The 1889 Washington gubernatorial election took place on October 1, 1889, to elect the first Governor of Washington shortly before it was admitted as a U.S. state. Both candidates, Republican Elisha P. Ferry and Democrat Eugene Semple, previously served as Territorial Governor, a position appointed by the President of the United States.[1]
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 County results Ferry: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Semple: 50–60% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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Ferry won the election by nearly 9,000 votes out of 58,000 cast,[2] and took office in Olympia on November 18, 1889, a week after President Benjamin Harrison signed Washington's statehood into law.[3][4] This was the only election in Washington's history in which King County did not cast the most votes of any county.
General election
editResults
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Elisha P. Ferry | 33,711 | 57.67% | ||
| Democratic | Eugene Semple | 24,732 | 42.31% | ||
| Scattering | 11 | 0.02% | |||
| Majority | 8,979 | 15.36% | |||
| Total votes | 58,454 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
Results by county
edit| County[5] | Elisha P. Ferry Republican |
Eugene Semple Democratic |
Scattering Write-in |
Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 260 | 64.84% | 141 | 35.16% | 0 | 0.00% | 119 | 29.68% | 401 |
| Asotin | 171 | 57.77% | 125 | 42.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 46 | 15.54% | 296 |
| Chehalis | 897 | 59.33% | 615 | 40.67% | 0 | 0.00% | 282 | 18.65% | 1,512 |
| Clallam | 222 | 48.90% | 232 | 51.10% | 0 | 0.00% | -10 | -2.20% | 454 |
| Clark | 1,216 | 63.73% | 692 | 36.27% | 0 | 0.00% | 524 | 27.46% | 1,908 |
| Columbia | 666 | 50.68% | 648 | 49.32% | 0 | 0.00% | 18 | 1.37% | 1,314 |
| Cowlitz | 663 | 65.13% | 355 | 34.87% | 0 | 0.00% | 308 | 30.26% | 1,018 |
| Douglas | 353 | 57.12% | 265 | 42.88% | 0 | 0.00% | 88 | 14.24% | 618 |
| Franklin | 38 | 29.92% | 89 | 70.08% | 0 | 0.00% | -51 | -40.16% | 127 |
| Garfield | 517 | 55.29% | 418 | 44.71% | 0 | 0.00% | 99 | 10.59% | 935 |
| Island | 180 | 64.29% | 100 | 35.71% | 0 | 0.00% | 80 | 28.57% | 280 |
| Jefferson | 867 | 57.72% | 633 | 42.14% | 2 | 0.13% | 234 | 15.58% | 1,502 |
| King | 4,319 | 55.96% | 3,398 | 44.03% | 1 | 0.01% | 921 | 11.93% | 7,718 |
| Kitsap | 619 | 67.80% | 289 | 31.65% | 5 | 0.55% | 330 | 36.14% | 913 |
| Kittitas | 1,339 | 53.62% | 1,158 | 46.38% | 0 | 0.00% | 181 | 7.25% | 2,497 |
| Klickitat | 686 | 64.23% | 382 | 35.77% | 0 | 0.00% | 304 | 28.46% | 1,068 |
| Lewis | 1,219 | 58.41% | 868 | 41.59% | 0 | 0.00% | 351 | 16.82% | 2,087 |
| Lincoln | 1,104 | 56.13% | 863 | 43.87% | 0 | 0.00% | 241 | 12.25% | 1,967 |
| Mason | 322 | 51.44% | 304 | 48.56% | 0 | 0.00% | 18 | 2.88% | 626 |
| Okanogan | 322 | 60.41% | 211 | 39.59% | 0 | 0.00% | 111 | 20.83% | 533 |
| Pacific | 494 | 76.71% | 150 | 23.29% | 0 | 0.00% | 344 | 53.42% | 644 |
| Pierce | 4,362 | 54.72% | 3,608 | 45.26% | 1 | 0.01% | 754 | 9.46% | 7,971 |
| San Juan | 264 | 71.74% | 104 | 28.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 160 | 43.48% | 368 |
| Skagit | 949 | 62.64% | 566 | 37.36% | 0 | 0.00% | 383 | 25.28% | 1,515 |
| Skamania | 62 | 46.27% | 72 | 53.73% | 0 | 0.00% | -10 | -7.46% | 134 |
| Snohomish | 880 | 57.18% | 659 | 42.82% | 0 | 0.00% | 221 | 14.36% | 1,539 |
| Spokane | 3,256 | 58.88% | 2,272 | 41.08% | 2 | 0.04% | 984 | 17.79% | 5,530 |
| Stevens | 460 | 56.79% | 350 | 43.21% | 0 | 0.00% | 110 | 13.58% | 810 |
| Thurston | 1,067 | 59.54% | 725 | 40.46% | 0 | 0.00% | 342 | 19.08% | 1,792 |
| Wahkiakum | 284 | 65.59% | 149 | 34.41% | 0 | 0.00% | 135 | 31.18% | 433 |
| Walla Walla | 1,433 | 54.72% | 1,186 | 45.28% | 0 | 0.00% | 247 | 9.43% | 2,619 |
| Whatcom | 1,534 | 67.40% | 742 | 32.60% | 0 | 0.00% | 792 | 34.80% | 2,276 |
| Whitman | 2,149 | 53.82% | 1,844 | 46.18% | 0 | 0.00% | 305 | 7.64% | 3,993 |
| Yakima | 537 | 50.85% | 519 | 49.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 18 | 1.70% | 1,056 |
| Totals | 33,711 | 57.67% | 24,732 | 42.31% | 11 | 0.02% | 8,979 | 15.36% | 58,454 |
References
edit- ^ Wilma, David (September 20, 2003). "Voters elect Washington's first state officials on October 1, 1889". HistoryLink. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ McPherson, Edward, ed. (January 1890). The Tribune Almanac and Political Register for 1890. Vol. II. New York: New-York Tribune. pp. 86–87. OCLC 819535015. Retrieved October 3, 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ McNerthney, Casey (February 1, 2011). "P-I archive: Inauguration of Washington's first governor". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
- ^ Gates, Charles M., ed. (August 1940). Messages of the Governors of the Territory of Washington to the Legislative Assembly, 1854–1889. Vol. 12. University of Washington Press. OCLC 8990968. Retrieved October 3, 2016 – via Oregon State University.
- ^ a b Washington State Archives, Election Returns of Washington Territory at a General Election held on the First day of October 1889