Governor's race dominates Washington state primary

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state’s longtime attorney general and a former sheriff known for his work hunting down the Green River Killer are vying to become the next governor of a Democratic stronghold that hasn’t had an open race for the state’s top job in more than a decade.

Results begin 8pm:
Washington State 2024 Primary Results

Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson will face former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in Tuesday’s primary election. For weeks, the race has featured intense sparring between the two front-runners in a field of more than two dozen candidates.

Washington has long had a reputation as a solid Democratic stronghold and hasn’t had a Republican governor in nearly 40 years. But polling shows Reichert not far behind Ferguson.

The other state races

The state’s eight other executive offices are also up this year. Three of them do not include incumbents. Ferguson is leaving the attorney general’s office to seek the governorship, while Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz is running for U.S. House and Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who faced accusations of creating a hostile workplace and calls to resign during his current term, is not running for reelection.

Kilmer represents the state’s 6th Congressional District, which includes the entire Olympia Peninsula and the city of Tacoma. It’s been represented by a Democrat since 1965. Franz, a Democrat, has raised about $1.4 million, with fellow Democrat and state Sen. Emily Randall running second in the money race with around $1 million.

Both could find themselves on the ballot in November, as Washington has a top-two primary system in which all candidates appear on the same ballot regardless of party and the top two finishers advance to the general election.

McMorris Rodgers’ seat, which covers the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, has drawn almost one-dozen candidates. Many have elected experience, including Spokane County treasurer and former state Sen. Michael Baumgartner, the race’s top fundraiser, and state Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber. McMorris Rodgers hasn’t endorsed anyone in the race.

Primary day
The Washington state primary will be held Tuesday. Polls close at 8 p.m. PT.

What's on the ballot
The Associated Press will provide coverage for 62 contested races, including all-party primaries for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state executive offices, state Supreme Court and both state legislative chambers.

Who gets to vote
Any registered voter in Washington may participate in the primary election.

Decision notes
Besides conducting all-party primaries, Washington conducts its elections entirely by mail. All registered voters are sent an absentee ballot, and as long as the ballots are postmarked by election day, they can be counted.

Like other all-mail states, Washington tends to count its vote relatively slowly. In state races, slow vote-counting could delay a call for one or both spots on the November ballot if it’s not clear which candidates will prevail once all votes are tabulated.

For statewide races, the key counties to watch are the populous counties of King, which includes Seattle, and its northern and southern neighbors, Pierce and Snohomish.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?
As of July 19, there were 4,831,157 registered voters in Washington. Washington does not register voters by party.

In the 2024 presidential primaries, turnout was 35% of just under 4.9 million registered voters.

Absentee ballots began going out on July 19. As of July 31, more than 608,000 ballots had been cast in the all-party primaries.

How long does vote-counting usually take?
In the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, the AP first reported results at 8:02 p.m. PT, or two minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 8:30 p.m. PT with about 71% of total votes counted.

Are we there yet?
As of Tuesday, there will be 91 days until the November general election.