Amid chaotic race for White House, few surprises for Washington voters on Election Night

Despite ongoing uncertainty surrounding the results of the presidential election, there were very few surprises for Washington state voters on Election Night.

With the state receiving over 3.5 million ballots prior to polls closing, meaningful results were available Tuesday night, signaling victory for incumbent Governor Jay Inslee by a wide 59% to 40% margin.

Further down the Washington ballot, Democrats either are leading or have already declared victory for all but one executive seat. Denny Heck — in a matchup pitting him against fellow Democrat Marko Liias — holds a sizable lead in the race for lieutenant governor at 47.1% to 33.7%; incumbent Attorney General Bob Ferguson leads Republican Matt Larkin 58.8% to 41.1%; Democrat Mike Pellicciotti is trending toward unseating incumbent Republican Duane Davidson in the race for state treasurer at 55.5% to 44.3%; and Democrats are leading early tallies by wide margins in both the insurance commissioner and commissioner of public lands races.

While the race for Washington’s Secretary of State remains too close to call, incumbent Republican Kim Wyman holds a slim lead over Democrat Gael Tarleton at 51.8% to 48.1%.

Perhaps the most hotly-debated issue leading in Election Day in Washington regarded Referendum 90, a ballot measure enacting comprehensive K-12 sexual education in public schools. Alongside the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction, many viewed this election as a race to define the future of the state’s educational system.

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That’s seen incumbent Superintendent Chris Reykdal hold a wide 56.7% to 42.8% advantage over challenger Maia Espinoza. Reykdal had originally pushed for the sex-ed measure in the state Legislature, where it was ultimately passed and approved by Gov. Inslee. It then ended up on the state ballot as Referendum 90, where it’s currently trending toward passing at 59.6% to 40.4%.

At the Congressional level, there was talk of a pair of incumbents — Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler and Democrat Kim Schrier — staring down the possibility of losing reelection. That hasn’t come to pass for either Congresswoman in the wake of Tuesday’s results. Herrera Beutler currently leads Democrat Carolyn Long 54.1% to 45.6%, while Schrier currently holds a 53.6% to 46.3% over Republican Jesse Jensen.

In the Washington State Senate, results have largely favored incumbents with one notable exception, where long-time Republican State Senator Steve O’Ban is trailing Democrat T’wina Nobles. That race currently sits at 51.8% to 48.1% in favor of Nobles.

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