A margin of 400 votes would have decided the 2004 Washington gubernatorial election.
Posted by unDivided with Brandi Kruse, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
unDivided with Brandi KruseOct 27, 2026
The 2004 Washington gubernatorial race was decided by a final hand-recount margin of 129 votes (initial count 261, machine recount 42), so a 400-vote margin would have exceeded the actual margin at every stage and would have decided the race.
What was said
… Um, you know, and I think why this matters so much to me and should to pin down, like, you know, exactly what do we actually know and what can be done. You know, 400 votes, I know you've lived in Washington State, 400 votes would have decided a gubernatorial election in 2004. 400 votes would have decided a commissioner of public lands election. I think we're gonna have races for State Supreme Court justices that could be within 400 votes. …
unDivided with Brandi Kruse · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The 2004 Washington gubernatorial election was decided by 129 votes after the hand recount, with Christine Gregoire winning the certified result.[1][2][3]
Supports. The initial count margin was 261 votes and the machine recount margin was 42 votes, both below 400, so a 400-vote margin would have exceeded every margin the race actually showed.[3][4][5]
Context. FairVote's recount analysis confirms that the 2004 Washington governor's race was among the closest statewide recounts, with the margin shifting by 390 votes across the recount process.[6]
Sources
6 sources: 1 tier 2, 5 not rated
- 1Wash. Governor's 2004 Win Standscbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 22004 Washington gubernatorial election - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3Christine Gregoire wins nation's closest-ever governor's race ...historylink.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Recount in Washington State Shows 42-Vote Margin - LA Timeslatimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5The History of Washington’s Famous 2004 Electionseattlemet.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6An analysis of statewide election recounts, 2000-2025 - FairVotefairvote.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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