1988Flipped from DemocraticFinal results

1988 election for U.S. Senate in Washington

Name: 1988 election for U.S. Senate in Washington
Start: 1988-11-08
Location: Washington

U.S. Senate · Washington

Slade Gorton (R) won with 51.1% of the vote, defeating Mike Lowry (D) by 2.2 points, a seat Democrats won last time.

Slade GortonRepublican · winner

51.1%944,359

48.9%904,183

1,848,542 votes

Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET

The seat over time

D − R margin in this seat's races around 1988

Source: MIT Election Data and Science LabUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:25 AM ET

Each line compares the two campaigns on one scale.

Mike LowrySlade Gorton

$2.2M

Raised by the campaign

$2.7M

$2.2M

Spent by the campaign

$2.9M

$17K

Cash on hand

$46K

Campaign money: FEC, through Dec 31, 1988.

Source: FEC campaign filingsUpdated Dec 31, 1988