Washington gubernatorial election, 1889

Washington gubernatorial election, 1889

October 1, 1889

Nominee Elisha P. Ferry Eugene Semple Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 33,711 24,732 Percentage 57.67% 42.31%

Governor of Washington Territory before election Miles Conway Moore Republican Governor of Washington Elisha P. Ferry Republican

The 1889 gubernatorial election in Washington took place on October 1, 1889, to elect the first Governor of Washington shortly before it was admitted as a U.S. state. Both candidates, Republican Elisha P. Ferry and Democrat Eugene Semple, previously served as Territorial Governor, a position appointed by the President of the United States.^[1]

Ferry won the election by nearly 9,000 votes out of 58,000 cast,^[2] and took office in Olympia on November 18, 1889, a week after President Benjamin Harrison signed Washington's statehood into law.^[3][4]

General election

Results

Governor of Washington election, 1889^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Elisha P. Ferry	33,711	57.67
	Democratic	Eugene Semple	24,732	42.31

County results

County[2]	Ferry	Semple	Total votes
Adams	261	141	402
Asotin	171	125	296
Chehalis	879	615	1,494
Clallam	222	232	454
Clark	1,216	692	1,908
Columbia	666	648	1,314
Cowlitz	663	355	1,018
Douglas	353	265	618
Franklin	88	89	177
Garfield	517	418	935
Island	180	100	280
Jefferson	867	633	1,500
King	4,318	3,398	7,716
Kitsap	619	289	908
Kittitas	1,339	1,158	2,497
Klickitat	686	382	2,497
Lewis	1,219	868	2,087
Lincoln	1,104	863	1,967
Mason	322	304	626
Okanogan	322	211	533
Pacific	494	150	644
Pierce	4,362	3,608	7,970
San Juan	204	104	308
Skagit	949	566	1,515
Skamania	62	72	134
Snohomish	880	659	1,539
Spokane	3,256	2,272	5,528
Stevens	460	350	810
Thurston	1,067	725	1,792
Wahkiakum	284	149	433
Walla Walla	1,433	1,186	2,619
Whatcom	1,534	742	2,276
Whitman	2,149	1,844	3,993
Yakima	537	519	1,056
Total	33,711	24,732	58,443

References

1. Wilma, David (September 20, 2003). "Voters elect Washington's first state officials on October 1, 1889.". HistoryLink. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
2. McPherson, Edward, ed. (January 1890). The Tribune Almanac and Political Register for 1890. II. New York: New-York Tribune. pp. 86–87. OCLC 819535015. Retrieved October 3, 2016 – via Google Books.
3. McNerthney, Casey (February 1, 2011). "P-I archive: Inauguration of Washington's first governor". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
4. Gates, Charles M., ed. (August 1940). Messages of the Governors of the Territory of Washington to the Legislative Assembly, 1854–1889 (PDF). 12. University of Washington Press. OCLC 8990968. Retrieved October 3, 2016 – via Oregon State University.