The 1984 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1984. Incumbent Republican John Spellman ran for re-election to a second term but was defeated by Democrat Booth Gardner. This is the last time that the Washington Governor's office changed partisan control or that an incumbent Governor of Washington lost a general election.
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 County results Gardner: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Spellman: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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Blanket primary
Candidates
Democratic
- Booth Gardner, Pierce County Executive
- Jim McDermott, psychiatrist, state senator, candidate for governor in 1972, and nominee for governor 1980
- John Jovanovich, state representative
Republican
- John Spellman, incumbent governor of Washington
- Ted Parker Fix
Third-party
- Mark A. Calney (independent), author
- Bob LeRoy (Populist)
- Cheryll Y. Hidalgo (Socialist Workers)
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Booth Gardner | 421,087 | 46.07% | |
| Republican | John Spellman (incumbent) | 239,463 | 26.20% | |
| Democratic | Jim McDermott | 209,435 | 22.91% | |
| Democratic | John Jovanovich | 23,699 | 2.59% | |
| Republican | Ted Parker Fix | 11,193 | 1.23% | |
| Populist | Bob LeRoy | 3,601 | 0.39% | |
| Independent | Mark A. Calney | 2,851 | 0.31% | |
| Socialist Workers | Cheryll Y. Hidalgo | 2,672 | 0.29% | |
| Total votes | 914,001 | 100.00% | ||
General election
Candidates
- John Spellman (R), incumbent governor of Washington
- Booth Gardner (D), Pierce County Executive
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Booth Gardner | 1,006,993 | 53.31 | ||
| Republican | John Spellman (incumbent) | 881,994 | 46.69 | ||
| Total votes | 1,888,987 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||