In the 2004 Washington State gubernatorial race, three-term Attorney General Christine Gregoire (D) emerged victorious over Republican challenger Dino Rossi following a prolonged and bitter vote count dispute. Four years earlier, voters elected Maria Cantwell (D) to the U.S. Senate, sending her to Washington, D.C. to join senior Senator Patty Murray (D) who had been elected in 1992.

Thus, in 2004, Washington became the first state to elect a woman governor and concurrently be represented by two women in the U.S. Senate.