Washington
Presidential
In 2020, Washington continued its trend of being the bright blue spot in the Pacific Northwest. Biden won the state by just under 20 points, powered mainly by the Seattle metro area, with pockets of Democratic strength also in Olympia, Bellingham, and Vancouver
Washington's Olympic Peninsula has historically been one of the bluest parts of the state. Biden won the area by 5.5 points, mainly thanks to Democratic margins in and around Port Townsend. The Peninsula itself contains Clallam, Jefferson, Mason, and Gray's Harbor counties, and Olympic National Park
Chelan County sits to the east of the Pudget Sound counties, and its typically more conservative than them, but less so than the plains counties to its east. Trump won it by 8 points, but Biden did well in the main city of Wenatchee and resort and Native towns in the outskirts of the county
Clark County is home to Vancouver, and sits across the river from Portland, Oregon. After being a conservative-leaning swing county for some time, Biden won it by more than 5 points (2 party share), and Democratic strength has begun to expand outwards from Vancouver and the Columbia riverfront
King County is home to Seattle, and is by far the largest county in the state. Biden cracked 75% of the 2 party vote, with Republicans only really doing well in the southeast of the county
Spokane County is the main population center of eastern Washington. Aside from Spokane, it is home to Spokane Valley, Cheney, and Deer Park, as well as other places. Trump only managed to win the county by 4.5 points, despite the county being solidly Republican since the start of the century. Spokane Valley appears to be the decider of who wins that county, given that its the kind of area trending towards Democrats, but not within their control yet
Whatcom County has voted reliably for Democrats since the turn of the century, mainly thanks to its principle city of Bellingham. Biden won it by almost 25 points, only doing particularly poorly around uber-conservative Linden. The county is also home to North Cascades National Park, which has the highest casualty rate of any national park in the country
The redrawn LD 12 contains all of Chelan County, and parts of King and Snohomish. This seat went for Biden by 2.78 points in 2020, but if polling for 2024 is to be believed, then winning it again may be an unlikely feat. However, eastern King and southern Snohomish counties have taken a turn to the left in recent years, so the seat is anyone's game
Washington LD 14 was recently redrawn to be the state's new Hispanic opportunity district, replacing the old LD 15 below. Biden would have carried this seat by almost 16 points. The majority of the seat sits within Yakima County, but also takes in Pasco to the east and some turf along the Columbia River
Washington's old LD 15 is interesting because it makes a very narrowly won Biden district exclusively out of Trump won counties. Biden ran up the numbers enough in Yakima, Pasco, and the smaller cities to manage a 76 vote win. The seat was designed to be a Hispanic opportunity seat, but was struck down prior to the 2024 elections as a racial gerrymander
Washington LD 24 sits on the Olympic Peninsula, and contains Clallam, Jefferson, and part of Grays Harbor counties. Biden won this seat by 11 points, mainly due to the huge Democratic margins around the Port Townsend area. Republicans have seen gains in Grays Harbor in recent years, but not nearly enough to flip the district (which also has a sizable Native American population)