(The Center Square) – While nobody will mistake Washington state for a hotbed of political conservatism, it turns out voters moved ever so slightly to the right, according to numbers from the Nov. 5 general election.
Media reports based on initial results on Election Day characterized progressive Washington as trending slightly more blue, contrasting that with red wave national results that saw Republicans retain the House of Representatives, take control of the Senate, and return former President Donald Trump to the White House.
While other solidly liberal states like California and New Jersey saw President-elect Trump improve on his 2020 performance by multiple percentage points, that wasn’t quite the case in the Evergreen State.
According to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, Trump garnered 39.01% of the vote in Washington this year, compared to 38.77% in 2020. That’s a gain of almost one-quarter of a percentage point.
Those figures are based on ballot counts through Tuesday, the deadline for the state’s 39 counties to certify their election results.
To be sure, Washington is still very blue in terms of political ideology. More than 57% of Washington voters cast their ballot for Kamala Harris in the presidential election. During the most recent election cycle, Democrats swept all statewide offices and retained their majorities in both chambers – the House and Senate – of the state Legislature.
The Washington State Republican Party put a positive spin on Washington’s small rightward shift in what was otherwise a disappointing election for Republicans in the state.
“Indeed, Republican results at all levels did better in 2024 than in 2020 and earlier election cycles,” a WSRP news release said, noting Republicans increased their average performance by four percentage points.
The news release went on to note that in competitive congressional races, Republicans increased their median performance to about 47%, and said state legislative races in “swing” districts showed similar improvements.
“We still need to do better,” WSRP Chair Jim Walsh said. “We are still challenged in those statewide executive position races. But we’re getting more competitive overall. If Washington Republicans stay on this track, at the rate we’re going, we’ll be much more competitive in a few years.”
