President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump will likely win the Washington state presidential primaries, as of initial results released Tuesday night.
The Associated Press (AP) called both races just after 8 p.m. March 12. AP also called both candidates their parties’ “presumptive nominees,” after both have now won enough delegates from tonight’s matchups in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington to warrant the call.
Statewide, Biden received 85.7% of the votes in the Democratic primary, while Trump received 73.8% in the Republican primary as of 9 p.m. Tuesday night. Both will likely capture all the delegates for Washington. Ninety-two Democratic delegates and 43 Republican delegates were up for grabs in tonight’s primary.
In Whatcom and Skagit counties, voters mostly aligned with state-wide results.
In Whatcom County, 82.7% of voters in the Democratic primary voted for Biden. Nearly 10% of people voted for “uncommitted delegates” — a vote which would allow those delegates who represent Washington to decide during their national convention, according to the secretary of state.
Statewide, 7.44% of Democratic primary voters cast ballots for “uncommitted delegates,” as of Tuesday night’s results.
One of Washington’s largest labor unions, United Food and Commercial Workers 3000, endorsed “uncommitted” over Biden due to concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The union is also concerned Biden would be unable to beat Trump in the general election, according to Washington State Standard.
Bella Rivera, a 26-year-old voter in Seattle, told AP they hoped their “uncommitted” vote would serve as a wakeup call for the Democratic party.
“If you really want our votes, if you want to win this election, you’re going to have to show a little bit more either support of Palestinian liberation — that’s something that’s very important to us — and ceasing funds to Israel,” Rivera said.
As of Tuesday night, roughly 3% of Whatcom County voters cast votes for Dean Phillips, a three-term Democratic congressman from Minnesota (who dropped out March 6), and another 3% voted for author and politician Marianne Williamson, who also ran in 2020.
In Whatcom County, 75.23% of Republican primary voters cast votes for Trump, as of Tuesday night’s results, while 19.66% cast votes for Nikki Haley — former governor of South Carolina and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations — who dropped out of the race on March 6.
Voter turnout in Whatcom County as of Tuesday night was 34%, with an estimated 1,900 ballots left to count.
In Skagit County, 89.6% of Democratic primary voters voted for Biden and 6% voted for “uncommitted delegates.” Phillips and Williamson each received just over 2% of the vote.
Trump has received 72.9% of the vote so far in the Skagit County Republican primary, while Haley received 23.9%.
Skagit County’s turnout rate was 22.4% Tuesday night, with roughly 5,000 estimated ballots left to count.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A previous version of this story stated that United Food and Commercial Workers 3000 were concerned Biden would be unable to beat Trump in the primary election. The concern is about the general election. The story was updated to reflect this change at 3:30 p.m. on March 13, 2024. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
