Washington 2024 Primary Election results: What you need to know

With turnout down 13.5 percentage points compared to the primary in the last presidential election year, nearly 6 in 10 Washingtonians opted not to return their ballots. In a state like ours with a top-two primary system – where the top two vote-earners advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation – this lack of participation had significant consequences.

Every. Vote. Matters.

While the Secretary of State’s office certified the election results last week, one election’s outcome remains to be determined. In what the Seattle Times described as the “tightest WA primary in history” Democrat Dave Upthegrove currently leads by just 51 votes over Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson for second place in the race for Washington Lands Commissioner. 

The razor-thin .002% margin triggered an automatic recount, which began on Monday and is expected to take 7 business days. The eventual second-place finisher will go on to face the first-place finisher, Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler, in the general election.

This is a critically important position that oversees the Washington Department of Natural Resource, which among many other things, leads the state’s preparation and response to forest fires. And it’s coming down to a literal handful of votes.

There are few more poignant examples of the old adage “every vote matters,” something to keep top of mind when deciding to mail in your ballot for the state’s general election.

Potential shake-ups in Congress

While many other races in the primary election played out mostly as expected, the races at the Congressional level played out in some interesting ways.

• 3th District (southwest Washington): Democratic incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez will once again face Republican Joe Kent in the general. In 2022, the race was decided by less than a point. In this year’s primary, Gluesenkamp Perez led Kent by 8.5, but the third-place vote-getter – Republican Leslie Lewallen – earned more than 12 points. This race is expected to be very close. 
• 4th District (central Washington): Republican Jerrod Sessler came out 7.7 points ahead of incumbent Republican Dan Newhouse. Newhouse is one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach President Trump and just one of two still active in Congress. The two Republicans will face each other in the general. Another Republican, Tiffany Smiley, finished with more than 19% of the vote, and it will be interesting to see where her supporters go. 
• 5th District (eastern Washington): Republican Michael Baumgartner finished 9.5% ahead of Democrat Carmela Conroy in the race to replace incumbent Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who was first elected in 2004.
• 8th District (central/western Washington): Republican Carmen Goers finished 7.3% behind incumbent Democrat Kim Schrier. The race was surprisingly close, considering it was relatively under the radar in terms of attention or money – something that is likely to change heading into the general.

Looking forward

In this primary’s high-profile election, Democrat Bob Ferguson and Republican Dave Reichart advanced in the race to be Washington’s next Governor and voters will choose between the two in November. 

Perhaps the most impactful vote Washingtonians will have at the general, however, did not appear at all on primary election ballots – the four initiatives from Let’s Go Washington. Voters will be able to enact binding decisions on repealing the state’s effective natural gas ban, repealing cap & trade, repealing the capital gains tax, and allowing opt-out of the long-term care payroll tax. 

And you needn’t look any further than the Lands Commissioner race to see how impactful a single vote can be.