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2016 United States presidential election in Washington (state)

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Turnout	78.76% (of registered voters) 2.49%
Nominee Hillary Clinton Donald Trump Party Democratic Republican Home state New York New York Running mate Tim Kaine Mike Pence Electoral vote 8 0 Popular vote 1,742,718 1,221,747 Percentage 52.54% 36.83%
County results Congressional district results Precinct results Clinton   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 President Donald Trump Republican

Elections in Washington
Federal government Presidential elections 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate elections 1889 1891 1893 1895 sp 1897 1899 1903 1905 1909 1911 1914 1916 1920 1922 1928 1934 1940 1946 1952 1956 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1983 sp 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024 2028 U.S. House of Representatives elections 1889 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1909 2nd sp 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1923 5th sp 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1947 3rd sp 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 3rd sp 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1975 3rd sp 1976 1977 7th sp 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 1st sp 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026
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v t e

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.

In 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, 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. This was the first presidential election in which the Republican Party won Grays Harbor and Pacific counties since 1928 and 1952, respectively.

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. 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. Despite Clinton's victory, four Democratic electors defected: Three voted for former U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell, making him the first African-American Republican to receive electoral votes, 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.

Primaries and Caucuses

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 17.08% in 2008 and Mitt Romney by 14.87% in 2012.

Primary elections

Democratic caucus

Bernie 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.

Republican primary

Four candidates appeared on the Republican presidential primary ballot on May 24, 2016:

• Ben Carson (withdrawn)
• Ted Cruz (withdrawn)
• John Kasich (withdrawn)
• Donald Trump

Green convention

This state's Green Party state convention was on May 15. Ballots were emailed to members within a week after the convention.

General election

Predictions

Polling

Democrat Hillary Clinton won every pre-election poll and all but one by double digits. The average of the final three polls showed Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump 50.3% to 36%.

State voting history

Washington 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.

Results

By county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• 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

Clinton won 7 of 10 congressional districts including one represented by a Republican.

See also

• 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

1. 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

1. Secretary of State: Kim Wyman. "November 8, 2016 General Election Results". www.sos.wa.gov. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
2. "Washington Election Results 2016". The New York Times. August 1, 2017. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
3. "2016 Presidential General Election Results - Vote Swing - D-R Margin Change from Previous Election". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
4. Wheel, Robert. "The 2016 Streak Breakers". Center for Politics. Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
5. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
6. Houghton, Ashley (July 6, 2020). "Faithless Electors". FairVote. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
7. Cheney, Kyle (December 19, 2016). "Trump wins Electoral College vote". Politico. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
8. 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.
9. The Green Papers
10. Green Party of Washington State. "Spring Gathering 2016". Facebook.
11. "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.
12. Chalian, David (November 4, 2016). "Road to 270: CNN's new election map". CNN. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
13. "2016 Electoral Scorecard". The Cook Political Report. November 7, 2016. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
14. "2016 Electoral Map Prediction". Electoral-vote.com. November 8, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
15. "Presidential Ratings". The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
16. Sabato, Larry J. (November 7, 2016). "2016 President". University of Virginia Center for Politics. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
17. "2016 Election Maps - Battle for White House". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
18. "Electoral Scorecard: Map shifts again in Trump's favor, as Clinton holds edge". Fox News. November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
19. "RealClearPolitics - Election 2016 - Washington: Trump vs. Clinton". www.realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
20. "Washington Presidential Election 2016 Results LIVE Updates". Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
21. Federal Election Commission (December 2017). "Federal Elections 2016" (PDF). p. 43. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
22. Bump, Philip. "The counties that flipped parties to swing the 2016 election". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
23. FINAL 2016Gen - Cong by District (PDF). wei.sos.wa.gov (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 20, 2017.

External links

• RNC 2016 Republican Nominating Process Archived 2016-11-08 at the Wayback Machine
• Green papers for 2016 primaries, caucuses, and conventions

v t e State and district results of the 2016 United States presidential election
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• 2016 United States presidential election by state
• United States presidential elections in Washington (state)
• 2016 Washington (state) elections