2020 Presidential Elections State-by-State Guide: Washington's 36-year wait for the hot seat and climate agenda
State
WASHINGTON
Primary date
March 10, 2020 (Tuesday)
Type: Mixed
Democratic delegates: 89
Republican delegates: 44
Governor
Jay Inslee (Democratic); since January 2013
Senators
Patty Murray (D) and Maria Cantwell (D)
Representatives: 10
Seven Democrats: Suzan DelBene (1st district), Rick Larsen (2nd district), Derek Kilmer (6th district), Pramila Jayapal (7th district), Kim Schrier (8th district), Adam Smith (9th district) and Denny Heck (10th district)
Three Republicans: Jaime Herrera Beutler (3rd district), Dan Newhouse (4th district) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (5th district).
Electoral College Members: 12
In 2016, eight of them went to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton while none went to Republican Donald Trump. Four faithless electors cast their votes for the former secretary of state Colin Powell while one went for activist Faith Spotted Eagle.
How Washington has voted in the past
After witnessing Republican presidential candidates winning the north-western state four consecutive times between 1972 and 1984, Washington tilted towards the Democrats and has not preferred a Red party presidential candidate since then.
Ronald Reagan was the last Republican president to have won majority votes (55.8 percent) in the state. In 2016, Hillary received over 54 percent of votes in the state.
Between 1988 and 2012, Democratic presidential candidates who have won in the Cascadia state are Michael Dukakis (1988), Bill Clinton (1992 and 1996), Al Gore (2000), John Kerry (2004) and Barack Obama (2008 and 2012).
Blues have dominated Washington since late 1980s
Nearly one in four voters in Washington was not born when the state last had a Republican governor (1985) or senator (2001). Till 2000, Washington was still considered a swing state that banked on independent voters.
Till the mid-1960s, Washington's voters backed on party for the Congress and another for the president more frequently. Between 1980 and 1990, the Republicans won 58 percent of the state elections while since 1992, the Democrats have won 77 percent of them.
Between 1992 and 2002, the average split between the total votes of the two parties for the House was only one percent (Dems 50 percent; GOP 49 percent). After 2004, the average went up to 10-point advantage for the Dems (54 to 44) and in 2012 and 2016, the advantage widened to 16 percent (57 to 41).
The Republicans' increasingly turning right and the changing demographics of the state that sees new voters coming up from the Dems-controlled regions (like the central Puget Sound region) have contributed to the "blueing" of Washington.
Washington and 2020 presidential election
With the Donald Trump administration's policies heading right, the Democrats are tending to go more left to nullify him. There is, however, a contradictory take among the state's voters over the economy.
While Washingtonians, in general, feel the economy is doing good, they are not too convinced with Trump's policies like imposing tariffs as the state sees a major movement of exports through the port of Seattle.
Issues related to Washington that could play a defining role in the next presidential election are global warming and the threat to the environment in the region and Trump's controversial abortion policy.
Governor Inslee had joined the presidential race but pulled out in August after failing to reach a larger audience. Till the time he was in, Inslee made climate change his only presidential agenda.