2004 United States Senate election in Washington

The 2004 United States Senate election in Washington was held on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Democrat U.S. Senator Patty Murray won re-election to a third term, defeating Republican U.S. Representative George Nethercutt. She became only the fourth Washington senator to win 3 consecutive terms, just after fellow Democrats Warren G. Magnuson and Scoop Jackson. Nethercutt was known for having defeated Tom Foley, the sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives, as part of the 1994 Republican wave.

2004 United States Senate election in Washington

November 2, 2004

Nominee Patty Murray George Nethercutt Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,549,708 1,204,584 Percentage 55.0% 42.7%

County results Murray:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Nethercutt:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%

U.S. senator before election Patty Murray Democratic Elected U.S. Senator Patty Murray Democratic

Elections in Washington
Federal elections Presidential elections 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Presidential primaries and caucuses Democratic 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2020 Senate elections 1976 1980 1982 1983 S 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 House of Representatives elections 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
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Term limits became an issue in the campaign, as Democrats seized on Nethercutt's broken term-limits pledge that he had made when he had unseated Foley in 1994. Geography was also against Nethercutt, who was severely hampered by his lack of name recognition in the more densely populated western part of the state, home to two-thirds of the state's population. Washington has not elected a Senator from east of the Cascades since Miles Poindexter in 1916. Other important issues included national security and the war in Iraq. Nethercutt supported the invasion of Iraq, while Murray opposed it.

Nethercutt was considered a heavy underdog from the start, and his campaign never gained much traction. In November, he lost by 12 points, receiving 43 percent of the vote to Murray's 55 percent. He only carried two counties west of the Cascades.