The story of William McCormick's personal narrative has been buried under the fact that he ran for statewide office three times in four years with hardly any media coverage under the banner of a political group, the Socialist Labor Party, considered marginal even by other socialists at the time. As a consequence, we don't know a lot about this would-be governor.

McCormick ran for Governor twice, in 1900 and 1904. In 1900 he finished 5th out of 5 candidates, 843 votes (0.79%). Thurston County gave him a grand total of 1 vote. In 1904 he shared the final crumbs of percentage with the Prohibition Party candidate.

In between the gubernatorial races, he also filed for U.S. Congress. This was at a time when the top three candidates were elected statewide "at large." McCormick placed 13th out of 15 candidates with 823 votes (0.28%). Number 14 and 15 were also Socialist Labor Party candidates.

The Socialist Labor Party in Washington State has never been a political powerhouse. Even in the 1890s and early 1900s it appeared to be a party people defected from rather than be attracted to. In reading about the era, it is difficult to tell if the various socialist factions and collective experiments were really divided by pure philosophical differences or more so by personalities.