Wikipedia

2008 Washington gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2008 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2008 gubernatorial election in Washington was held on November 4, 2008. Republican Dino Rossi and incumbent Democratic Governor Christine Gregoire emerged from the August 19 primary. This made the 2008 election a rematch between the candidates from the 2004 election, the closest gubernatorial election in the state's history. In contrast to the recounts and months of legal challenges in their previous contest, Gregoire was the clear winner on November 5 with about 53% of the vote. With a margin of 6.48%, this election was the second-closest race of the 2008 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in North Carolina.

2008 Washington gubernatorial election
← 2004 November 4, 2008 2012 →
 
Nominee Christine Gregoire Dino Rossi
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,598,738 1,404,124
Percentage 53.24% 46.76%
County results
Gregoire:      50–60%      60–70%
Rossi:      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election

Christine Gregoire
Democratic

Elected Governor

Christine Gregoire
Democratic

Timeline

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Date Year Event Reference Notes
June 6 2008 Filing deadline [1]
August 19 2008 State primary [2] Same date as general primaries for other offices
November 4 2008 General election [2] Same date as presidential election and other offices
November 26 2008 General election [2] Last day for counties to deliver results to the state
December 4 2008 General election [2] Results certified

[3]

Primary election

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Candidates for office
Candidate Stated party preference Website Notes
Christine Gregoire Prefers Democratic Party [1] Incumbent governor
Dino Rossi Prefers G.O.P. Party [2] Ex-state senator, 2004 gubernatorial nominee
Will Baker Prefers Reform Party [3] Out; lost primary
Duff Badgley Prefers Green Party [4] Out; lost primary
John W. Aiken Jr. Prefers Republican Party [5] Out; lost primary
Christian Pierre Joubert Prefers Democratic Party [6] Out; lost primary
Chris Tudor States No Party Preference [7] Out; lost primary
Javier O. Lopez Prefers Republican Party [8] Out; lost primary
Mohammad Hasan Said States No Party Preference [9] Out; lost primary
James White Prefers Independent Party [10] Out; lost primary
Source: [4]

The Washington primary election was held August 19, 2008. For the first time, Washington ran a top-two primary, eliminating the "pick a party" primary used since 2004. Unlike traditional primaries, wherein each party with more than one candidate is reduced to a single person to appear on the general election ballot, the system simply reduces the entire crop of candidates from all parties down to the top two candidates, resulting in no more than two candidates appearing on the general election ballot for a given position. As a result, candidates from all parties were essentially running against each other. To allow for ideological identification, each candidate in a partisan race was allowed to indicate an arbitrary party preference.[5]

Controversy over Rossi's party preference

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Under the changes to election law made by the passage of Initiative 872, partisan contests are no longer tied to registered parties, but candidates are allowed to indicate an arbitrary "party preference" to appear next to their name on the primary and general election ballots.[6] An extreme example of this occurred in the 40th District race for state senator, where candidate Timothy Stoddard indicated a preference for the "Salmon Yoga" party.[7]

Republican candidate Dino Rossi listed his party preference as "G.O.P." instead of the traditional party name "Republican". Critics of Rossi contended that the choice of party name was an attempt to distance himself from any negative opinions associated with the Republican Party.[8] Rossi's campaign argued that the difference was insignificant, saying voters are already aware that the terms refer to the same party.[9] However, an Elway Research poll taken in August 2008 found that over 25% of registered voters were not aware that the term "GOP" meant the Republican Party.[10]

On September 23, the Washington State Democrats, alleging that the latter is a misrepresentation of his true party affiliation, filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of State to force the state to list Rossi to on the general election ballot as a Republican instead of with the "GOP Party" label.[11] A King County Superior Court judge dismissed the suit, saying nothing in state law made the choice of party name illegal, but he acknowledged the potential confusion. Had the lawsuit succeeded, many counties would have had to reprint their ballots, and the already-cast absentee votes of military personnel may have become invalid.[12]

Results

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While the primary was officially held on August 19, 2008, some counties such as King County allowed absentee ballots to be postmarked by that date in order to be valid. As a result, the primary vote tally was not officially certified until September 9, to allow time for mailed-in ballots to arrive and be counted by the counties. As an increasing number of counties allowed, encouraged, or mandated mail-in ballots for voters within the county, the number of such ballots was significant.[13]

Nonpartisan blanket primary results[a][14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Christine Gregoire 696,306 48.27%
Republican Dino Rossi 668,571 46.35%
Republican John W. Aiken Jr. 21,564 1.49%
Democratic Christian Pierre Joubert 16,646 1.15%
Independent James White 10,884 0.75%
Green Duff Badgley 9,702 0.67%
Independent Christopher A. Tudor 5,600 0.39%
Reform Will Baker 5,201 0.36%
Republican Javier O. Lopez 4,981 0.35%
Independent Mohammad Hasan Said 3,002 0.21%
Total votes 1,442,457 100.00%

General election

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Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi were declared the winners of the primary and placed on the ballot for the November 4 election, which coincided with the national election. However, with all Washington counties either exclusively or (in the case of Pierce and King counties) predominantly voting via mail-in ballot,[15] many votes were cast prior to that date. King County, the largest county in the state, and the one which carried Gregoire to victory in 2004, sent out overseas absentee ballots on October 5, and resident mail-in ballots on October 17.[16]

In Washington state, mail-in ballots only needed to be postmarked, not received, by November 4, meaning that valid ballots continued to be received and counted after that date.[17] For the 2008 election, counties had until November 26 to send results to the state, and the Secretary of State had until December 4 to certify all state results.[2]

Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[18] Tossup October 16, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report[19] Tossup November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball[20] Lean D November 3, 2008
Real Clear Politics[21] Tossup November 4, 2008

Polling

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Aggregate polls

Source of poll
aggregation 		Dates
administered 		Dates
updated 		Christine
Gregoire (D) 		Dino
Rossi (R) 		Other/Undecided
[b] 		Margin
Real Clear Politics[22] October 22 – November 2, 2008 November 2, 2008 50.7% 47.3% 2.0% Gregoire +3.4%
Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size 		Margin of
error 		Christine
Gregoire (D) 		Dino
Rossi (R) 		Undecided
Survey USA[23] October 30-November 2, 2008 – – 52% 46% 2%
Survey USA[24] October 26–27, 2008 – – 50% 48% 2%
Rasmussen Reports[25] October 22, 2008 – – 50% 48% 2%
Survey USA[26] October 12–13, 2008 – – 48% 47% 5%
Rasmussen Reports[25] October 2, 2008 – – 48% 48% 4%
Survey USA[27] September 21–22, 2008 – – 50% 48% 2%
Strategic Vision[28] September 14–16, 2008 800 ± 3.0% 46% 48% 6%
Rasmussen Reports[25] September 10, 2008 – – 46% 52% 2%
Survey USA[29] September 5–7, 2008 – – 47% 48% 5%
SurveyUSA[30] August 11–12, 2008 718 ± 3.7% 50% 48% 2%
Rasmussen Reports[31] August 6, 2008 – – 47% 43% 10%
Strategic Vision[32] July 25–27, 2008 800 ± 3.0% 47% 45% 8%
SurveyUSA[33] July 13–15, 2008 666 ± 3.9% 49% 46% 5%
Moore Information[34] July 9–10, 2008 400 ± 5.0% 45% 45% 11%
Rasmussen Reports[25] July 9, 2008 – – 49% 43% 8%
Elway Poll[35] June 18–22, 2008 405 ± 5.0% 47% 39% 14%
Rasmussen Reports[36] June 9, 2008 – – 50% 43% 7%
SurveyUSA[37] June 9, 2008 637 ± 4.0% 50% 47% 3%
Rasmussen Reports[38] May 12, 2008 – – 52% 41% 7%
Elway Poll[39] April 21–22, 2008 405 ± 5.0% 43% 38% 19%
SurveyUSA[40] April 14–16, 2008 634 ± 4.0% 50% 46% 4%
SurveyUSA[41] April 7, 2008 607 ± 4.1% 48% 47% 5%
Rasmussen Reports[42] March 27, 2008 – – 47% 46% 7%
Rasmussen Reports[43] February 28, 2008 – – 46% 47% 7%
Washington Poll[44] February 7–18, 2008 300 ± 5.6% 54% 42% 4%
Elway Poll[45] January 3–6, 2008 405 – 48% 35% 17%
Washington Poll[46] October 22–29, 2007 601 ± 4.0% 47% 42% 11%
Strategic Vision[47] October 5–7, 2007 800 ± 3.0% 47% 45% 8%
Strategic Vision[48] March 24–26, 2006 800 ± 3.0% 38% 51% 11%

Police Guild press conference incident

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At an August 7 press conference held by the Seattle Police Officers Guild to declare its endorsement of Rossi, the Guild forcibly removed Kelly Akers, a Gregoire campaign staffer who was filming the event, from the premises. The Rossi campaign reiterated a standing policy to prevent opposing campaigns from filming Rossi's appearances, to deny them the ability to take "attack footage." Rossi's campaign staff includes a cameraman tasked with filming Gregoire appearances.[49]

Debates

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Five debates were held[50] between Gregoire and Rossi, the candidates in the general election.

Date Time Location Sponsors
2008-09-20 9:00 PM Fisher Plaza (Seattle) Fisher Communications, League of Women Voters, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
2008-09-25 7:30 PM Semiahmoo Resort (Blaine) Association of Washington Business Complete video of debate - C-SPAN
2008-10-01 7:00 PM Capitol Theatre (Yakima) KCTS 9, Yakima Herald-Republic
2008-10-09 7:00 PM*[51] KSPS-TV Studios (Spokane) KSPS-TV, Spokane Spokesman-Review[52]
2008-10-15 8:00 PM[53] TBD KING-TV, Seattle Times, NPR

*The Spokane debate was taped in the morning to be aired at the indicated time. All other debates were held and aired live.

The Gregoire campaign had sought a sixth debate in Tacoma, sponsored by the Tacoma News-Tribune. The Rossi campaign instead sought a sixth debate in Vancouver, Washington, sponsored by The Columbian. The local Camas-Washougal Rotary Club went so far as to reserve a venue for October 8. The campaigns could not agree on either event.[54][55][56][57]

The Gregoire campaign had set aside August 15 for a pre-primary radio debate with Rossi on Seattle NPR station KUOW-FM.[58] Rossi declined to appear, giving Gregoire solo airtime.[59]

Results

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Gregoire declared victory after late evening returns were posted, with 42% of the statewide vote counted, showing her with a 52% lead over Rossi.[60] By 10:30 PM PST (1:30 AM EST) all five major television networks had called the race for Gregoire.[61] The Rossi campaign called the networks' declarations "premature" and did not concede defeat that evening. Rossi held out hope that late ballots would carry him, as late returns had reversed an early Gregoire lead in 2004. Rossi conceded the next morning.

Rossi conceded defeat in the gubernatorial election on November 5. In his concession speech, he indicated that he was not planning a return to politics.[62] Rossi's retirement from politics was short-lived: in 2010 he ran in (and lost) the race for United States Senate against Patty Murray.

2008 Washington gubernatorial election[63]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Christine Gregoire (incumbent) 1,598,738 53.24% +4.37%
Republican Dino Rossi 1,404,124 46.76% −2.11%
Majority 194,614 6.48%
Total votes 3,002,862 100.00%
Democratic hold Swing +6.48%

Results by county

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County[64] Christine Gregoire
Democratic 		Dino Rossi
Republican 		Margin Total votes cast
# % # % # %
Adams 1,453 30.17% 3,363 69.83% -1,910 -39.66% 4,816
Asotin 4,254 43.92% 5,432 56.08% -1,178 -12.16% 9,686
Benton 21,968 30.26% 50,635 69.74% -28,667 -39.48% 72,603
Chelan 12,087 37.99% 19,730 62.01% -7,643 -24.02% 31,817
Clallam 18,987 49.42% 19,431 50.58% -444 -1.16% 38,418
Clark 87,683 48.99% 91,301 51.01% -3,618 -2.02% 178,984
Columbia 706 31.48% 1,537 68.52% -831 -37.05% 2,243
Cowlitz 20,723 46.38% 23,954 53.62% -3,231 -7.23% 44,677
Douglas 5,128 33.87% 10,013 66.13% -4,885 -32.26% 15,141
Ferry 1,330 38.33% 2,140 61.67% -810 -23.34% 3,470
Franklin 6,365 32.41% 13,276 67.59% -6,911 -35.19% 19,641
Garfield 434 32.01% 922 67.99% -488 -35.99% 1,356
Grant 8,732 31.94% 18,604 68.06% -9,872 -36.11% 27,336
Grays Harbor 15,729 53.98% 13,407 46.02% 2,322 7.97% 29,136
Island 20,891 50.24% 20,688 49.76% 203 0.49% 41,579
Jefferson 12,588 63.61% 7,200 36.39% 5,388 27.23% 19,788
King 583,357 64.16% 325,820 35.84% 257,537 28.33% 909,177
Kitsap 62,478 50.74% 60,656 49.26% 1,822 1.48% 123,134
Kittitas 6,988 39.44% 10,732 60.56% -3,744 -21.13% 17,720
Klickitat 4,538 45.42% 5,454 54.58% -916 -9.17% 9,992
Lewis 12,283 35.47% 22,347 64.53% -10,064 -29.06% 34,630
Lincoln 2,052 34.66% 3,868 65.34% -1,816 -30.68% 5,920
Mason 13,942 49.58% 14,181 50.42% -239 -0.85% 28,123
Okanogan 6,575 39.27% 10,168 60.73% -3,593 -21.46% 16,743
Pacific 5,695 52.28% 5,198 47.72% 497 4.56% 10,893
Pend Oreille 2,571 39.66% 3,912 60.34% -1,341 -20.68% 6,483
Pierce 166,562 51.10% 159,363 48.90% 7,199 2.21% 325,925
San Juan 7,044 67.73% 3,356 32.27% 3,688 35.46% 10,400
Skagit 27,915 50.33% 27,545 49.67% 370 0.67% 55,560
Skamania 2,564 47.68% 2,813 52.32% -249 -4.63% 5,377
Snohomish 167,175 52.67% 150,205 47.33% 16,970 5.35% 317,380
Spokane 104,369 48.11% 112,570 51.89% -8,201 -3.78% 216,939
Stevens 7,771 35.02% 14,418 64.98% -6,647 -29.96% 22,189
Thurston 72,652 57.88% 52,880 42.12% 19,772 15.75% 125,532
Wahkiakum 960 41.92% 1,330 58.08% -370 -16.16% 2,290
Walla Walla 9,405 38.32% 15,137 61.68% -5,732 -23.36% 24,542
Whatcom 54,249 54.67% 44,975 45.33% 9,274 9.35% 99,224
Whitman 8,363 48.46% 8,896 51.54% -533 -3.09% 17,259
Yakima 30,172 39.27% 46,667 60.73% -16,495 -21.47% 76,839
Totals 1,598,738 53.24% 1,404,124 46.76% 194,614 6.48% 3,002,862

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

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Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

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Results by congressional district

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Gregoire won 5 of 9 congressional districts, with the remaining 4 going to Rossi, including one that elected a Democrat.[65]

District Gregoire Rossi Representative
1st 56% 44% Jay Inslee
2nd 52% 48% Rick Larsen
3rd 49.6% 50.4% Brian Baird
4th 35% 65% Doc Hastings
5th 45% 55% Cathy McMorris Rodgers
6th 54% 46% Norm Dicks
7th 79% 21% Jim McDermott
8th 49% 51% Dave Reichert
9th 54% 46% Adam Smith

Notes

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  1. ^ All party affiliations are given as "Prefers x Party". Independents were listed as "States No Party Preference". Rossi's official preference was "Prefers G.O.P. Party".
  2. ^ Calculated by taking the difference of 100% and all other candidates combined.

References

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  1. ^ Politics1. "Politics 1-Washington". Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e "Elections Calendar". Washington Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
  3. ^ Secretary of the State of Washington. "Calendar". Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2008.
  4. ^ Secretary of State
  5. ^ "Announcing Washington State's NEW Top 2 Primary" (PDF). Washington Office of the Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2008.
  6. ^ "People's Choice Initiative of 2004 (Initiative 872)" (PDF). Washington Office of the Secretary of State. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2008. "Definitions" section, paragraph on the term "partisan office".
  7. ^ "August 19, 2008 Top 2 Primary – Legislative District 40 – State Senator". Washington Office of the Secretary of State. Archived from the original on August 26, 2008. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  8. ^ Washington political blogger Goldy suggested that Rossi was "too ashamed to have the Republican brand attached to his name." Goldstein, David (June 5, 2008). "BREAKING: Dino Rossi quits Republican Party!". HorsesAss.org. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved August 20, 2008.
  9. ^ Roberts, Gregory (June 6, 2008). "Rossi not exactly on ballot as Republican". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2008.
  10. ^ The Elway press release to news organizations was reprinted in Mapes, Jeff. "Washington's current governor's race". Mapes on Politics. The Oregonian. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  11. ^ Garber, Andrew (September 24, 2008). "Democrats sue to make Rossi call himself "Republican" instead of "GOP"". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  12. ^ Johnson, Gene (September 26, 2008). "Seattle judge OKs ballot with 'GOP' Rossi". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  13. ^ McGann, Chris (August 19, 2008). "Top-two primary kicks off today". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2008.
  14. ^ "August 19, 2008 Primary Results". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  15. ^ Roberts, Gregory (February 7, 2008). "King County delays all-mail voting until 2009". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  16. ^ King County. "King County Elections". Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  17. ^ "Vote by Mail FAQ". Washington Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
  18. ^ "2008 Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  19. ^ "2008 Gubernatorial Ratings". Gubernatorial Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  20. ^ "THE LAST LAST WORD The Crystal Ball's Final Projections for the 2008 Election". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2008. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  21. ^ "2008 Washington Governor Race". RealClearPolitics. November 4, 2008. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  22. ^ Real Clear Politics
  23. ^ Survey USA
  24. ^ Survey USA
  25. ^ a b c d Rasmussen Reports
  26. ^ Survey USA
  27. ^ Survey USA
  28. ^ Strategic Vision
  29. ^ Survey USA
  30. ^ SurveyUSA
  31. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  32. ^ Strategic Vision
  33. ^ SurveyUSA
  34. ^ Moore Information
  35. ^ Elway Poll
  36. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  37. ^ SurveyUSA
  38. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  39. ^ Elway Poll
  40. ^ SurveyUSA
  41. ^ SurveyUSA
  42. ^ Rasmussen Reports [permanent dead link]
  43. ^ Rasmussen Reports
  44. ^ Washington Poll
  45. ^ Elway Poll
  46. ^ Washington Poll
  47. ^ Strategic Vision
  48. ^ Strategic Vision
  49. ^ Postman, David; Garber, Andrew (August 12, 2008). "Dem cameraman is evicted from Dino Rossi event". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  50. ^ Hagey, Jason (September 8, 2008). "Debate schedule: Gregoire, Rossi preparing to face-off at least five times". Political Buzz. Tacoma News Tribune. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  51. ^ Brunt, Josh (October 9, 2008). "Gov. Gregoire, Rossi debate". Spokane Spokesman-Review. Archived from the original on October 12, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  52. ^ Brunt, Jonathan. "Gov. Gregoire, Rossi debate budget". Spokesman Review. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  53. ^ Garber, Andrew (October 5, 2008). "The truth behind claims by Rossi, Gregoire". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2018. (Sidebar: "Rossi-Gregoire debates")
  54. ^ Hagey, Jason (September 26, 2008). "Gregoire, Rossi kick off debate schedule tonight". Tacoma News Tribune. Retrieved September 26, 2008. [dead link]
  55. ^ Hagey, Jason (September 8, 2008). "Debate schedule: Gregoire, Rossi preparing to face-off at least five times". Political Buzz. Tacoma News Tribune. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  56. ^ "Chris Gregoire Too Busy to Debate Rossi in Clark County". Camas Washougal Watch. August 12, 2008. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2008.
  57. ^ Durbin, Kathie (August 7, 2008). "Gregoire declines offers to debate Rossi locally". The Columbian.
  58. ^ Mulick, Chris (August 5, 2008). "Gregoire, Rossi plan gubernatorial debates". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  59. ^ Connelly, Joel (August 15, 2008). "Rossi to NPR: I won't show". Strange Bedfellows. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on August 26, 2008. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
  60. ^ La Corte, Rachel (November 4, 2008). "Gregoire claims victory in Washington gov. rematch". Associated Press. Retrieved November 5, 2008.[dead link]
  61. ^ Callaghan, Peter (November 4, 2008). "Networks call it for Gregoire. Is it real?". Political Buzz. Tacoma News Tribune. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2008.
  62. ^ La Corte, Rachel (November 5, 2008). "Republican Rossi concedes Wash governor's race". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved November 5, 2008.[dead link]
  63. ^ "November 04, 2008 General Election Results". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  64. ^ "November 04, 2008 General Election Results". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  65. ^ Results. sos.wa.gov (Report).
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