The 1976 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976. This election was especially significant in that Washington elected its first female governor, Dixy Lee Ray. Wesley C. Uhlman and John Patric unsuccessfully ran in the blanket primary.
Primary election
Candidates
- Marvin Durning (D)
- Harley Hoppe (R), King County assessor
- John Patric (R), writer and perennial candidate
- Dixy Lee Ray (D), former chair of United States Atomic Energy Commission
- Carl D. Ricketts (R)
- John D. Spellman (R), King County executive
- Duke Stockton (D)
- Wesley C. Uhlman (D), mayor of Seattle
- Emmett Watson (R)
Results
General election
Candidates
Major parties
- Dixy Lee Ray (D)
- John D. Spellman (R)
Minor parties
- Patricia A. Bethard, Socialist Workers
- Red Kelly, OWL
- Henry Killman, Socialist Labor
- Art Manning, American Independent
- Evelyn Olafson, US Labor
- Maurice Woodrow Willey, Jr., Libertarian
Results
Results by county
Dixy Lee Ray was the first Democratic gubernatorial candidate to carry Island County and Klickitat County since Clarence D. Martin in 1936. This is the most recent gubernatorial election in which a Democrat has carried Benton County and Franklin County.
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
- Benton
- Clallam
- Clark
- Cowlitz
- Douglas
- Island
- King
- Kittitas
- Klickitat
- Snohomish
- Thurston
- Whatcom
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Stevens
References
