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2024 Washington Attorney General election

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2024 Washington Attorney General election

← 2020 November 5, 2024 2028 →
Reporting
76%
as of November 7, 9:07 PM PDT
 
Nominee Nicholas Brown Pete Serrano
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,746,038 1,365,835
Percentage 56.1% 43.9%

County results
Brown:      50–60%      70–80%
Serrano:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Attorney General before election

Bob Ferguson
Democratic

Elected Attorney General

Nicholas Brown
Democratic

The 2024 Washington Attorney General election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the next attorney general of Washington, concurrently with the 2024 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. Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson was eligible to seek re-election to a fourth term but had chosen instead to run successfully for governor.[1] U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown, a Democrat, won the election against Pasco Mayor Pete Serrano, a Republican.[2]

Background

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This the first open Attorney General race since 2012 when Bob Ferguson first ran for the office. The primary election was expected to split the Democratic vote as Democrats Nick Brown and Manka Dhingra were on the primary ballot. Both Brown and Dhingra campaigned on similar issues like protecting access to abortion in the state, upholding gun control laws and ensuring public safety.[3][4] Once Brown advanced to the general election, he advocated for similar measures along with "policy improvements" the Attorney General position can utilize to counter various issues like illicit drugs.[5] Republican Pete Serrano campaigned on stopping human trafficking, making communities safer, and government accountability.[6] Serrano opposed gun control and had previously expressed personal opposition to abortion,[3] but said he would uphold Washington's current abortion laws if elected, describing abortion as a "settled issue".[5] However, Serrano indicated he would not enforce the Washington Shield Law enacted in 2023, which protects Washington residents from criminal and civil actions in other states that restrict abortion.[7]

Candidates

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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.

Democratic Party

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Advanced to general

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Eliminated in primary

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Republican Party

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Advanced to general

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  • Pete Serrano, mayor of Pasco (2022–present) and director of conservative legal nonprofit[10]

Primary election

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Endorsements

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Manka Dhingra (D)
Pete Serrano (R)
Political parties

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[a]
Margin
of error
Nicholas
Brown (D)
Manka
Dhingra (D)
Pete
Serrano (R)
Undecided
Public Policy Polling (D)[A] July 24–25, 2024 581 (LV) ± 4.0% 17% 15% 38% 30%
Public Policy Polling (D)[A] May 15–16, 2024 615 (LV) ± 4.0% 9% 10% 36% 45%
Public Policy Polling (D)[A] February 13–14, 2024 789 (LV) ± 3.5% 19% 12% 35% 34%

Debate

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2024 Washington Attorney General primary debate
No. Date Host Moderator Link Democratic Democratic Republican
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Nicholas Brown Manka Dhingra Pete Serrano
1 Jun. 18, 2024 League of Women Voters of Washington
& Benton-Franklin Counties
Northwest Public Broadcasting
Matt Loveless YouTube P P P

Results

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Blanket primary results by county
  Serrano
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
  •   50–60%
  •   60–70%
  •   70–80%
  •   80–90%
  Brown
  •   30–40%
  •   40–50%
Blanket primary election results[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Pete Serrano 814,372 42.11%
Democratic Nicholas Brown 682,360 35.28%
Democratic Manka Dhingra 435,919 22.54%
Write-in 1,284 0.07%
Total votes 1,933,935 100.00%

General election

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Predictions

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Source Ranking As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball[19] Safe D July 25, 2024

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size[b]
Margin
of error
Nicholas
Brown (D)
Pete
Serrano (R)
Undecided
ActiVote October 3–29, 2024 400 (LV) ± 4.9% 57% 43%
Public Policy Polling (D)[A] October 16–17, 2024 571 (LV) ± 4.1% 46% 39% 15%
Strategies 360 October 11–16, 2024 600 (RV) ± 4.0% 48% 38% 13%
Cascade PBS/Elway Research October 8–12, 2024 401 (LV) ± 5.0% 47% 29% 24%

Debates

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2024 Washington Attorney General debates
No. Date Host Moderator Link Democratic Republican
Key:
 P  Participant   A  Absent   N  Not invited   I  Invited  W  Withdrawn
Nicholas Brown Pete Serrano
1 Sep. 18, 2024 Association of Washington Business Paul Reed TVW P P
2 Sep. 19, 2024 Seattle CityClub
Washington State Debate Coalition
YouTube P P

Results

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2024 Washington Attorney General
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Nicholas Brown
Republican Pete Serrano
Write-in
Total votes

Notes

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  1. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
Partisan clients
  1. ^ a b c d Poll conducted for The Cascadia Advocate

References

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  1. ^ "Ferguson wins WA governor's race". The Seattle Times. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  2. ^ "Former U.S. attorney beats Pasco mayor to become next WA attorney general". The Seattle Times. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Santos, Melissa (August 1, 2024). "How Washington AG candidates compare on policing, drug laws and more". Axios. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  4. ^ Demkovich, Laurel (August 7, 2024). "Serrano, Brown poised to advance in Washington attorney general race • Washington State Standard". Washington State Standard. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Key takeaways from the WA attorney general debates". The Seattle Times. September 20, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "Issues – Pete Serrano for Attorney General". Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  7. ^ "Gun control, abortion take center stage in race for Washington's next attorney general | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  8. ^ Cornfield, Jerry (July 12, 2023). "A second Democrat enters race for state attorney general". Washington State Standard.
  9. ^ Cornfield, Jerry (May 9, 2023). "The race begins for Washington attorney general". Washington State Standard. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  10. ^ Cornfield, Jerry (January 6, 2024). "The Republican who wants to be Washington's next attorney general". Washington State Standard.
  11. ^ Minnis, Glenn (July 20, 2023). "Gov. Inslee endorses Nick Brown for Washington state attorney general". The Center Square. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  12. ^ "The Seattle Times editorial board recommends: Nick Brown for Washington attorney general | Editorial". The Seattle Times. May 31, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  13. ^ "The Stranger's Endorsements for the August, 6, 2024 Primary Election". July 31, 2024.
  14. ^ "EMILYs List Endorses Manka Dhingra for Washington State Attorney General". EMILYs List. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  15. ^ "Our 2024 Endorsements". National Women's Political Caucus of Washington. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  16. ^ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=822191769943547&set=a.218149473681116
  17. ^ Villenueve, Andrew (April 21, 2024). "Here's who the Republican Party endorsed for statewide office at its 2024 convention in Spokane". The Cascadia Advocate. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  18. ^ "August 6, 2024 Primary Results - Attorney General". Secretary of State of Washington. August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  19. ^ Jacobson, Louis (January 31, 2024). "This Year's Key Attorney General and Secretary of State Races". University of Virginia Center for Politics.
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Official campaign websites