There were 12 news organizations who made state-by-state predictions of the election. Here are their last predictions before election day.
D.C. Political Report: Solid Democrat
Associated Press: Solid Kerry
CNN: Kerry
Cook Political Report: Solid Democrat
Newsweek: Solid Kerry
New York Times: Solid Kerry
Rasmussen Reports: Kerry
Research 2000: Solid Kerry
Washington Post: Kerry
Washington Times: Solid Kerry
Zogby International: Kerry
Washington Dispatch: Kerry
Polling
Kerry won every single pre-election. The final 3 poll average had Kerry winning with 50% to 45%.
Fundraising
Bush raised $3,263,363. Kerry raised $5,337,921.
Advertising and visits
Neither campaign advertised or visited this state during the fall election.
Analysis
A solidly blue state, Washington has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee in every presidential election since 1988. Neither candidate seriously contested the state as it was viewed as a safe blue state. Like Oregon, the state is divided politically by the urban/rural divide and geographically by the Cascade Mountains. Most of the state's population resides in Western Washington along the Pacific Coast and in highly urbanized areas like Seattle; this part of the state votes overwhelmingly Democratic. The other side of the mountains in Eastern Washington is much more rural and conservative and therefore heavily Republican. While polling showed that voters trusted Bush more than Kerry on the issue of terrorism, the Iraq War and Bush's domestic policies were unpopular here., this is the last election in which Clark County, Island County, and Skagit County voted for the Republican candidate.
Technically the voters of Washington cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Washington is allocated 11 electors because it has 9 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 11 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 11 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector. The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 13, 2004, to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols. The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All 11 were pledged for Kerry/Edwards:
