2016 Washington State Senate election

The 2016 Washington State Senate elections is one of the biennial legislative elections in Washington in which about half of the state's 49 legislative districts choose a state senator for a four-year term to the Washington State Senate. The other half of state senators are chosen in the next biennial election, so that about half of the senators, along with all the members of the Washington State House of Representatives, are elected every two years. 25 seats are regularly scheduled to be up this cycle, along with 1 additional seat holding a special election to fill an unexpired term: the 36th district, currently held by appointed Senator Reuven Carlyle, whose former incumbent Jeanne Kohl-Welles vacated the seat.

Washington State Senate elections, 2016

← 2014 November 8, 2016 2018 →
26 seats of the Washington State Senate 25 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mark Schoesler Sharon Nelson Party Majority Coalition Caucus[a] Democratic Leader's seat 9th-Ritzville 34th-Vashon Last election 26 23 Seats won 25 24 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 787,912 708,898 Percentage 50.86% 45.82%
Results:      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Democratic hold      No election
Majority Leader before election Mark Schoesler Republican (Coalition) Elected Majority Leader Mark Schoesler Republican (Coalition)

A top two primary election on August 9, 2016 determines which candidates appear on the November ballot. Candidates were allowed to declare a party preference.^[1] The general election took place on November 8, 2016.^[2]

The 2016 Election maintained effective Republican control of the Senate, because self-identified Democrat Tim Sheldon caucuses with the Republicans.

Overview

Washington State Senate election, 2016
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Republican	787,912	50.86%	25[b]	1
	Democratic	709,898	45.82%	24	1
	Libertarian	28,405	1.83%	0	0
	Independent	22,986	1.48%	0	0
Totals		1,549,201	100.0%	49	—

Composition

Races by type		Seats
	Democratic Incumbent uncontested	5
	Democratic Incumbent vs. Democrat	0
	Democratic Incumbent vs. Republican	5
	Contested, Open Seats[c]	6
	Republican Incumbent vs. Democrat	5
	Republican Incumbent vs. Republican	0
	Republican Incumbent uncontested	5

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Governing[3]	Lean R	October 12, 2016

Results

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 14 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 27 • District 28 • District 36 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 49

District 1

Washington's 1st legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mindie Wirth	11,959	40.0
	Democratic	Guy Palumbo	9,369	31.3
	Democratic	Luis Moscoso	8,568	28.7
Total votes			29,896	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Guy Palumbo	40,758	56.9
	Republican	Mindie Wirth	30,850	43.1
Total votes			71,608	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 2

Washington's 2nd legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Randi Becker (incumbent)	14,103	58.1
	Democratic	Marilyn Rasmussen	6,517	26.8
	Democratic	Tamborine Borrelli	3,680	15.1
Total votes			24,300	100.0
General election
	Republican	Randi Becker (incumbent)	36,739	61.3
	Democratic	Marilyn Rasmussen	23,149	38.7
Total votes			59,888	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

Washington's 3rd legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Andy Billig (incumbent)	14,751	73.1
	Libertarian	James R. Apker	5,428	26.9
Total votes			20,179	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Andy Billig (incumbent)	33,777	67.3
	Libertarian	James R. Apker	16,395	32.7
Total votes			50,172	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 4

Washington's 4th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike Padden (incumbent)	21,255	100.0
General election
	Republican	Mike Padden (incumbent)	55,715	100.0
	Republican hold

District 5

Washington's 5th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Mullet (incumbent)	15,199	50.7
	Republican	Chad Magendanz	14,787	49.3
Total votes			29,986	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Mark Mullet (incumbent)	37,342	50.3
	Republican	Chad Magendanz	36,826	49.7
Total votes			74,168	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 9

Washington's 9th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Schoesler (incumbent)	16,271	100.0
General election
	Republican	Mark Schoesler (incumbent)	41,951	100.0
	Republican hold

District 10

Washington's 10th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Barbara Bailey (incumbent)	18,860	51.5
	Democratic	Angie Homola	13,928	38.0
	Democratic	Nick Petrish	3,851	10.5
Total votes			36,639	100.0
General election
	Republican	Barbara Bailey (incumbent)	42,309	56.7
	Democratic	Angie Homola	32,309	43.3
Total votes			74,618	100.0
	Republican hold

District 11

Washington's 11th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Hasegawa (incumbent)	15,283	79.0
	Libertarian	Dennis Price	4,058	21.0
Total votes			19,341	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Bob Hasegawa (incumbent)	38,785	76.4
	Libertarian	Dennis Price	12,010	23.6
Total votes			50,795	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 12

Washington's 12th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brad Hawkins	16,723	66.2
	Republican	Jon Wyss	8,538	33.8
Total votes			25,261	100.0
General election
	Republican	Brad Hawkins	30,882	56.0
	Republican	Jon Wyss	24,258	44.0
Total votes			55,140	100.0
	Republican hold

District 14

Washington's 14th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Curtis King (incumbent)	14,153	69.8
	Republican	Amanda Richards	6,132	30.2
Total votes			20,285	100.0
General election
	Republican	Curtis King (incumbent)	31,156	61.0
	Republican	Amanda Richards[d]	19,900	39.0
Total votes			51,056	100.0
	Republican hold

District 16

Washington's 16th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Maureen Walsh	16,044	100.0
General election
	Republican	Maureen Walsh	40,354	100.0
	Republican hold

District 17

Washington's 17th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Lynda Wilson	11,603	50.1
	Democratic	Tim Probst	11,553	49.9
Total votes			23,156	100.0
General election
	Republican	Lynda Wilson	32,766	55.1
	Democratic	Tim Probst[e]	26,686	44.9
Total votes			59,452	100.0
	Republican hold

District 18

Washington's 18th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ann Rivers (incumbent)	16,717	60.2
	Democratic	Eric K. Holt	11,029	37.8
Total votes			24,300	100.0
General election
	Republican	Ann Rivers (incumbent)	45,316	63.8
	Democratic	Eric K. Holt	25,699	36.2
Total votes			71,015	100.0
	Republican hold

District 19

Washington's 19th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dean Takko (incumbent)	14,848	57.7
	Republican	Sue Kuehl Pederson	10,909	42.3
Total votes			25,757	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Dean Takko (incumbent)	30,850	55.2
	Republican	Sue Kuehl Pederson[f]	25,064	44.8
Total votes			55,914	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 20

Washington's 20th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John E. Braun (incumbent)	20,063	100.0
General election
	Republican	John E. Braun (incumbent)	49,936	100.0
	Republican hold

District 22

Washington's 22nd legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sam Hunt	17,992	55.4
	Independent	Steve Owens	6,934	21.4
	Democratic	Erik Lee	4,872	15.0
	Democratic	Spencer Baldwin	2,662	8.2
Total votes			32,460	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Sam Hunt	45,882	66.6
	Independent	Steve Owens	22,986	33.4
Total votes			68,868	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 23

Washington's 23rd legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Christine Rolfes (incumbent)	22,794	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Christine Rolfes (incumbent)	51,541	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 24

Washington's 24th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kevin Van De Wege	21,700	60.8
	Republican	Danille Turissini	14,016	39.2
Total votes			35,716	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Kevin Van De Wege	40,808	56.6
	Republican	Danille Turissini[g]	31,342	43.4
Total votes			72,150	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 25

Washington's 25th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Hans Zeiger	14,492	59.4
	Democratic	Karl Mecklenburg	9,912	40.6
Total votes			24,404	100.0
General election
	Republican	Hans Zeiger	35,138	59.3
	Democratic	Karl Mecklenburg	24,088	40.7
Total votes			59,226	100.0
	Republican hold

District 27

Washington's 27th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jeannie Darneille (incumbent)	15,141	62.1
	Republican	Greg Taylor	6,356	26.1
	Democratic	Martin Cline	2,882	11.8
Total votes			24,379	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Jeannie Darneille (incumbent)	40,241	69.3
	Republican	Greg Taylor	17,859	30.7
Total votes			58,100	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 28

Washington's 28th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steve O'Ban (incumbent)	14,229	53.6
	Democratic	Marisa Peloquin	12,309	46.4
Total votes			26,538	100.0
General election
	Republican	Steve O'Ban (incumbent)	30,139	52.9
	Democratic	Marisa Peloquin	26,835	47.1
Total votes			56,974	100.0
	Republican hold

District 36

Washington's 36th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Reuven Carlyle (incumbent)	34,600	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Reuven Carlyle (incumbent)	72,385	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 39

Washington's 39th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kirk Pearson (incumbent)	19,810	100.0
General election
	Republican	Kirk Pearson (incumbent)	50,942	100.0
	Republican hold

District 40

Washington's 40th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kevin Ranker (incumbent)	21,404	67.4
	Republican	Daniel R. Miller	10,377	32.6
Total votes			31,781	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Kevin Ranker (incumbent)	47,108	67.1
	Republican	Daniel R. Miller	23,081	32.9
Total votes			70,189	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 41

Washington's 41st legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lisa Wellman	14,800	48.8
	Republican	Steve Litzow (incumbent)	14,344	47.3
	Libertarian	Bryan Simonson	1,189	3.9
Total votes			30,333	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Lisa Wellman	37,107	51.9
	Republican	Steve Litzow (incumbent)	34,446	48.1
Total votes			71,553	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 49

Washington's 49th legislative district election, 2016

Primary election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Annette Cleveland (incumbent)	12,581	56.9
	Republican	Lewis Gerhardt	6,980	31.5
	Democratic	Vaughn Gregor Henderson	1,366	6.2
	Independent	Justin M. Forsman	1,194	5.4
Total votes			22,121	100.0
General election
	Democratic	Annette Cleveland (incumbent)	34,548	62.3
	Republican	Lewis Gerhardt	20,943	37.7
Total votes			55,491	100.0
	Democratic hold

Notes

1. Democrat Tim Sheldon caucused with all 25 Republicans to allow republicans to hold the majority.
2. Includes Democrat Tim Sheldon (35th-Potlatch) who caucuses with Republicans, allowing them to retain the majority.
3. Including open seats with two candidates of the same party competing in the general election.
4. Listed on ballot as an Independent Republican.
5. Listed on ballot as an Independent Democrat.
6. Listed on ballot as an Independent Republican.
7. Listed on ballot as an Independent Republican.