The 1940 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1940. Republican nominee Arthur B. Langlie narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Clarence Dill with 50.24% of the vote. Langlie's 0.74% margin of victory is the third-closest in state history. This is the only gubernatorial election in Washington in which King County has voted for the losing candidate.
Primary election
The primary election was held on September 10, 1940. At the time, Washington used a blanket primary for nominations, with all candidates appearing on the same ballot and the highest candidate for each party being nominated. Incumbent governor Clarence D. Martin lost the Democratic nomination.
Candidates
- Frank Burns (R)
- Clarence Dill (D), former United States Senator
- Alexander Gabrielsen (D)
- George H. Gannon (D)
- J. Warren Kinney (R)
- Arthur B. Langlie (R), incumbent Mayor of Seattle
- George Dana Linn (R)
- Clarence D. Martin (D), incumbent Governor
- Marius Rasmussen (R)
- Tom Smith (D)
General election
Candidates
Major party candidates
- Arthur B. Langlie, Republican
- Clarence Dill, Democratic
Other candidates
- John Brockway, Communist
- P. J. Ater, Socialist Labor
Results by county
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Adams
- Asotin
- Benton
- Chelan
- Clark
- Columbia
- Douglas
- Garfield
- Island
- Jefferson
- Kittitas
- Klickitat
- Lewis
- Lincoln
- Okanogan
- San Juan
- Skagit
- Thurston
- Wahkiakum
- Walla Walla
- Whatcom
- Whitman
- Yakima