2019 Spokane mayoral election explained

Election Name:2019 Spokane mayoral election
Flag Image:Flag of Spokane, Washington (1975–2021).svg
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2015 Spokane mayoral election
Previous Year:2015
Next Election:2023 Spokane mayoral election
Next Year:2023
Election Date:November 5, 2019[1]
Candidate1:Nadine Woodward
Popular Vote1:34,540
Percentage1:50.3%
Candidate2:Ben Stuckart
Popular Vote2:33,692
Percentage2:49.1%
Mayor
Before Election:David Condon
Before Party:Republican Party (United States)
After Election:Nadine Woodward
After Party:Nonpartisan[2]
Colour1:C468D9
Colour2:59afc7

The 2019 Spokane mayoral election took place on November 5, 2019, to elect the mayor of Spokane, Washington. The previous mayor, David Condon was unable to run due to term limits. It saw former local news anchor Nadine Woodward defeat former Spokane City Council president Ben Stuckart by a margin of just over one percentage point.

Background

While both general election candidates officially listed themselves as non-partisan, each represented one side of the right-left political divide in the United States with Woodward on the right-wing[3] [4] and Stuckart on the left-wing.

Despite sitting in a long-time Republican-held Congressional district, the City of Spokane itself had become Democrat-leaning in the years leading up to the 2019 mayoral election. Stuckart led a city council with a liberal super-majority — which persisted after the election — and the Democratic challenger to congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers won the city by 17 percentage points in the prior year's election. Woodward's ability as a right-wing candidate to win the left-leaning city was due in large part to her popularity as a nearly three-decade presence on local TV news at both KREM and KXLY as well as her ability to turn the race into a referendum on homelessness and crime.[5]

Primary election

Washington has a nonpartisan blanket primary system. The top two finishers in the primary face each other in the general election.

The primary election was held on August 6, 2019.

Declared candidates

Declined

General election

Results

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Current Election Results . spokanecounty.org . Spokane County . 17 April 2023.
  2. Although Woodward has been supported by and shares beliefs with Republicans, Woodward has never explicitly affiliated with the Republican Party.
  3. News: Is Nadine Woodward a Trump Voter . 15 May 2023 . Fuse Washington . 17 October 2019.
  4. News: Decker . Casey . Who supports Spokane mayoral candidates? A look at major endorsements . 15 May 2023 . KREM.com . KREM-TV . 28 August 2019.
  5. News: Walters . Daniel . 11 Reasons Why Ben Stuckart Lost . 15 May 2023 . The Inlander . 7 November 2019.
  6. Web site: Lisa Brown reflects on Congressional campaign, says she won’t run for Spokane mayor The Spokesman-Review . 2021-04-11 . www.spokesman.com.