Incumbent Democrat Clarence D. Martin defeated Republican nominee Roland H. Hartley with 69.36% of the vote.

Martin's popular vote share is the largest achieved by any gubernatorial candidate in Washington.

This is the most recent gubernatorial election in which a candidate swept every county in the state.

[1] Washington adopted a blanket primary starting with the 1936 elections.

This system was eventually ruled unconstitutional in the early 2000s.