The Seattle Times. April 8, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2024.