Main article: 2016 United States presidential election
The 2016 United States presidential election in Washington took place on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election. Washington was won by Hillary Clinton, who won the state with 52.54% of the vote over Donald Trump's 36.83%, a margin of 15.71%. All of the state's 12 electoral votes were assigned to Clinton, though four defected. Trump prevailed in the presidential election nationally.
2016 United States presidential election in Washington (state) ← 2012 November 8, 2016 2020 → Turnout78.76% (of registered voters) 2.49%[1] Nominee Hillary Clinton Donald Trump Party Democratic Republican Home state New York New York Running mate Tim Kaine Mike Pence Electoral vote 8[a] 0 Popular vote 1,742,718 1,221,747 Percentage 52.54% 36.83% County results Congressional district results Precinct resultsClinton
30–40% 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
President before election
Barack Obama Democratic
Elected PresidentDonald Trump Republican
Results by county showing number of votes by size and candidates by color Treemap of the popular vote by countyIn the presidential primaries, Washington voters chose the Republican Party's nominee; the Democratic Party used the caucus system, and the Green Party's nominee was chosen in a convention. Although Clinton's 52.5% percent of the vote was a reduction from Barack Obama's 55.8% in 2012,[2] Trump receiving an even greater drop in percentage compared to Mitt Romney's 41.0% made Washington one of 11 states (along with the District of Columbia) where Clinton improved upon Obama's margin of victory.[3] This was the first presidential election in which the Republican Party won Grays Harbor and Pacific counties since 1928 and 1952, respectively.[4]
This election was also the first time that the Republican Party had won Cowlitz County since 1980, and the first time they had won Mason County since 1984.[5] Additionally, Trump became the first Republican ever to win the White House without carrying Island County, as well as the first to do so without carrying Whitman County since William McKinley in 1900.[citation needed] Despite Clinton's victory, four Democratic electors defected:[6] Three voted for former U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell, making him the first African-American Republican to receive electoral votes,[7] while Native American activist Robert Satiacum Jr. cast his vote for fellow activist Faith Spotted Eagle, making her the first Native American to receive an electoral vote for president.[8]
Contents 1 Primaries and Caucuses 1.1 Primary elections 1.1.1 Democratic caucus 1.1.2 Republican primary 1.1.3 Green convention 2 General election 2.1 Predictions 2.2 Polling 2.3 State voting history 2.4 Results 2.4.1 By county 2.4.2 By congressional district 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links Primaries and Caucuses edit Main article: Political party strength in Washington (state)Washington has voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1988. While the state's Senate was majority Republican in 2016, both of Washington's United States Senators are Democrats, as well as a majority of the state's U.S. House delegation. Barack Obama defeated John McCain by 17.18% in 2008 and Mitt Romney by 14.87% in 2012.
Primary elections edit Democratic caucus edit Main article: 2016 Washington Democratic presidential caucuses County results of the Washington Democratic presidential caucus, 2016. Bernie SandersBernie Sanders bested Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential caucus on March 26, 2016:
The state also held a non-binding presidential primary on May 24, the same date as the state's Republican primary. Hillary Clinton won the preference vote.
Washington Democratic caucuses, March 26, 2016 Candidate District delegates Estimated delegates Count Percentage Pledged Unpledged Total Bernie Sanders 19,159 72.72% 74 0 74 Hillary Clinton 7,140 27.10% 27 10 37 Others Uncommitted 46 0.18% 0 7 7 Total 26,345 100% 101 17 118 Source: [9] Washington Democratic primary, May 24, 2016 Candidate Popular vote Estimated delegates Count Percentage Pledged Unpledged Total Hillary Clinton 420,461 52.38% 0 0 0 Bernie Sanders 382,293 47.62% 0 0 0 Others Uncommitted Total 802,754 100% 0 0 0 Source: Washington Secretary of State - Official Results Republican primary edit Main article: 2016 Washington Republican presidential primaryFour candidates appeared on the Republican presidential primary ballot on May 24, 2016:
Ben Carson (withdrawn) Ted Cruz (withdrawn) John Kasich (withdrawn) Donald Trump Washington Republican primary, May 24, 2016 Candidate Votes Percentage Actual delegate count Bound Unbound Total Donald Trump 455,023 75.46% 41 0 41 Ted Cruz (withdrawn) 65,172 10.81% 0 0 0 John Kasich (withdrawn) 58,954 9.78% 0 0 0 Ben Carson (withdrawn) 23,849 3.96% 0 0 0 Uncommitted 3 0 3 Unprojected delegates: 0 0 0 Total: 602,998 100.00% 44 0 44 Source: The Green Papers Green convention editThis state's Green Party state convention was on May 15. Ballots were emailed to members within a week after the convention.[10]
Washington Green Party Convention, May 15, 2016. Candidate Votes Percentage National delegates Jill Stein - 91.7 5 William Kreml - - - Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza Curry - - - Kent Mesplay - - - Darryl Cherney - - - Total - - 5 General election edit Predictions edit Source Ranking As of Los Angeles Times[11] Safe D November 6, 2016 CNN[12] Safe D November 4, 2016 Cook Political Report[13] Safe D November 7, 2016 Electoral-vote.com[14] Safe D November 8, 2016 Rothenberg Political Report[15] Safe D November 7, 2016 Sabato's Crystal Ball[16] Safe D November 7, 2016 RealClearPolitics[17] Likely D November 8, 2016 Fox News[18] Safe D November 7, 2016 Polling edit See also: Statewide opinion polling for the 2016 United States presidential election § WashingtonDemocrat Hillary Clinton won every pre-election poll and all but one by double digits. The erage of the final three polls showed Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump 50.3% to 36%.[19]
State voting history editWashington joined the Union in November 1889 and has participated in all elections from 1892 onwards.
Since 1900, Washington voted Democratic 51.72 percent of the time and Republican 44.83 percent of the time. Since 1988, Washington had voted for the Democratic Party in each presidential election, and the same was expected to happen in 2016.[20]
Results edit 2016 United States presidential election in Washington (state)[21] Party Candidate Running mate Votes Percentage Electoral votes Democratic Hillary Clinton Tim Kaine 1,742,718 52.54% 8 Republican Donald Trump Mike Pence 1,221,747 36.83% 0 Libertarian Gary Johnson William Weld 160,879 4.85% 0 Write-ins 107,805 3.25% 0 Green Jill Stein Ajamu Baraka 58,417 1.76% 0 Constitution Darrell Castle Scott Bradley 17,623 0.53% 0 Socialist Workers Alyson Kennedy Osborne Hart 4,307 0.13% 0 Socialism and Liberation Gloria La Riva Eugene Puryear 3,523 0.11% 0 Republican Colin Powell 0 0.00% 3 Independent Faith Spotted Eagle Winona LaDuke 0 0.00% 1 Total 3,317,019 100.00% 12 By county edit County[22][21] Hillary ClintonDemocratic Donald TrumpRepublican Various candidatesOther parties Margin Total # % # % # % # % Adams 1,299 27.16% 3,083 64.47% 400 8.36% -1,784 -37.31% 4,782 Asotin 3,134 31.42% 5,741 57.56% 1,099 11.02% -2,607 -26.14% 9,974 Benton 26,360 31.53% 47,194 56.46% 10,038 12.01% -20,834 -24.92% 83,592 Chelan 13,032 37.85% 18,114 52.61% 3,287 9.55% -5,082 -14.76% 34,433 Clallam 17,677 43.61% 18,794 46.37% 4,062 10.02% -1,117 -2.76% 40,533 Clark 92,757 44.49% 92,441 44.34% 23,287 11.17% 316 0.15% 208,485 Columbia 526 23.60% 1,497 67.16% 206 9.24% -971 -43.56% 2,229 Cowlitz 17,908 37.99% 24,185 51.30% 5,049 10.71% -6,277 -13.32% 47,142 Douglas 4,918 30.93% 9,603 60.39% 1,380 8.68% -4,685 -29.46% 15,901 Ferry 1,098 29.78% 2,202 59.72% 387 10.50% -1,104 -29.94% 3,687 Franklin 8,886 36.10% 13,206 53.65% 2,522 10.25% -4,320 -17.55% 24,614 Garfield 279 22.39% 851 68.30% 116 9.31% -572 -45.91% 1,246 Grant 7,810 26.69% 18,518 63.29% 2,930 10.01% -10,708 -36.60% 29,258 Grays Harbor 12,020 41.02% 14,067 48.01% 3,214 10.97% -2,047 -6.99% 29,301 Island 20,960 47.34% 18,465 41.71% 4,848 10.95% 2,495 5.64% 44,273 Jefferson 12,656 60.62% 6,037 28.91% 2,186 10.47% 6,619 31.70% 20,879 King 718,322 69.85% 216,339 21.04% 93,789 9.12% 501,983 48.81% 1,028,450 Kitsap 63,156 49.05% 49,018 38.07% 16,596 12.89% 14,138 10.98% 128,770 Kittitas 7,489 38.18% 10,100 51.49% 2,026 10.33% -2,611 -13.31% 19,615 Klickitat 4,194 37.87% 5,789 52.28% 1,091 9.85% -1,595 -14.40% 11,074 Lewis 9,654 27.43% 21,992 62.48% 3,553 10.09% -12,338 -35.05% 35,199 Lincoln 1,244 21.23% 4,108 70.09% 509 8.68% -2,864 -48.87% 5,861 Mason 11,993 41.35% 13,677 47.16% 3,333 11.49% -1,684 -5.81% 29,003 Okanogan 6,298 35.87% 9,610 54.74% 1,648 9.39% -3,312 -18.87% 17,556 Pacific 4,620 42.11% 5,360 48.85% 992 9.04% -740 -6.74% 10,972 Pend Oreille 1,934 27.57% 4,373 62.33% 709 10.11% -2,439 -34.76% 7,016 Pierce 172,538 47.92% 146,824 40.78% 40,655 11.29% 25,714 7.14% 360,017 San Juan 7,172 64.42% 2,688 24.14% 1,274 11.44% 4,484 40.27% 11,134 Skagit 26,690 45.97% 24,736 42.60% 6,633 11.42% 1,954 3.37% 58,059 Skamania 2,232 38.29% 2,928 50.23% 669 11.48% -696 -11.94% 5,829 Snohomish 185,227 52.22% 128,255 36.16% 41,252 11.63% 56,972 16.06% 354,734 Spokane 93,767 39.72% 113,435 48.06% 28,848 12.22% -19,668 -8.33% 236,050 Stevens 5,767 24.65% 15,161 64.80% 2,467 10.54% -9,394 -40.15% 23,395 Thurston 68,798 51.27% 48,624 36.23% 16,769 12.50% 20,174 15.03% 134,191 Wahkiakum 832 34.25% 1,344 55.33% 253 10.42% -512 -21.08% 2,429 Walla Walla 9,694 36.96% 13,651 52.05% 2,883 10.99% -3,957 -15.09% 26,228 Whatcom 60,340 53.24% 40,599 35.82% 12,400 10.94% 19,741 17.42% 113,339 Whitman 8,146 45.19% 7,403 41.06% 2,479 13.75% 743 4.12% 18,028 Yakima 31,291 39.24% 41,735 52.34% 6,715 8.42% -10,444 -13.10% 79,741 Totals 1,742,718 52.54% 1,221,747 36.83% 352,554 10.63% 520,971 15.71% 3,317,019 County Flips: Democratic Hold Gain from Republican Republican Hold Gain from Democratic Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican[23]
Clallam (largest city: Port Angeles) Cowlitz (largest city: Longview) Grays Harbor (largest city: Aberdeen) Mason (largest city: Shelton) Pacific (largest city: Raymond) Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic Whitman (largest city: Pullman) By congressional district editClinton won seven of ten congressional districts including one that elected a Republican.[21]
District Clinton Trump Representative 1st 54% 38% Suzan DelBene 2nd 57% 35% Rick Larsen 3rd 43% 50% Jaime Herrera Beutler 4th 35% 58% Dan Newhouse 5th 39% 52% Cathy McMorris Rodgers 6th 52% 39% Derek Kilmer 7th 82% 12% Jim McDermott (114th Congress) Pramila Jayapal (115th Congress) 8th 48% 45% De Reichert 9th 70% 23% Adam Smith 10th 51% 40% Denny Heck See also edit United States presidential elections in Washington (state) First presidency of Donald Trump 2016 Democratic Party presidential debates and forums 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries 2016 Republican Party presidential debates and forums 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries Notes edit ^ Clinton and Kaine earned 12 pledged electoral votes, but lost four to faithless electors. Three electors voted for Colin Powell for president and Elizabeth Warren, Maria Cantwell, and Susan Collins for vice president, while Robert Satiacum Jr. voted for Faith Spotted Eagle for president and Winona LaDuke for vice president. References edit ^ Secretary of State: Kim Wyman. "November 8, 2016 General Election Results". www.sos.wa.gov. Retrieved June 9, 2019. ^ "Washington Election Results 2016". The New York Times. August 1, 2017. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 9, 2019. ^ "2016 Presidential General Election Results - Vote Swing - D-R Margin Change from Previous Election". De Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2023. ^ Wheel, Robert. "The 2016 Streak Breakers". Center for Politics. Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Retrieved November 13, 2016. ^ Sullivan, Robert Did; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016 ^ Houghton, Ashley (July 6, 2020). "Faithless Electors". FairVote. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2023. ^ Cheney, Kyle (December 19, 2016). "Trump wins Electoral College vote". Politico. Retrieved December 1, 2023. ^ Pearce, Matt (December 20, 2016). "How Faith Spotted Eagle became the first Native American to win an electoral vote for president". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 1, 2023. ^ The Green Papers ^ Green Party of Washington State. "Spring Gathering 2016". Facebook. ^ "Our final map has Clinton winning with 352 electoral votes. Compare your picks with ours". Los Angeles Times. November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2016. ^ Chalian, Did (November 4, 2016). "Road to 270: CNN's new election map". CNN. Retrieved March 3, 2019. ^ "2016 Electoral Scorecard". The Cook Political Report. November 7, 2016. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019. ^ "2016 Electoral Map Prediction". Electoral-vote.com. November 8, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2019. ^ "Presidential Ratings". The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved August 16, 2021. ^ Sabato, Larry J. (November 7, 2016). "2016 President". University of Virginia Center for Politics. Retrieved March 3, 2019. ^ "2016 Election Maps - Battle for White House". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved November 13, 2016. ^ "Electoral Scorecard: Map shifts again in Trump's for, as Clinton holds edge". Fox News. November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2016. ^ "RealClearPolitics - Election 2016 - Washington: Trump vs. Clinton". www.realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved July 26, 2021. ^ "Washington Presidential Election 2016 Results LIVE Updates". Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2016. ^ a b c "2016 General Data". sos.wa.gov. Archived from the original on March 15, 2025. ^ Wyman, Kim (November 8, 2016). "President/Vice President - County Results". Secretary of State of Washington. Archived from the original on June 28, 2025. Retrieved August 9, 2025. ^ Bump, Philip. "The counties that flipped parties to swing the 2016 election". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 1, 2020. External links edit RNC 2016 Republican Nominating Process Archived 2016-11-08 at the Wayback Machine Green papers for 2016 primaries, caucuses, and conventions