2016 Washington State Treasurer election

2016 Washington State Treasurer election

← 2012 November 8, 2016 2020 →

Nominee Duane Davidson Michael Waite Party Republican Republican Popular vote 1,576,580 1,134,843 Percentage 58.15% 41.85%

County results Congressional district results Davidson:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

State Treasurer before election James McIntire Democratic Elected State Treasurer Duane Davidson Republican

The 2016 Washington State Treasurer election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect the Washington State Treasurer, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the U.S. Senate and various state and local elections, including for U.S. House and governor of Washington. Washington is one of two states that holds a top-two primary, meaning that all candidates are listed on the same ballot regardless of party affiliation, and the top two move on to the general election.

Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer James McIntire announced on December 16, 2015, that he would not seek a third term.^[1] Republican Benton County Treasurer Duane Davidson won the election, defeating fellow Republican Michael Waite.^[2] This was the first time a Republican had been elected to the office of Treasurer of Washington since 1952.^[3]

The top-two primary was held on August 2.

Primary election

Democratic Party

Eliminated in primary

• John Paul Comerford, pension consultant^[4]
• Alec Fisken, former Port of Seattle commissioner^[4]
• Marko Liias, state senator (2014–present)^[4]

Declined

• James McIntire, incumbent state treasurer (2009–2017)^[1]

Republican Party

Advanced to general

• Duane Davidson, Benton County treasurer (2003–2017)^[4]
• Michael Waite, investment firm executive^[4]

Endorsements

Duane Davidson (R)

Newspapers

• The Seattle Times^[5]

Results

Five candidates ran in the primary: state senator Marko Liias, former Port of Seattle commissioner Alec Fisken, pension consultant John Paul Comerford, Benton County treasurer Duane Davidson, and investment firm executive Michael Waite.^[4] Liias, Fisken, and Comerford ran as Democrats; Davidson and Waite, as Republicans.^[4] Davidson and Waite, both Republicans, finished as the top two candidates in the primary election and advanced to the general election, marking the first time since the top-two system had been instituted that both of the primary slots in any statewide race had been won by Republicans.^[6]

Blanket primary results by county

  Davidson

•   20–30%
•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%

  Waite

•   20–30%
•   30–40%

  Liias

•   20–30%
•   30–40%

  Comerford

•   20–30%

Blanket primary results^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Duane Davidson	322,374	25.09
	Republican	Michael Waite	299,766	23.33
	Democratic	Marko Liias	261,633	20.36
	Democratic	John Paul Comerford	230,904	17.97
	Democratic	Alec Fisken	170,117	13.24
Total votes			1,284,794	100.00

General election

Post-primary endorsements

Davidson received the endorsements of every county treasurer in Washington state, both Democratic and Republican.^[8]

Duane Davidson (R)

Statewide officials

• Daniel J. Evans, former governor of Washington^[8]
• Sam Reed, former Washington Secretary of State^[8]
• Kim Wyman, Washington Secretary of State^[8]

Michael Waite (R)

Statewide officials

• Rob McKenna, former Washington Attorney General^[8]
• Brian Sonntag, former Washington State Auditor (Democratic)^[8]

Newspapers

• The Olympian^[8]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Duane Davidson (R)	Michael Waite (R)	Undecided
Elway Poll[9]	October 20–22, 2016	502 (RV)	± 4.5%	17%	16%	67%
Elway Poll[10]	August 9–13, 2016	500 (RV)	± 4.5%	16%	16%	68%

Results

2016 Washington State Treasurer election^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Duane Davidson	1,576,580	58.15
	Republican	Michael Waite	1,134,843	41.85
Total votes			2,711,423	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

By county

County results

County[12]	Duane Davidson Republican		Michael Waite Republican		Margin		Total votes
	#	%	#	%	#	%
Adams	2,466	61.02%	1,575	38.98%	891	22.05%	4,041
Asotin	4,964	58.62%	3,504	41.38%	1,460	17.24%	8,468
Benton	50,910	70.06%	21,754	29.94%	29,156	40.12%	72,664
Chelan	14,996	54.04%	12,755	45.96%	2,241	8.08%	27,751
Clallam	17,688	53.67%	15,268	46.33%	2,420	7.34%	32,956
Clark	99,385	57.60%	73,173	42.40%	26,212	15.19%	172,558
Columbia	1,251	65.50%	659	34.50%	592	30.99%	1,910
Cowlitz	20,082	51.48%	18,931	48.52%	1,151	2.95%	39,013
Douglas	7,468	56.33%	5,790	43.67%	1,678	12.66%	13,258
Ferry	1,709	55.89%	1,349	44.11%	360	11.77%	3,058
Franklin	13,253	63.75%	7,535	36.25%	5,718	27.51%	20,788
Garfield	618	56.85%	469	43.15%	149	13.71%	1,087
Grant	13,285	54.53%	11,078	45.47%	2,207	9.06%	24,363
Grays Harbor	12,566	51.75%	11,714	48.25%	852	3.51%	24,280
Island	20,594	56.16%	16,079	43.84%	4,515	12.31%	36,673
Jefferson	10,305	61.34%	6,496	38.66%	3,809	22.67%	16,801
King	490,359	60.70%	317,475	39.30%	172,884	21.40%	807,834
Kitsap	56,508	53.30%	49,511	46.70%	6,997	6.60%	106,019
Kittitas	9,635	60.77%	6,219	39.23%	3,416	21.55%	15,854
Klickitat	5,443	60.00%	3,629	40.00%	1,814	20.00%	9,072
Lewis	16,200	54.72%	13,404	45.28%	2,796	9.44%	29,604
Lincoln	3,021	59.55%	2,052	40.45%	969	19.10%	5,073
Mason	12,058	50.79%	11,684	49.21%	374	1.58%	23,742
Okanogan	7,874	55.21%	6,389	44.79%	1,485	10.41%	14,263
Pacific	4,744	54.06%	4,032	45.94%	712	8.11%	8,776
Pend Oreille	3,413	58.19%	2,452	41.81%	961	16.39%	5,865
Pierce	168,096	56.28%	130,576	43.72%	37,520	12.56%	298,672
San Juan	4,583	56.66%	3,506	43.34%	1,077	13.31%	8,089
Skagit	24,920	52.82%	22,262	47.18%	2,658	5.63%	47,182
Skamania	2,753	58.71%	1,936	41.29%	817	17.42%	4,689
Snohomish	165,574	55.24%	134,147	44.76%	31,427	10.49%	299,721
Spokane	116,043	58.39%	82,693	41.61%	33,350	16.78%	198,736
Stevens	11,514	58.05%	8,320	41.95%	3,194	16.10%	19,834
Thurston	61,579	55.89%	48,591	44.11%	12,988	11.79%	110,170
Wahkiakum	1,001	53.88%	857	46.12%	144	7.75%	1,858
Walla Walla	13,379	61.08%	8,526	38.92%	4,853	22.15%	21,905
Whatcom	60,564	64.72%	33,011	35.28%	27,553	29.44%	93,575
Whitman	8,317	57.90%	6,047	42.10%	2,270	15.80%	14,364
Yakima	37,462	56.03%	29,395	43.97%	8,067	12.07%	66,857
Totals	1,576,580	58.15%	1,134,843	41.85%	441,737	16.29%	2,711,423

References

1. Santos, Melissa (December 16, 2015). "State Treasurer Jim McIntire won't seek re-election". Tacoma News Tribune. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
2. "Duane Davidson wins over Michael Waite in state treasurer race". November 8, 2016.
3. "Washington State Treasurer History". Retrieved October 23, 2025.
4. Cornfield, Jerry (May 19, 2016). "Liias enters race to become Washington state treasurer". The Herald (Everett). Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
5. Editorial Board, The Seattle Times (July 12, 2016). "The Times recommends: Duane Davidson for state treasurer". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
6. Geranios, Nicholas (September 20, 2016). "Washington state treasurer race a GOP showdown". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
7. Wyman, Kim (August 2, 2016). "State Treasurer". Secretary of State of Washington. Archived from the original on July 15, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
8. "Waite has leg up in GOP-only treasurer race". The Olympian. October 20, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
9. Elway Poll
10. Elway Poll
11. "2016 General Data". sos.wa.gov. Archived from the original on March 15, 2025.
12. Wyman, Kim (November 8, 2016). "State Treasurer - County Results". Secretary of State of Washington. Archived from the original on June 27, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.