Much of Western Washington is very Liberal. Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia areas. Washington’s East of the Cascade side is conservative. If you look at the presidential races by county and especially the last Governor race, most of the state is red. King County (Seattle) however, has a large enough population to dictate for the rest of the state.
I'm glad the race was close, I think it still sends a message that McCain is being rejected by a majority of Republicans!