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1983 Snohomish County Executive election

1983 Snohomish County Executive election
← 1980 (special) November 8, 1983 1987 →
 
Nominee Willis Tucker Larry Countryman
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 54,756 39,194
Percentage 58.28% 41.72%

County Executive before election

Willis Tucker
Democratic

Elected County Executive

Willis Tucker
Democratic

The 1983 Snohomish County Executive election took place on November 8, 1983, to elect the county executive of Snohomish County, Washington. Incumbent Democratic County Executive Willis Tucker ran for re-election to a second term. As the first county executive, Tucker was tasked with reorganizing county government, and internal party opposition to his reorganization scheme prompted an intra-party challenge. Three Democratic opponents ran against him, and his leading opponent was businessman Court Sheehan.[1]

However, despite facing opposition from the local Democratic establishment, Tucker placed first in the primary by a wide margin, winning 40 percent of the vote to Sheehan's 32 percent. Republican Larry Countryman, a Snohomish City Councilman, placed third with 21 percent of the vote and advanced to the general election against Tucker.[2] Tucker ultimately defeated Countryman in a landslide, winning 58 percent of the vote.[3]

Primary election

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Candidates

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Results

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Blanket primary results[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Willis Tucker 13,175 40.23%
Democratic Court Sheehan 10,319 31.51%
Republican Larry Countryman 6,977 21.30%
Democratic Paul Roberts 1,576 4.81%
Democratic John Patric 705 2.15%
Total votes 32,752 100.00%

General election

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Results

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1983 Snohomish County Executive election[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Willis Tucker (inc.) 56,756 58.28%
Republican Larry Countryman 39,194 41.72%
Total votes 93,950 100.00%
Democratic hold

References

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  1. ^ a b c Nelson, Robert T. (September 18, 1983). "Executive's race turning into a real free-for-all". The Everett Herald. p. 3A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Nelson, Robert T. (September 21, 1983). "Top official in county gets spot on ballot". The Everett Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Nelson, Robert T. (November 9, 1983). "County voters send executive back to office". The Everett Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tucker running for re-election to county-executive position". The Everett Herald. April 14, 1983. p. 4A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Businessman announces for county executive". The Everett Herald. July 31, 1983. p. 4A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Nelson, Robert T. (November 6, 1983). "Contributions, spending lopsided in race for county exec". The Everett Herald. p. 4A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "OFFICIAL PRIMARY 1983 RESULTS". Snohomish County Auditor. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
  8. ^ "OFFICIAL 1983 GENERAL ELECTION CANVASS". Snohomish County Auditor. Retrieved July 31, 2025.