The 1889 Washington gubernatorial election took place on October 1, 1889, to elect the first Governor of Washington shortly before it was admitted as a U.S. state. Both candidates, Republican Elisha P. Ferry and Democrat Eugene Semple, previously served as Territorial Governor, a position appointed by the President of the United States.

Elisha Peyre Ferry was an American lawyer and politician who served as the first governor of Washington from 1889 to 1893. Ferry was a Republican who had twice been Governor of Washington Territory, the only one to serve two terms. On Washington's admission as a state on November 11, 1889, he became its inaugural governor, serving one term, stepping down in 1893 because of failing health.