2008 Pierce County Executive election
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The 2008 Pierce County Executive election took place on November 4, 2008, to elect the County Executive of Pierce County, Washington. Incumbent County Executive John Ladenburg was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third consecutive term.[1] Following the adoption of ranked-choice voting by county voters in 2006,[2] county elections were conducted with ranked-choice voting in 2008.[3]
Four candidates ran to succeed Ladenburg: County Councilmen Shawn Bunney, a Republican, and Calvin Goings, a Democrat; County Auditor Pat McCarthy, a Democrat; and Tacoma City Councilman Mike Lonergan, who ran as an independent.
In the first round, Bunney placed first, winning 35 percent of the vote to McCarthy's 26 percent, Goings's 23 percent, and Lonergan's 15 percent.[4] Lonergan was eliminated after the first round, and in the second, Bunney remained in first place with 41 percent, McCarthy was in second with 27 percent, and Goings was third with 27 percent, and was eliminated. In the final round, McCarthy narrowly defeated Bunney, winning 51 percent of the vote, and became the county's first female County Executive.[5]
This was the only election for County Executive conducted with ranked-choice voting. Following its usage in the 2008 election, voters repealed it in a landslide in 2009.[2]
General election
[edit]Candidates
[edit]- Shawn Bunney, County Councilman (Republican)[6]
- Calvin Goings, County Councilman (Democratic)[7]
- Mike Lonergan, Tacoma City Councilman (independent)[8]
- Pat McCarthy, County Auditor (Democratic)[9]
Declined
[edit]- Terry Lee, County Councilman[1]
- Brian Sonntag, State Auditor[10]
Results
[edit]Summary
[edit]| Candidate | Maximum round |
Maximum votes |
Share in maximum round |
Maximum votes First round votesTransfer votes
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat McCarthy | 3 | 136,346 | 50.75% |
|
| Shawn Bunney | 3 | 132,292 | 49.25% |
|
| Calvin Goings | 2 | 77,427 | 26.85% |
|
| Mike Lonergan | 1 | 45,330 | 15.15% |
|
| Write-ins | 1 | 458 | 0.15% |
|
Vote counts by round
[edit]| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pat McCarthy | 79,235 | 92,208 | 136,346 |
| Shawn Bunney | 105,057 | 118,690 | 132,292 |
| Calvin Goings | 69,052 | 77,427 | |
| Mike Lonergan | 45,330 | ||
| Write-ins | 458 | ||
| Continuing votes | 299,132 | 288,325 | 268,638 |
| Exhausted ballots | 0 | 10,746 | 30,308 |
| Over votes | 532 | 593 | 718 |
| Under votes | 13,107 | 13,107 | 13,107 |
| Total | 312,771 | 312,771 | 312,771 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b George, Hunter T. (September 15, 2007). "County executive race loses one candidate". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. B1. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Ranked Choice Voting". Pierce County, Washington. 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ^ Wickert, David (October 12, 2008). "You chose it - now you'll use ranked voting". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. A1. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wickert, David (November 5, 2008). "Bunney ahead, but first choices not enough". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. A5. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wickert, David (November 21, 2008). "County races finally decided". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. A1. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wickert, David (December 5, 2007). "New entry in race for county exec". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. B1. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wickert, David (January 27, 2007). "Goings plans campaign event in county executive". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. B2. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wickert, David (April 19, 2008). "Lonergan says he'll stay in race for Pierce County executive". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. B2. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ George, Hunter T. (December 4, 2007). "Familiar name joins county executive race". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. B1. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Wickert, David (January 11, 2007). "Executive race loses contender". The News Tribune. Tacoma, Washington. p. B2. Retrieved August 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Ranked Choice Voting Results Table". Pierce County Auditor. November 25, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2025.