Republican Rob McKenna was leading in 31 of 39 Washington counties. But it was not enough. Friday night he conceded defeat in the race for governor to Democrat Jay Inslee. McKenna called Inslee after the latest vote tally showed the race narrowing, but not fast enough to reverse the Democrat’s lead. Later, McKenna posted a video to Facebook.
“Despite the extraordinary efforts of our volunteers, donors, staff and everyone who’s been a part of team McKenna it appears we will fall short of victory when the last ballots are counted," said McKenna. "After 17 months of hard work that is a very disappointing result.”
McKenna, a two-term Attorney General, says in the video he doesn’t know what will come next for him. But he vowed to continue to stay involved in public service and specifically mentioned education reform.
Shortly after McKenna conceded, Inslee declared victory at his Seattle headquarters. He called on the state to “to build a working Washington.”