President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump easily won Washington’s low-drama presidential primary on Tuesday, and are on course for a November general election rematch.
In vote counts released Tuesday night, Biden received nearly 87% support in the Democratic primary, while Trump won more than 74% of the Republican vote.
Washington’s results, following primaries earlier in the day in Georgia and Mississippi, clinched the GOP nomination for Trump. Biden clinched the Democratic nomination earlier in the day after Georgia’s vote.
An uncommitted protest vote among Washington Democrats received more than 7% support. While the outcome was not in doubt, the final totals and turnout figures for Washington’s primary won’t be known until thousands of later-arriving ballots are counted over the coming week or so.
Two other long-shot Democrats also appeared on the Washington ballot: self-help author Marianne Williamson and U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minnesota. Phillips ended his campaign last week, endorsing Biden.
Voters in the primary were allowed to participate in either the Democratic or the Republican contest—but not both. Unlike every other election in the state, the presidential primary required voters to pick a party preference, signing a partisan declaration on the ballot envelope and pledging not to participate in any other party nominating contest.
The controversial requirement has irked many voters, leading them to refuse to sign and spoil their ballots. As of Monday, more than 53,000 had their ballots challenged for declining to sign the partisan pledges.
