Senator William Wiley (D-WA) was Governor of Washington from 1983-1991, before being elected to the Senate in 1992. In his gubernatorial campaign, he defeated a popular Republican incumbent and won reelection to his second term with 68% of the vote. In 1992, he ran for the Senate and was elected with 61% of the vote.
He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 1998. Along with John Hoynes, he was defeated by Jed Bartlet, who eventually captured the nomination and the presidency. He was on Bartlet's VP shortlist, but lost out to John Hoynes.