The 1996 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996. Though eligible for a second term, incumbent governor Mike Lowry chose not to run for reelection due to allegations of sexual harassment. This gubernatorial race was especially significant in that it resulted in the first Asian American governor in the mainland United States (after George Ariyoshi of island state Hawaii), Democrat Gary Locke. Former U.S. Representative Jay Inslee would be elected in the gubernatorial election in 2012.
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County results | |||||||||||||||||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gary Locke | 287,762 | 23.65% | |
| Democratic | Norm Rice | 212,888 | 17.50% | |
| Republican | Ellen Craswell | 185,680 | 15.26% | |
| Republican | Dale Foreman | 162,615 | 13.37% | |
| Democratic | Jay Inslee | 118,571 | 9.75% | |
| Republican | Norm Maleng | 109,088 | 8.97% | |
| Republican | Jim Waldo | 63,584 | 5.25% | |
| Republican | Pam Roach | 29,533 | 2.43% | |
| Republican | Nona Brazier | 21,237 | 1.75% | |
| Democratic | Brian Zetlen | 6,152 | 0.51% | |
| Republican | Warren E. Hanson | 4,886 | 0.40% | |
| Republican | Bob Tharp | 4,825 | 0.40% | |
| Socialist Workers | Jeff Powers | 3,742 | 0.31% | |
| Democratic | Mohammad H. Said | 3,007 | 0.25% | |
| Democratic | Max Englerius | 2,837 | 0.23% | |
| Total votes | 1,216,407 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Gary Locke | 1,296,492 | 57.96 | ||
| Republican | Ellen Craswell | 940,538 | 42.04 | ||
| Total votes | 2,237,030 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
