2021 King County Executive election

2021 King County Executive election
	November 2, 2021
County Executive before election; Dow Constantine; Nonpartisan	Elected County Executive ; Dow Constantine; Nonpartisan

The 2021 King County Executive election took place on November 2, 2021, following a primary election on August 3, 2021. Incumbent County Executive Dow Constantine ran for re-election to a fourth term. He was challenged by four opponents, the most well-known of whom was State Senator Joe Nguyen. In the nonpartisan primary, Constantine placed first with 52 percent of the vote and advanced to the general election against Nguyen, who won 33 percent. In the closest race that Constantine faced, he defeated Nguyen to win his final term as County Executive, 55–44 percent. Ultimately, Constantine would not serve out his full fourth term, and resigned in 2025 to become the CEO of Sound Transit.^[1]

Primary election

Candidates

Dow Constantine, incumbent County Executive
Joe Nguyen, State Senator^[2]
Bill Hirt, retired engineer, 2017 candidate for County Executive^[3]
Goodspaceguy, perennial candidate^[4]
Johnathon Cranes, security guard^[4]

Results

2021 King County Executive primary election^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Dow Constantine (inc.)	241,478	51.86%
	Nonpartisan	Joe Nguyen	151,757	32.59%
	Nonpartisan	Bill Hirt	50,553	10.86%
	Nonpartisan	Goodspaceguy	12,877	2.77%
	Nonpartisan	Johnathon Crines	6,884	1.48%
	Write-in		2,075	0.45%
Total votes			465,624	100.00%

General election

Results

2021 King County Executive election^[6]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Dow Constantine (inc.)	312,663	54.57%
	Nonpartisan	Joe Nguyen	253,609	44.27%
	Write-in		6,639	1.16%
Total votes			572,911	100.00%

References

^ Gutman, David (March 26, 2025). "Dow Constantine gives final address on state of King County". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
^ Gutman, David (April 27, 2021). "State Sen. Joe Nguyen launches bid for King County executive". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
^ "Incumbent Dow Constantine leads primary race for King County executive". KING-TV. August 3, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
^ ^a ^b Gutman, David (August 3, 2021). "Dow Constantine leads in King County executive primary, Joe Nguyen trails". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
^ "August 3, 2021 Primary". King County Elections. August 17, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
^ "November 02, 2021 - Official Final Election Results" (PDF). King County Elections. November 22, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

[1] Gutman, David (March 26, 2025). "Dow Constantine gives final address on state of King County". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

[2] Gutman, David (April 27, 2021). "State Sen. Joe Nguyen launches bid for King County executive". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

[3] "Incumbent Dow Constantine leads primary race for King County executive". KING-TV. August 3, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

[Constantine_leads-4] Gutman, David (August 3, 2021). "Dow Constantine leads in King County executive primary, Joe Nguyen trails". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

[5] "August 3, 2021 Primary". King County Elections. August 17, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

[6] "November 02, 2021 - Official Final Election Results" (PDF). King County Elections. November 22, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2025.

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