Mike Lowry

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title: "Mike Lowry" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1939-births", "2017-deaths", "20th-century-united-states-representatives", "candidates-in-the-1988-united-states-elections", "candidates-in-the-2000-united-states-elections", "democratic-party-united-states-representatives-from-washington-(state)", "democratic-party-governors-of-washington-(state)", "king-county-councillors", "people-from-whitman-county,-washington", "washington-state-university-alumni"] description: "Governor of Washington from 1993 to 1997" topic_path: "politics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lowry" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Governor of Washington from 1993 to 1997 ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Mike Lowry
image	Michael E. Lowry.jpg
order	20th Governor of Washington
lieutenant	Joel Pritchard
term_start	January 13, 1993
term_end	January 15, 1997
predecessor	Booth Gardner
successor	Gary Locke
state1	Washington
district1
term_start1	January 3, 1979
term_end1	January 3, 1989
predecessor1	Jack Cunningham
successor1	Jim McDermott
office2	Member of the King County Council
from the 6th district
term_start2	January 1, 1976
term_end2	January 3, 1979
predecessor2	Tom Forsythe
successor2	Pat Thorpe
birth_name	Michael Edward Lowry
birth_date
birth_place	St. John, Washington, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Olympia, Washington, U.S.
party	Democratic
spouse
children	1
education	Washington State University (BA)
::

|name = Mike Lowry |image = Michael E. Lowry.jpg |order = 20th Governor of Washington |lieutenant = Joel Pritchard |term_start = January 13, 1993 |term_end = January 15, 1997 |predecessor = Booth Gardner |successor = Gary Locke |state1 = Washington |district1 = |term_start1 = January 3, 1979 |term_end1 = January 3, 1989 |predecessor1 = Jack Cunningham |successor1 = Jim McDermott |office2 = Member of the King County Council from the 6th district |term_start2 = January 1, 1976 |term_end2 = January 3, 1979 |predecessor2 = Tom Forsythe |successor2 = Pat Thorpe |birth_name = Michael Edward Lowry |birth_date = |birth_place = St. John, Washington, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = Olympia, Washington, U.S. |party = Democratic |spouse = |children = 1 |education = Washington State University (BA) Michael Edward Lowry (March 8, 1939 – May 1, 2017) was an American politician who served as the 20th governor of Washington from 1993 to 1997. His political career ended when his deputy press secretary, Susanne Albright, made accusations of sexual misconduct against him. A member of the Democratic Party, Lowry served as a United States representative from Washington's 7th congressional district from 1979 to 1989, and unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 1983 and 1988.

Early life

Lowry was born and raised in St. John, Washington, son of Helen (nee White) and Robert Lowry. He graduated from Washington State University in 1962.

Political career

Lowry had a brief career working for the Washington State Senate and as a lobbyist for Group Health Cooperative, before being elected to the King County Council in 1975. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Washington's Seventh Congressional District in 1978, where he served until 1989.

Lowry twice ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate. In a 1983 special election, he was defeated by Republican former Governor Dan Evans, then an appointed Senator and the incumbent, in a race to replace Democrat Henry "Scoop" Jackson. In 1988, he lost to Slade Gorton, also a Republican, in a close race. Lowry then began working at Seattle University and at an environmental group.

Governor of Washington (1993–1997)

Lowry was elected governor in 1992 and served for a single term (to date, he is the last governor of Washington state to serve only one term). His principal policy initiative was a statewide system of health insurance with premiums based on ability to pay. He chose not to run for reelection due to a sexual harassment scandal in which his deputy press secretary, Susanne Albright, accused him of making inappropriate remarks and fondling her. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Commissioner of Public Lands in 2000, and was later active in building affordable housing for Washington's migrant farm workers.

Personal life

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Mike_Lowry_03.jpg" caption="Lowry in 2009"] ::

Lowry married Mary Carlson in 1968, and they had a daughter. He died from complications of a stroke on May 1, 2017, at the age of 78.

During Lowry's career, he was often compared to Yasser Arafat by both media and political opponents in the state of Washington, due to a perceived similarity in physical appearance between the two. According to some reports, Lowry shaved off a beard he formerly sported specifically to avoid comparisons.

References

References

1. https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/L000486
2. "Former Washington Gov. Mike Lowry dies at age 78". KING.
3. "Lowry, Michael Edward "Mike" (1939-2017)".
4. (May 5, 2017). "Mike Lowry, Ex-Congressman and Washington State Governor, Dies at 78". [[The New York Times]].
5. (July 15, 1995). "Governor Is Settling Harassment Charges". [[New York Times]].
6. (May 1, 2017). "Former Washington Gov. Mike Lowry has died". [[The Seattle Times]].
7. (May 1, 2017). "Mike Lowry, proudly progressive ex-governor, dies early on May Day". [[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]].
8. (April 27, 1989). "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow? To Shave or Not to Shave, That's the Question". Associated Press.
9. Ferguson, Adele. (June 12, 2008). "Governor gabfest brings back memories". Port Orchard Independent.
10. Brus, Michael. (August 9, 2001). "Beards Why are they such a turnoff?". Slate.
11. Hughes, John. (2011). "Slade Gorton: A Half-Century in Politics". Washington State Legacy Project.

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