The 2016 Washington State Treasurer election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the Washington State Treasurer, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the U.S. Senate and various state and local elections, including for U.S. House and governor of Washington. Washington is one of two states that holds a top-two primary, meaning that all candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two move on to the general election.

Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer James McIntire announced on December 16, 2015, that he would not seek a third term. Republican Benton County Treasurer Duane Davidson won the election, defeating fellow Republican Michael Waite. This was the first time a Republican had been elected to the office of Treasurer of Washington since 1952.

The top-two primary was held on August 2. Since neither of the top 2 primary winners were Democrats, this is the last time King County voted Republican in a statewide election.

Primary election Democratic Party Eliminated in primary John Paul Comerford, pension consultant Alec Fisken, former Port of Seattle commissioner Marko Liias, state senator (2014–present)

Declined James McIntire, incumbent state treasurer (2009–2017)

Republican Party

Advanced to general Duane Davidson, Benton County treasurer (2003–2017) Michael Waite, investment firm executive

Endorsements

Results Five candidates ran in the primary: state senator Marko Liias, former Port of Seattle commissioner Alec Fisken, pension consultant John Paul Comerford, Benton County treasurer Duane Davidson, and investment firm executive Michael Waite. Liias, Fisken, and Comerford ran as Democrats; Davidson and Waite, as Republicans. Davidson and Waite, both Republicans, finished as the top two candidates in the primary election and advanced to the general election, marking the first time since the top-two system had been instituted that both of the primary slots in any statewide race had been won by Republicans.

By county +CountyDuane Davidson RepublicanMichael Waite RepublicanMarko Liias DemocraticJohn Paul Comerford DemocraticAlec Fisken DemocraticMarginTotal votes#%#%#%#%#%#%Adams76943.62%59333.64%935.28%18110.27%1277.20%1769.98%1,763Asotin1,32933.02%1,13128.10%3298.17%71117.66%52513.04%1984.92%4,025Benton17,18355.81%5,15416.74%2,1957.13%3,63311.80%2,6228.52%12,02939.07%30,787Chelan4,67234.79%4,25231.66%1,42610.62%1,66612.40%1,41510.54%4203.13%13,431Clallam4,32525.83%4,74828.35%2,39014.27%3,10618.55%2,17612.99%-423-2.53%16,745Clark17,87825.88%19,04227.57%10,31014.93%12,20117.66%9,64313.96%-1,164-1.69%69,074Columbia35037.67%33035.52%798.50%778.29%9310.01%202.15%929Cowlitz4,43825.96%5,23930.65%1,93611.32%3,05817.89%2,42414.18%-801-4.69%17,095Douglas2,43138.12%2,17534.11%4807.53%69910.96%5929.28%2564.01%6,377Ferry58034.38%56833.67%17310.25%18911.20%17710.49%120.71%1,687Franklin3,66545.29%2,10926.06%6207.66%1,03412.78%6658.22%1,55619.23%8,093Garfield21540.95%17533.33%336.29%6111.62%417.81%407.62%525Grant3,85837.40%3,68135.68%6976.76%1,22011.83%8608.34%1771.72%10,316Grays Harbor2,94124.64%3,29227.58%1,63013.66%2,46620.66%1,60613.46%-351-2.94%11,935Island5,06625.46%5,35326.91%2,94814.82%3,94719.84%2,58012.97%-287-1.44%19,894Jefferson1,77218.58%1,79418.81%2,00220.99%2,48226.02%1,48715.59%-480-5.03%9,537King75,63018.48%69,43116.96%123,45730.16%80,89119.76%59,92814.64%-42,566-10.40%409,337Kitsap12,53824.53%12,95325.34%8,58016.79%9,32018.23%7,72515.11%-415-0.81%51,116Kittitas2,24431.81%2,19131.06%72410.26%1,25117.73%6459.14%530.75%7,055Klickitat1,46935.30%1,07925.93%42410.19%66816.05%52212.54%3909.37%4,162Lewis4,61633.69%5,05336.88%1,1508.39%1,68912.33%1,1938.71%-437-3.19%13,701Lincoln97438.96%93637.44%1164.64%27010.80%2048.16%381.52%2,500Mason3,39326.81%3,65828.90%1,50411.88%2,30718.23%1,79414.18%-265-2.09%12,656Okanogan2,81836.48%1,94225.14%95912.41%1,03913.45%96712.52%87611.34%7,725Pacific1,22724.81%1,35827.46%72314.62%92518.71%71214.40%-131-2.65%4,945Pend Oreille98531.86%97831.63%2768.93%46515.04%38812.55%70.23%3,092Pierce34,56225.42%36,35826.74%23,13717.02%25,46918.73%16,45312.10%-1,796-1.32%135,979San Juan77715.99%1,00120.61%1,12723.20%1,01220.83%94119.37%-115-2.37%4,858Skagit6,01226.44%6,15827.08%3,27014.38%4,17018.34%3,12813.76%-146-0.64%22,738Skamania61129.83%57227.93%23811.62%34616.89%28113.72%391.90%2,048Snohomish34,00025.07%31,75123.41%32,55524.00%24,06317.74%13,2699.78%1,4451.07%135,638Spokane25,95129.06%24,33827.25%10,94412.25%14,19815.90%13,88315.54%1,6131.81%89,314Stevens3,65736.80%3,43734.58%7007.04%1,14611.53%99810.04%2202.21%9,938Thurston14,01224.61%12,71222.32%11,33919.91%9,26516.27%9,61716.89%1,3002.28%56,945Wahkiakum24224.47%32833.16%959.61%17117.29%15315.47%-86-8.70%989Walla Walla3,00228.98%3,61834.93%1,15611.16%1,24412.01%1,33912.93%-616-5.95%10,359Whatcom10,65423.98%10,63023.92%8,59619.35%8,94120.12%5,61412.63%240.05%44,435Whitman1,71027.80%1,84129.93%79612.94%95515.53%84813.79%-131-2.13%6,150Yakima9,81836.50%7,80729.02%2,4269.02%4,36816.24%2,4829.23%2,0107.47%26,901Totals322,37425.09%299,76623.33%261,63320.36%230,90417.97%170,11713.24%22,6081.76%1,284,794

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Clallam (largest city: Port Angeles) Clark (largest city: Vancouver) Cowlitz (largest city: Longview) Grays Harbor (largest city: Aberdeen) Island (largest city: Oak Harbor) Mason (largest city: Shelton) Pacific (largest city: Raymond) Pierce (largest city: Tacoma) Skagit (largest city: Mount Vernon) Skamania (largest city: Carson) Wahkiakum (largest city: Puget Island)

By congressional district District Davidson Waite Liias Comerford Fisken Representative 27% 26% 18% 19% 10%Suzan DelBene 22.6% 22% 23.0% 20% 12%Rick Larsen 27% 29% 13% 17% 13%Jaime Herrera Beutler 44% 25% 8% 13% 9%Dan Newhouse 30% 29% 11% 15% 14%Cathy McMorris Rodgers 24% 25% 17% 20% 14%Derek Kilmer 14% 11% 39% 19% 17%Jim McDermott 29.21% 29.18% 15% 16% 11%Dave Reichert 19% 18% 28% 21% 14%Adam Smith 24.8% 25.0% 18% 18% 14%Denny Heck

General election Post-primary endorsements Davidson received the endorsements of every county treasurer in Washington state, both Democratic and Republican.

Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Margin DuaneDavidson (R) MichaelWaite (R) UndecidedElway PollElway PollOctober 20–22, 2016502 (RV)± 4.5%17%16%67%Elway PollElway PollAugust 9–13, 2016500 (RV)± 4.5%16%16%68%

Results

By county +CountyDuane Davidson RepublicanMichael Waite RepublicanMarginTotal votes#%#%#%Adams2,46661.02%1,57538.98%89122.05%4,041Asotin4,96458.62%3,50441.38%1,46017.24%8,468Benton50,91070.06%21,75429.94%29,15640.12%72,664Chelan14,99654.04%12,75545.96%2,2418.08%27,751Clallam17,68853.67%15,26846.33%2,4207.34%32,956Clark99,38557.60%73,17342.40%26,21215.19%172,558Columbia1,25165.50%65934.50%59230.99%1,910Cowlitz20,08251.48%18,93148.52%1,1512.95%39,013Douglas7,46856.33%5,79043.67%1,67812.66%13,258Ferry1,70955.89%1,34944.11%36011.77%3,058Franklin13,25363.75%7,53536.25%5,71827.51%20,788Garfield61856.85%46943.15%14913.71%1,087Grant13,28554.53%11,07845.47%2,2079.06%24,363Grays Harbor12,56651.75%11,71448.25%8523.51%24,280Island20,59456.16%16,07943.84%4,51512.31%36,673Jefferson10,30561.34%6,49638.66%3,80922.67%16,801King490,35960.70%317,47539.30%172,88421.40%807,834Kitsap56,50853.30%49,51146.70%6,9976.60%106,019Kittitas9,63560.77%6,21939.23%3,41621.55%15,854Klickitat5,44360.00%3,62940.00%1,81420.00%9,072Lewis16,20054.72%13,40445.28%2,7969.44%29,604Lincoln3,02159.55%2,05240.45%96919.10%5,073Mason12,05850.79%11,68449.21%3741.58%23,742Okanogan7,87455.21%6,38944.79%1,48510.41%14,263Pacific4,74454.06%4,03245.94%7128.11%8,776Pend Oreille3,41358.19%2,45241.81%96116.39%5,865Pierce168,09656.28%130,57643.72%37,52012.56%298,672San Juan4,58356.66%3,50643.34%1,07713.31%8,089Skagit24,92052.82%22,26247.18%2,6585.63%47,182Skamania2,75358.71%1,93641.29%81717.42%4,689Snohomish165,57455.24%134,14744.76%31,42710.49%299,721Spokane116,04358.39%82,69341.61%33,35016.78%198,736Stevens11,51458.05%8,32041.95%3,19416.10%19,834Thurston61,57955.89%48,59144.11%12,98811.79%110,170Wahkiakum1,00153.88%85746.12%1447.75%1,858Walla Walla13,37961.08%8,52638.92%4,85322.15%21,905Whatcom60,56464.72%33,01135.28%27,55329.44%93,575Whitman8,31757.90%6,04742.10%2,27015.80%14,364Yakima37,46256.03%29,39543.97%8,06712.07%66,857Totals1,576,58058.15%1,134,84341.85%441,73716.29%2,711,423

References

Notes