2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Goodwin's spot on the 40-man roster was filled by former Nationals closer Koda Glover, who was activated from the 60-day disabled list and optioned to Syracuse after rehabbing from shoulder inflammation. The Nationals defeated the Braves that day 6–2, with Scherzer turning in another quality start and Herrera notching a five-out save.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
The Nationals dropped another series opener on the road to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 23 as González struggled. Mired in an offensive slump, in one of his plate appearances, Turner bunted back to pitcher Jhoulys Chacin, then threw his bat, helmet, and batting gloves to the ground in apparent disgust before walking back toward the dugout without ever moving toward first base, for which he was called out by home plate umpire Nic Lentz. Martinez benched Turner for the following game due to his failure to run out the ball, although he did appear late as a pinch-runner.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association announced July 24 that Turner had been awarded the annual "Heart and Hustle" award for the Nationals, a bit of irony that did not pass without comment from the Washington sports media. Despite an early four-run cushion, which included a three-run home run by right fielder Adam Eaton, and four strong innings from Hellickson, the Nationals dropped the July 24 game as Hellickson labored through the fifth inning, giving up three runs, and reliever Brandon Kintzler blew the slimmed-down lead altogether in the seventh inning.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
The Brewers ultimately walked off 5–4 in the tenth inning, as shortstop Tyler Saladino plated the winning run on a sacrifice fly off Grace. The Nationals salvaged a win in the three-game series by taking the final game on July 25, benefiting from Roark's best start of the year as he pitched eight scoreless innings while striking out 11 Brewers, earning his first win in eight starts.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
On July 26, the Nationals announced that Strasburg was returning to the 10-day disabled list after just one start, citing a pinched nerve in his neck. Rendon also temporarily departed the team on three-day paternity leave. The Nationals selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Tommy Milone, who had made his major league debut with the Nationals in the 2011 season and re-signed with the organization on a minor league deal over the winter, and recalled utilityman Matt Reynolds to take the place of Strasburg and Rendon on the roster.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
First baseman and outfielder José Marmolejos, who had spent the entire season to date with Class-AAA Syracuse, was designated from assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Milone.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Starting in Strasburg's place to begin another four-game series in Miami, Milone gave up three runs in the first inning but settled in to pitch four more scoreless innings, getting a no-decision in what ended up as a 10–3 Nationals win, as the visitors' offense stirred to life late, keyed by Turner batting in three runs and coming a double shy of hitting for the cycle and Soto reaching base four times while hitting his 12th home run of the season. Washington climbed above the .500 mark for the first time in nearly two weeks on July 27.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Scherzer pitched eight innings while giving up just one unearned run and striking out 11 Marlins, the last of whom was Justin Bour for the Nationals ace's 200th strikeout of the season. It was Soto's turn in the July 27 game to come a double shy of the cycle, as he homered, singled, and hit his first career triple in the contest. However, the Nationals' winning ways did not continue over the final two games of the series. Washington wasted a quality start by González on July 28, scoring just one run in the ninth inning in an extra-innings loss, and then were shut out in a two-hit effort by José Ureña and the Marlins relief corps on July 29, dropping the visitors back below .500.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
With a losing record heading into the July 31 trade deadline and a disappointing split against the fourth-place Marlins, the Nationals faced widespread speculation in the media that they could become sellers. Although general manager Mike Rizzo acknowledged that he fielded trade proposals from different teams for a number of players—including Harper, the Nationals' All-Star center fielder and highest-paid position player—the team ultimately remained largely inactive.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
On July 31, the team announced it traded Kintzler to the Chicago Cubs for minor league reliever Jhon Romero—a move team officials characterized as largely a roster-clearing move similar to the trade of Goodwin to Kansas City days earlier, although The Washington Post suggested it may have been motivated by Kintzler's outspokenness.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
With Suero recalled to replace Kintzler in the bullpen and Rendon activated from the family medical leave list to replace Matt Reynolds, who was optioned back to Syracuse, the Nationals proceeded to rack up a franchise-record 25 runs on 26 hits in a drubbing of the division-rival New York Mets at Nationals Park. Winning by 21 runs in the 25–4 contest, the Nationals dealt the Mets their largest ever loss by run differential and scored their largest in franchise history.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Six of the Nationals' runs came against José Reyes, normally a utility infielder for the Mets, in his major league pitching debut in the eighth inning. Reyes needed 48 pitches to complete the inning, allowing two home runs, a triple, a double, a single, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch before retiring the side. The game was also marked by a new Nationals–Expos franchise record for hits, as Zimmerman surpassed former Montreal Expos star Tim Wallach by tallying his 1,695th hit in the organization as he singled in a run in the first inning.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
Despite the historic win, the night was soured somewhat for the Nationals as Kelley, who gave up three runs after called upon to finish off the game in the ninth inning, reacted after an Austin Jackson home run by spiking his glove on the grass next to the mound and appearing to glare toward the Nationals' dugout. Kelley apologized after the game and said he was frustrated by what he saw as conflicting orders from the umpiring crew as he was trying to pitch.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, July
After taking the first of two games against the Mets at home, the Nationals finished July with a 53–53 record of wins and losses for the season, with a losing record of 11–14 for the month, having won just one series (against the Marlins) in July. They stood in third place in the National League East Division, in 51⁄2 games behind the first-place Phillies and five games back of the second-place Braves. Soto earned his second straight Rookie of the Month Award for July after hitting .299, batting in 15 runs, and swatting five home runs in the month.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals opened the month of August by summarily designating reliever Shawn Kelley for assignment, which manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo directly attributed to his outburst during the previous game on July 31, in which he appeared to glare toward the team dugout after throwing his glove. Speaking both of the decision to designate Kelley, whose behavior he called "selfish" and "disrespectful" toward Martinez, and trade former Nationals reliever Brandon Kintzler to the Chicago Cubs the day before, Rizzo declared, "If you're not in, you're in the way."


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals selected the contract of right-handed relief prospect Jimmy Cordero to fill the roster spot vacated by Kelley, who was traded days later to the Oakland Athletics for international bonus slot money.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals went on to beat the New York Mets on August 1 to complete a two-game series sweep in a midday game at Nationals Park, opening August with a win as left-handed starter Tommy Milone struck out nine Mets, outdueled Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard, and earned his first major league decision and win since April 2017, while making only his second start of the season with the Nationals. The Nationals won the August 1 game 5–3 to climb back above the .500 mark for the season.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Carrying some momentum into a four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds at home, the Nationals batted around in the second inning and rode another quality start from ace Max Scherzer to a 10–4 win on August 2. Cordero made his major league debut in the contest, allowing two runs in the ninth inning before finishing out the win.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Rain postponed the second game of the series to August 4, on which it was played as a doubleheader, in which the Reds hammered struggling Nationals starter Gio González and held the Nationals to a single run to win the first game, but the Nationals struck back behind a strong effort from starter Jeremy Hellickson and a much more productive offense to win the second game. Washington completed a second straight series win by topping Cincinnati 2–1 on August 5, with Tanner Roark turning in a third straight quality start and catcher Matt Wieters homering for the first time since his return from the disabled list in early July.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Facing the division-rival Atlanta Braves in a potentially pivotal four-game series starting July 7, the Nationals split the opening doubleheader with the visitors. In the day game, spot starter Jefry Rodríguez pitched five solid innings, notched his first major league hit (a double), and earned his first major league win, with rookie left fielder Juan Soto walking three times for the fourth time all season to set a new major league record for three-walk games by a teenager.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Reliever Greg Holland, signed out of free agency after his release by the St. Louis Cardinals days earlier, made his Nationals debut in the first game of the day, striking out three Braves; Cordero was optioned back to the Class-AAA Syracuse Chiefs in a corresponding move for Holland. However, the Nationals also lost a reliever, as closer Kelvin Herrera exited the second game with a shoulder injury and was placed on the 10-day disabled list the following day.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The team recalled right-handed reliever Koda Glover from Syracuse to replace Herrera on the roster, announcing erstwhile setup man Ryan Madson would take over closing duties temporarily. The Nationals proceeded to lose the third game of the series that evening to the Braves. Soto was ejected by the home plate umpire, Greg Gibson, before his third at-bat of the day, with Gibson claiming Soto had continued to argue a called third strike from the previous at-bat as his justification for ordering him to leave the game. It was Soto's first career ejection. Martinez and hitting coach Kevin Long argued the decision, but of the two, only Long was ejected as well. Washington rallied for a series split on August 9 behind a resurgent outing from González, who earned his first winning decision in 12 starts.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals endured their first series loss since the non-waiver trade deadline as they locked horns with the Chicago Cubs in a three-game set at Wrigley Field, the teams' first meeting since the 2017 National League Division Series.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Continuing a running theme for him throughout the season, Hellickson cruised through the Cubs' lineup for the first two times through the order in the August 10 series opener, only to immediately struggle when asked to pitch to opposing batters for the third time; carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning, he lost a 13-pitch battle against Chicago leadoff hitter Anthony Rizzo, walking him, then walked the next two batters on eight straight balls before being relieved by Sammy Solís, who immediately gave up a game-tying RBI single.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
In the seventh inning, Solís combined with Holland to load the bases, and then Rizzo walked again to force home the go-ahead run. The Cubs held on to win 3–2. The visitors rebounded to win on August 11 behind another outstanding start by Roark, although the Cubs tacked on three runs in the eighth and ninth inning against Roark and reliever Wander Suero for a 9–4 finish. However, the series was capped with what The Washington Post described as one of the Nationals' "worst ever" losses in team history.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
On ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball broadcast, Scherzer outdueled a strong Cole Hamels, as the Nationals enjoyed seven scoreless innings from their ace plus a scoreless eighth by Glover. With the team up by three runs entering the ninth inning, Madson was called upon to record the save. Instead, after loading the bases via an infield single bobbled by defensive substitute Wilmer Difo and two hits-by-pitch, Madson surrendered a two-out, two-strike walk-off grand slam to rookie pinch-hitter David Bote. After the game, Madson said he had been experiencing shooting pain in his back and right leg and had been unable to grip the ball well enough to throw his signature curveball, but he had not disclosed his condition to the coaching staff previously.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The trying tour of the National League Central Division continued as the Nationals dropped the first three out of four games to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. On August 13, in the first game of the series the Nationals were again unable to hold a late lead. With the Nationals up by two runs, reliever Justin Miller gave up a home run to start the eighth inning.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
One out later, Solís was summoned with a runner on base to face a pinch-hitter, but he promptly gave up a single and wild pitch, then surrendered a go-ahead home run to Cardinals slugger Matt Carpenter, the league leader in home runs, with first base open. Although the Nationals mounted a ninth-inning rally to tie the game, they were unable to take the lead, stranding two runners in scoring position, before Paul DeJong led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Glover, handing Washington its second walk-off loss in as many games.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
"I don't know what else to do," Martinez admitted after the game. Before the second game of the series on August 14, the Nationals removed both Madson and Solís from their active roster, placing the former on the 10-day disabled list with what the team called "lumbar nerve root irritation" and optioning the latter to Class-AAA Syracuse. For the second time of the season, Washington selected the contract of veteran left-handed reliever Tim Collins from Syracuse, also calling up right-handed reliever Trevor Gott.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Injured starting pitcher Erick Fedde was transferred to the 60-day disabled list to complete the series of roster moves. Martinez announced that, despite giving up the walk-off home run the previous night, Glover would assume closing duties for the time being, with Miller expected to fill in when Glover, still readjusting to the major leagues after a series of shoulder and back injuries, was unavailable for a game.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Both Collins and Gott appeared in the August 14 game after González was unable to work into the fifth inning, the Nationals' starter notably giving up a two-run home run to opposing pitcher John Gant for the Cardinals' right-hander's first career hit; Gott gave up one run on a Kolten Wong home run in long relief and Collins threw a scoreless inning. The Cardinals stymied a late Nationals rally to win 6–4.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals had injury added to insult as Hellickson was forced to exit early in his August 15 start after falling awkwardly on his wrist during a play at the plate; the Cardinals won the game 4–2, and Hellickson headed to the disabled list for the second time in the season. The Nationals salvaged one win for the series on August 16, topping the Cardinals 5–4 behind a six-inning start from Roark, a three-RBI game by Harper, and the first save of the year for Glover.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Returning home for a three-game series against the division-rival Miami Marlins, the Nationals rode a strong start by Scherzer to an easy 8–2 victory on August 17, only to end up stumbling to their first series loss at home against Miami since the 2014 season as they dropped the second two games.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Washington lost on August 18 as, despite a ninth-inning Adam Eaton home run to tie the game, the Nationals were unable to plate the winning run and Glover promptly surrendered two runs to take the loss in the tenth inning; The next day, Marlins starter José Ureña hurled a complete game, giving up just one run on two hits, as Miami's offense buried Nationals starter González and long reliever Milone in the 12–1 blowout.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Milone's reassignment to the bullpen was among several roster moves involving pitchers that the Nationals made during the opening series of their homestand, formally assigning Hellickson to the 10-day disabled list with a right wrist sprain on August 18, calling up Rodríguez from Syracuse to join the rotation, and swapping Gott for Cordero via optional assignment.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals made more moves on August 21. In what both local and national media widely characterized as "throwing in the towel" or "waving the white flag" after a disappointing season, Washington traded starting second baseman Daniel Murphy and backup first baseman Matt Adams to the Cubs and Cardinals respectively, teams whose recent wins over the Nationals had rendered their odds of reaching the postseason bleak, according to analysts.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Despite losing the veteran infielders, who were claimed off waivers, the Nationals rode key hits by outfielder Andrew Stevenson, recalled from Class-AAA Syracuse in a related move, and second baseman Wilmer Difo, assuming everyday duties from Murphy, to win on August 21 in the opening game of a series against the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Stevenson hit his first career home run, a two-run pinch-hit blast that tied the game, and Cordero earned his first career win in relief, with Herrera wrapping up the 10–4 win hours after being activated from the disabled list as Milone was listed with left shoulder soreness. Long reliever Matt Grace also singled for his first career hit in the game.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The following night, the Nationals overcame the struggles of just-reactivated starter Stephen Strasburg and bounced back from a one-run deficit to stun the Phillies on first baseman Ryan Zimmerman's eleventh career walk-off home run, a bomb to right field that scored Soto from second base. Philadelphia closer Seranthony Domínguez, who surrendered the blast, took the loss.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Zimmerman's walk-off home run turned out to be the last time the Nationals scored for 32 innings, as they were shut out three games in a row (by the Phillies behind Aaron Nola, by the Mets behind Jason Vargas, and by the Mets behind Zack Wheeler) for the first time in Nationals team history, wasting strong starts by Scherzer, González, and Roark along the way. Washington salvaged the series in Queens with a 15–0 win on August 26, with an offensive outburst coming in the eighth and ninth innings as Rodríguez led a superb effort by the visitors' pitching staff.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
However, the Nationals lost Herrera to another injury, as the reliever came up lame taking a groundout to first base for the 26th out of the game. Herrera was placed on the disabled list the next day with a torn Lisfranc ligament in his left foot, an injury expected to end his season, and Madson was activated from the disabled list.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Martinez said the team would rely on matchups rather than designating a set closer; that night, with Madson playing the role of setup man, Miller recorded his first save since the 2015 season, and on August 28, Holland earned his first save of the season as well, as Washington took the first two of three against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
Two days after the Phillies stunned the Nationals in the series finale by coming back from a three-run deficit using a Carlos Santana grand slam home run off González, the Nationals agreed to trade González to the Milwaukee Brewers for prospects KJ Harrison and Gilbert Lara, with the news breaking in the first inning as the Brewers visited Nationals Park on August 31. The Nationals also traded Madson to the Los Angeles Dodgers the same day for minor league pitcher Andrew Istler. The Brewers topped the Nationals 4–1, repeatedly stifling the home team's scoring opportunities throughout the game.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
The Nationals finished August with a 67–68 record on the season, posting a losing record for the third month in a row as they went 14–15.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, August
After finishing out a two-game sweep of the Mets, then winning three of four from the Reds, the Nationals split four games with the Braves, lost two of three to the Cubs and three of four to the Cardinals on the road, returned home and lost two of three to the Marlins before winning two of three against the Phillies, then dropped two of three visiting the Mets and won two of three visiting the Phillies, prior to losing their final game of August against the Brewers. They sat 71⁄2 games back of the division-leading Braves.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
With rosters expanding for the final month of the season, the Nationals made their first set of moves on September 1, recalling catcher Pedro Severino from the Class-AAA Syracuse Chiefs and selecting the contract of Chiefs reliever Austen Williams. Neither of the new call-ups played in the Nationals' first game of the month, the second in a three-game series at Nationals Park against the Milwaukee Brewers.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
That game began in the evening of September 1, but a lengthy mid-game rain delay meant it did not finish until the early morning on September 2. Trailing by two runs when the rain delay started in the eighth inning, the Nationals rallied behind two-out RBI singles from shortstop Trea Turner and rookie left fielder Juan Soto to take the lead, with reliever Justin Miller locking down the save to complete the come-from-behind victory. In the rubber game, played the afternoon of September 2, the Nationals jumped out to an early two-run lead but couldn't hold it.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
After battling command issues all game, starter Jefry Rodríguez put two runners on base in the fifth inning before giving up a three-run home run to Keon Broxton that turned the tide of the contest and gave Milwaukee the lead; two batters later, manager Dave Martinez summoned reliever Tim Collins, who loaded the bases with a four-pitch walk before Christian Yelich hit a grand slam out to center field to ice the game. All seven runs in the fifth inning came with two outs. The Nationals went on to lose 9–4, dropping back below .500. Williams made his major league debut in relief, pitching scoreless sixth and seventh innings for the home team.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
September 3 was a memorable day for the Nationals. Trailing into the ninth inning, center fielder Bryce Harper led the team to a dramatic comeback with a two-run home run off St. Louis Cardinals closer Bud Norris to tie the game followed by a tenth-inning sacrifice fly off his former College of Southern Nevada teammate Chasen Shreve. The Nationals walked off the visiting St. Louis ballclub 4–3, with reliever Greg Holland, whom the Nationals signed the month prior after the Cardinals released him, picking up the win with two scoreless innings of work.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
During the game, starter Max Scherzer passed the 250-strikeout mark for the season, moving into second place alone behind Randy Johnson for the most consecutive seasons with at least 250 strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Nationals concluded a ten-season affiliation with the Syracuse Chiefs, who shut out the visiting Buffalo Bisons behind starter Kyle McGowin in the final game of their player development contract with Washington before converting to a Class-AAA affiliate for the New York Mets in 2019. McGowin was called up for the first time on September 4, as the Nationals selected his contract.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Right-handed pitchers Erick Fedde and Joe Ross were also activated from the 60-day disabled list. The Nationals summoned minor league pitcher Austin Voth, infielder Adrián Sánchez, and top outfield prospect Víctor Robles from Syracuse as well. Soto walked for the 67th time in the September 4 game to set a new record for walks by a teenager in the modern era; however, in the same game, Williams was tagged for his first earned runs, taking the loss against the Cardinals in an offense-heavy 11–8 contest as he gave up three home runs.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Making his major league debut in relief the next day, McGowin also gave up a solo home run that, while McGowin did not factor in the decision, ultimately represented the Cardinals' final margin of victory in the 7–6 contest. The big blows in the September 5 game were supplied by Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams, whom the Nationals had traded to St. Louis less than a month prior. Adams hit two home runs in the game against his former teammate, starter Tanner Roark, who took the loss. The Nationals' homestand continued with a loss to the visiting Chicago Cubs on September 6. The Nationals led into the eighth inning, but Miller gave up the tying run before rookie reliever Jimmy Cordero allowed the go-ahead runs in the tenth inning to take the loss.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Following a September 7 rainout, the Nationals' fortune turned. They swept the Cubs in a double-header that started September 8 and ended in the early morning on September 9, with Scherzer throwing a complete game for the win in the first game and the Nationals rallying late on a go-ahead home run by Harper to eventually win the second, with reliever Sean Doolittle, just activated from the disabled list, appearing for the first time since July and earning a hold.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The September 9 game was postponed due to rain, as was the Nationals' September 10 series opener at Philadelphia, as the Philadelphia Phillies grounds crew had neglected to put a tarp over the infield at Citizens Bank Park before the start of a days-long rainstorm that left the infield dirt unplayable. The Phillies rented blowtorches and propane tanks in a futile effort to dry the infield and avoid the postponement, but union representatives from both teams ultimately prompted a single-admission double-header to be scheduled for September 11.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The Nationals swept the double-header against the Phillies, too, with rookie catcher Spencer Kieboom hitting a memorable first career home run in the first game hours after losing a "temporary tooth" to help power his team to the win and fellow rookie Soto lashing two home runs in the second game, including the go-ahead home run off Yacksel Ríos in the tenth inning, after the Nationals rallied against Phillies relievers Seranthony Domínguez and Luis García for three runs to tie the game in the ninth inning.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Washington completed its sweep of the division-rival Phillies the next day, with Stephen Strasburg providing seven one-run innings and Harper, Soto, and Ryan Zimmerman providing over-the-fence offense in the 5–1 game. The Cubs ended the Nationals' winning streak at five, taking the makeup game at Nationals Park on September 13 in extra innings as star infielder Javier Báez knocked in three of their four runs.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The Nationals rebounded from the impromptu one-game homestand by taking two out of three from the Atlanta Braves. The Braves held Scherzer to four innings and pinned a loss on the Nationals ace in his worst start of the season, in terms of both innings pitched and runs allowed, on September 14. However, the Nationals took the next two games. Soto set a new record for stolen bases in a game by a teenager with three on September 15 in a game that also saw the Nationals set a new team record with 14 walks.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
However, the Nationals lost Jeremy Hellickson in his first appearance since coming off the disabled list days earlier as he re-injured his wrist on a swing. The Nationals took the rubber game on September 16, as Doolittle notched his first save since coming off the disabled list. Their roadtrip continuing, the Nationals dropped the first of two games against the Miami Marlins on September 17 despite an early four-run lead, although Robles hit a 427-foot blast to left field for his first career home run off Miami starter Trevor Richards. Soto's on-base streak ended at 21 games, one shy of tying the major league record for a teenager. The Nationals finished with a series split with a win on September 18.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
In a difficult twelfth-inning loss to start a four-game series with the Mets, the Nationals were beaten on a sacrifice fly by their former catcher José Lobatón on September 20. Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon hit his 100th career home run in the 5–4 loss. Harper was ejected for the first time in the season by home plate umpire D. J. Reyburn for arguing balls and strikes in the bottom of the twelfth.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
After losing on September 21 to the Mets behind their ace, Jacob deGrom, the Nationals were officially eliminated from contention in the National League East Division as the Braves won later that night. Despite winning on September 22, the Nationals were eliminated from playoff contention altogether as the St. Louis Cardinals in the wildcard hunt won that day. Voth was tasked with the start on September 22, as Roark was home for the birth of his third child; he earned his first career win as he led a one-hit shutout of the Mets, pitching five strong innings.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
In the final game of the Mets series, a loss on September 23, Turner stole a base to set a new team record for career steals. Rookie reliever Wander Suero took the loss, the first in his major league career, after surrendering a go-ahead RBI triple to New York slugger Michael Conforto.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
In their first full series since elimination, and their final series of the year at home, the Nationals swept the division-rival Marlins over three games from September 24 to September 26. In the first game of the series, Harper hit a sacrifice fly to put him at 100 RBIs for the season, the first time in a professional campaign he had reached the century mark, and earned a standing ovation from his home supporters.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The September 25 game marked Scherzer's final start of the season, and a momentous one, as he struck out ten Marlins to reach the 300-strikeout mark for the first time in his career. Scherzer also earned his 18th win of the season in the contest. With Roark still at home in Georgia with his family, the Nationals tasked McGowin with his first career start to finish out the series. He pitched into the fifth inning, allowing just one hit and zero runs after retiring the first eleven batters he faced, before exiting with a blister on his pitching hand. The Washington bullpen finished off the 9–3 win to complete the sweep. The game was called in the seventh inning due to rain, with Harper left on deck instead of getting one last at-bat at home in the season before his anticipated free agency.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
The Nationals finished off the season by flying to Denver and taking on the Colorado Rockies for a three-game series. The Rockies clinched a playoff berth as they beat Ross and the Nationals on September 28, in the series opener. The visitors rebounded in Strasburg's final start of the year the next day, winning 12–2. Soto deposited the 22nd home run of his rookie season into the right field seats to move into a tie for second place for homers by a teenager in major league history.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
However, the Nationals had scored their final runs of the season in the blowout victory, as Tyler Anderson pitched masterfully to lead the Rockies in a 12–0 shutout at the expense of Washington rookies Fedde, Voth, and McGowin, as well as the veteran Collins, all of whom gave up home runs en route to the loss as the motivated Colorado team earned a divisional tiebreaker with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The loss was the Nationals' most lopsided of the season.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, September
Washington ended the season with an 82–80 record of wins and losses, their lowest win total since the 2011 season but good for second place in the National League East Division, eight games back of the playoffs-bound Braves and two in front of the Phillies. In total, they went 15–12 in September, their first winning month since May and only their second full month with a winning record all season.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Broadcasters
In 2018, the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) hired Michael Morse, an outfielder and first baseman who had played for the Nationals from 2009 to 2012 season, as a broadcaster. From May 25 to 27, he made his broadcasting debut by filling in for Ray Knight as the studio analyst on the Nats Xtra pregame and postgame shows on MASN, working with host Johnny Holliday during a weekend three-game Washington Nationals series at the Miami Marlins.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Broadcasters
In his second stint with MASN, from June 15 to 17, 2018, he made his debut as an in-game color commentator when he substituted for F. P. Santangelo for the MASN broadcast of a three-game weekend Nationals series against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto, working alongside play-by-play man Bob Carpenter. He substituted again for Santangelo from August 13 to 15, 2018, during the three-game Nationals series against the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Broadcasters
Nationals radio play-by-play announcer Dave Jageler, who had called every Nationals regular-season game since he joined the Nationals′ broadcasting team on Opening Day in 2006, finally missed a game on May 31, 2018, when he took leave to attend his son's high school graduation. His Nationals broadcasting streak ended at 2,016 straight games. Longtime Harrisburg Senators broadcaster Terry Byrom took his place for a four-game series the Nationals played against the Atlanta Braves at Suntrust Park in Atlanta from May 31 through June 3. Jageler returned to the booth on June 5 as the Nationals hosted the Tampa Bay Rays at Nationals Park.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Broadcasters
In mid-September 2018, MASN pulled Ray Knight, who had served as the studio analyst on Nats Xtra since the show's beginning in 2007 season, from broadcasts after he had a verbal altercation with a staff member at MASN. He did not return to the air, and after the season concluded, MASN cut ties with him, announcing that it had not picked up his 2019 contract option. The 2018 season also was Johnny Holliday's last with MASN; the host of Nats Xtra from 2007 to 2018, he announced that he would not return to MASN in 2019 so that he could spend more time with his family.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Culture and entertainment, Bullpen cart
The bullpen cart, absent from Major League Baseball since 1995, enjoyed a revival in Major League Baseball in 2018, with the Arizona Diamondbacks introducing one on March 29 and the Detroit Tigers placing one in service on April 13. During the season, the Nationals began to look into a bullpen cart of their own and secured a sponsorship for one in July; a Florida company completed it four weeks later.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Culture and entertainment, Bullpen cart
Nationals owner Mark Lerner assisted in designing the cart – a golf cart with a body that looks like a large baseball, a roof that looks like a large blue Nationals hat, a red Nationals "curly W" logo on every hubcap, front roof supports that look like baseball bats, baseball gloves behind each headlight to make the headlights look like baseballs when they are turned on, and a red light on the roof that flashes whenever the cart is in motion. The cart made its debut at Nationals Park on August 17.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Culture and entertainment, Bullpen cart
It drives all the way around the field along the warning track each time a relief pitcher enters the game for either team – clockwise, passing the Nationals' bullpen in right field first, whenever a Nationals reliever enters the game and counterclockwise, passing the visitors' bullpen first, whenever a visiting team's reliever enters – whether the reliever opts to use it or not.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Culture and entertainment, Bullpen cart
Late on the evening of September 8, in the top of the eighth inning during the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs, Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle, a proponent of bullpen cart use, became the first player to use the Nationals Park bullpen cart.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Culture and entertainment, Bullpen cart
Doolittle had made history as the first visiting player to use the Diamondbacks' bullpen cart during a game at Arizona on May 10, and Nationals players had decided that they would not use the Nationals Park cart until Doolittle returned from a lengthy stint on the disabled list and had the chance to become the first player to use it. The first visiting player to use it was New York Mets reliever Robert Gsellman in the eighth inning of a game on the evening of September 20.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Regular season, Attendance
The Nationals drew 2,529,604 fans at Nationals Park during 2018, their fourth-highest attendance since arriving in Washington in 2005. It placed them eighth in attendance for the season among the 15 National League teams, down from seventh in 2017 despite being an increase over their 2017 attendance total. Their highest attendance at a home game occurred on April 5, when they drew an Opening Day crowd of 42,477 for a game against the New York Mets, while the low mark was 19,357 for a game against the Atlanta Braves on April 10. Their average home attendance was 31,230 per game, fourth-highest since their arrival in Washington.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Statistics, Batting
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases


2018 Washington Nationals season, Statistics, Pitching
Note: Pos = Position; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts


2018 Washington Nationals season, Awards and honors, All-Stars
On July 8, outfielder Bryce Harper, starting pitcher Max Scherzer, and closer Sean Doolittle were named to the National League team for the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Harper was the only Nationals player voted into the game by fans, and it was his sixth all-star selection and will be his fifth start, a Montreal-Washington franchise record. Scherzer was named as an all-star for the sixth straight season, four of them as a National. Doolittle made the All-Star team for the second time, and the first time since he represented Oakland in  2014.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Awards and honors, All-Stars
Harper agreed to participate in the 2018 Home Run Derby at Nationals Park the day before the All-Star Game. It was the second Home Run Derby appearance of his career, and he won it for the first time.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Farm system, Class AAA
In October 2017, the New York Mets announced that they would purchase the Syracuse Chiefs from the Community Baseball Club of Central New York. Under the deal, the Community Baseball Club of Central New York's ownership of the Chiefs and the Chiefs' affiliation with the Washington Nationals – which had begun in 2009 – continued through the end of the 2018 season. After the conclusion of the season, the Mets would take ownership of and operate the Chiefs, with Syracuse – renamed the Syracuse Mets in October 2018 – becoming the Mets' Class AAA affiliate beginning with the 2019 season.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Farm system, Class AAA
On September 18, 2018, the Nationals and the Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League announced that they had struck a two-year player-development deal that would make Fresno the Nationals' Class AAA affiliate beginning in the 2019 season.


2018 Washington Nationals season, Farm system, Class A-Advanced
In June 2018, Potomac Nationals owner Art Silber announced that he had signed a letter of intent to build a new stadium in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that would open in April 2020. During the 2018–2019 offseason, the Fredericksburg city council gave unanimous final approval on November 13, 2018, for the Silber family to finance, build, and maintain the new stadium. Plans thus called for the 2019 season to be the 36th and last for the Potomac Nationals at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Virginia, where they had played since 1984.


2018 Washington Redskins season
The 2018 season was the Washington Redskins' 87th in the National Football League and their fifth under head coach Jay Gruden. This was the first season since 2011 that quarterback Kirk Cousins was not on the roster, as he joined the Minnesota Vikings in the offseason as a free agent.


2018 Washington Redskins season
The team tied their record from the previous season, and missed the playoffs for the third straight season. Despite a 6–3 start which was their best since 2008 plus leading the NFC East, the team suffered 4 straight losses after the team lost their starting quarterback Alex Smith to a catastrophic leg injury in their Week 11 loss to the Houston Texans.


2018 Washington Redskins season
This would cause Smith to miss both the remainder of the 2018 season and the entire 2019 season as Smith stated that he had taken a total of 17 surgeries to repair his leg and nearly had it amputated. Smith's injury also resulted in a quarterback hangover.


2018 Washington Redskins season
First, it forced Colt McCoy into the starting role in Weeks 12 and 13 before also suffering a leg injury in a 28–13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13, thus forcing the Redskins to start journeyman quarterback Mark Sanchez in Week 14 before starting another journeyman quarterback Josh Johnson against the Jacksonville Jaguars after benching Sanchez at halftime against the New York Giants. After the Alex Smith injury, the Redskins finished the last 7 games of the season with a record of 1–6. They were eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to the Titans, including wins by the Seahawks and Vikings. The team's season ended with 25 players on injured reserve, which were a league high.


2018 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 5: at New Orleans Saints
The Redskins hoped to get revenge for their loss in this game a year ago, where they blew a 31-16 lead with three minutes remaining and lost in overtime. Instead, the Redskins got blown out. This game was the point where Drew Brees passed Brett Favre and Peyton Manning on most passing yards. They fell to 2-2.


2018 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 6: vs. Carolina Panthers
This marked the first time since 2006 that the Redskins had defeated the Panthers. Then the Redskins started a 3 game winning streak and improved to 3-2.


2018 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 7: vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Redskins got their first win over the Cowboys at home since 2012. Also, Preston Smith forced a fumble returned for a touchdown off Dak Prescott. As time expired, Brett Maher missed the potential game-tying 52-yard field goal to give the Redskins the win. With this win, they improved to 4-2.


2018 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 8: at New York Giants
The Redskins improved to 5-2. This was the last time the Redskins beat the Giants until 2021.


2018 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 10: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Then the Redskins improved to 6-3 but then Alex Smith got injured and they would only win 1 more time.


2018 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 11: vs. Houston Texans
During the game, starter Alex Smith suffered a compound fracture injury to his right leg after being sacked by J. J. Watt and Kareem Jackson and was replaced by his backup, Colt McCoy. Coincidentally, this was exactly 33 years to the day of Joe Theismann's career-ending leg injury. Joe Theismann was also present during the game and witnessed the injury. The Redskins fell to 6-4 by losing 23-21, which ironically was the same score in the game where Theismann was injured. Alex Smith would not play again until Week 5 in 2020 against the Rams.


2018 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 15: at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Redskins improved to 7-7. The Redskins would then eclipse 600 regular season wins in franchise, the fifth team to do so (with Bears, Packers, Giants, & Steelers) with a regular season record of 600-588-28 at that point.


2018 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 16: at Tennessee Titans
This loss dropped the Redskins to 7-8. Also with this loss, including wins by the Vikings and Seahawks eliminated the Redskins from playoff contention.


2018 Washington Redskins season, Regular season, Game summaries, Week 17: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The Redskins finished 7-9 despite starting with a 6-3 record.


2018 Washington Spirit season
The 2018 season is Washington Spirit's sixth season, competing in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. On August 21, the Spirit parted ways with Head Coach and General Manager Jim Gabarra, assistant coach Tom Torres took over as interim Head Coach for the remaining 3 games of the season.


2018 Washington Spirit season, Review
After a difficult 2017 season, the Spirit began rebuilding their team, continuing with a youth centered approach. Considered a successful 2018 draft, Washington recruited U.S. international Andi Sullivan (no. 1 overall pick) and Canadian international Rebecca Quinn (no. 3 overall pick). In addition to the draft, the Spirit traded Crystal Dunn's player rights for 2017 Rookie of the Year Ashley Hatch and rookie outside back Taylor Smith. The unfortunate folding of Boston Breakers allowed the Spirit to bring in U.S. international playmaker, Rose Lavelle via the subsequent dispersal draft. What seemed to be only key loss for the Spirit was captain and anchor centerback, Shelina Zadorsky, traded to Orlando Pride for promising goalkeeper, Aubrey Bledsoe.


2018 Washington Spirit season, Review
The season opened with a loss to Seattle, but saw the return of Joanna Lohman, held back in 2017 through injury, and scored in her substitute appearance. After several mediocre performances in March and April, the Spirit would struggle for the remainder of the season, winning only one more match (of two all season) against struggling Sky Blue FC. A combination of injuries to forwards Mallory Pugh, Havana Solaun, and Arielle Ship hamstrung the Spirit attack who were shutout 15 matches (including a 7-match streak).


2018 Washington Spirit season, Review
On August 21, after eight straight losses and being eliminated from playoff contention, the Spirit fired head coach, Jim Gabarra, and appointed assistant coach, Tom Torres as interim head coach. Torres lead the Spirit through the final three matches of the season at home, including the Spirit's debut at newly opened Audi Field against Portland Thorns on August 25. The match set a new club record for home attendance with 7,976 fans.


2018 Washington Spirit season, Review
The last match of the season against Sky Blue FC, the Spirit ended a league-record setting goal drought at 765-minutes after Arielle Ship scored the opener of a 1-1 draw in the 71st minute. The match also earned Aubrey Bledsoe the league-wide record for saves in a single season at 108.


2018 Washington Spirit season, Club, Roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 Washington Spirit season, Competitions, NWSL Playoffs
The Spirit were eliminated from playoff contention on July 22 after a 1-0 home loss to Houston Dash.


2018 Washington Spirit season, Transfers, Draft picks
Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. Only those who are signed to a contract will be listed as transfers in. Only trades involving draft picks and executed during the 2018 NWSL College Draft will be listed in the notes.


2018 Washington State Cougars football team
The 2018 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team played their home games in Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They were led by 7th-year head coach Mike Leach and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.


2018 Washington State Cougars football team
The 2018 season was one of the greatest in Washington State history. The Cougars won a school record-tying ten games, the first time they had won that many in the regular season since the Rose Bowl year of 2002. They also surged as high as seventh in major polling and went into the Apple Cup with a chance to clinch the Pac-12 North title and a shot at the Rose Bowl, but lost 28–15 to rival Washington in the snow in Pullman, a sixth consecutive loss to the Huskies. The 10–2 Cougars were invited to the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio to play the Iowa State Cyclones. They won 28–26 for a school record 11th win.


2018 Washington State Cougars football team
Mike Leach's air raid offense was led by grad transfer quarterback Gardner Minshew, who led FBS in passing completions and attempts, and finished second in passing yards. Minshew was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and was the recipient of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He and offensive tackle Andre Dillard were named first-team all-conference. Redshirt freshman offensive tackle Abraham Lucas was named to several national all-freshman teams, and was joined on the all-conference second-team by defensive end Logan Tago. Mike Leach was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year for the second time of his career.


2018 Washington State Cougars football team, Previous season
The Cougars finished the 2017 season 9–4, 6–3 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place in the North Division. They were invited to the Holiday Bowl where they lost to Michigan State.


2018 Washington State Cougars football team, Preseason, Pac-12 Media Days
The 2018 Pac-12 media days were held July 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Mike Leach (HC), Kyle Sweet (WR/P) & Jalen Thompson (S) represented Washington State at this event. The Pac-12 media poll was released with the Cougars predicted to finish in fifth place at Pac-12 North division.


2018 Washington State Cougars football team, Awards
Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year: Gardner Minshew IIPac-12 Coach of the Year: Mike Leach


2018 Washington State Senate election
The 2018 Washington State Senate elections took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Washington state voters elected state senators in 25 of the state's 49 Senate districts. The other 24 state senators are not up for re-election until the next biennial election in 2020. State senators serve four-year terms in the Washington State Senate. A statewide map of Washington's state legislative districts is provided by the Washington State Legislature .


2018 Washington State Senate election
A top two primary election on August 7, 2018 determined which candidates appear on the November 6 general election ballot. Each candidate is allowed to write in her or his party preference so that it appears as she or he desires on the ballot.


2018 Washington State Senate election
Following the 2016 state senate elections, Republicans maintained effective control of the Senate, 25–24 because self-identified Democrat Tim Sheldon caucuses with the Republicans. However, in 2017 Democrats regained control of the Washington State Senate after Democrat Manka Dhingra won a special election in Washington's 45th legislative district.


2018 Washington State Senate election
Democrats expanded their caucus's majority to 28–21 by further flipping the 26th, 30th, and 47th districts. Tim Sheldon was reelected as a Democrat but continued to caucus with the Republicans.


2018 Washington Valor season
The 2018 Washington Valor season was the second season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The Valor play at the Capital One Arena. The team finished fourth at the end of the regular season. After losing the first game of their semifinal series against the Albany Empire, the Valor won the second game and advanced to ArenaBowl XXXI by virtue of aggregate score. The Valor would go on to win the Arena Bowl by defeating the Baltimore Brigade 69–55.


2018 Washington Valor season, Staff, Roster
Rookies in italics updated July 19, 201825 Active, 15 Inactive


2018 Washington Valor season, Schedule, Regular season
The 2018 regular season schedule was released on February 13, 2018.


2018 Washington wildfires
The 2018 Washington wildfire season officially began June 1, 2018. A statewide state of emergency was declared by the Washington State Governor on July 31.


2018 Washington wildfires, Training and preparedness
State level planning for the fire season began at least as early as January, 2018.


2018 Washington wildfires, Training and preparedness
A regional annual meeting was held at Yakima in March to prepare for fighting wildfires. Summer fire rules went into effect on state-owned lands on April 15.


2018 Washington wildfires, Training and preparedness
Four hundred firefighters from 36 fire districts and 18 agencies trained to fight forest fires in the Cascade Mountains above Yakima in May.


2018 Washington wildfires, Training and preparedness
A 20-year Washington Wildland Fire Protection Strategic Plan under development during the first half of the year was to be released by the Department of Natural Resources to the public in July, 2018.


2018 Washington wildfires, Training and preparedness
In June, three firefighting helicopters were staged in Western Washington by the Department of Natural Resources for the first time, prompted by a low 2017 fire season west of the Cascades followed by a dry month of May 2018 causing an abundance of dry fuel, and other weather considerations.


2018 Washington wildfires, Season prediction
The season predictions issued in May cited drier than average weather conditions and low snow pack in Oregon, but in Washington conditions appeared to be near normal. The water year began October 1, 2017, and by May 1, indicated normal precipitation in the state, but according to National Interagency Fire Center, models that also include Pacific-scale El Niño–Southern Oscillation effects showed high chance of below-normal precipitation and higher-than-normal temperatures through July; these factors led to a prediction of above-normal wildfire risk for the entirety of Eastern Washington through August 2018. Climate scientists said in July that the Palmer Drought Severity Index showed Western Washington to be significantly drier than normal, adding to fire risk there.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
What may have been the first significant fire of the year occurred on April 24, when 20 acres burned at Woodland, Washington in Clark County, extinguished via aerial attack.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
On May 22, a controlled burn initiated by a local resident went wild and burned 300 acres near the Yakima Training Center. An Army helicopter crew was credited with saving homes near Selah by dumping water.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
The Soap Lake Fire in early June grew to 2,000 acres (810 ha) and triggered level 3 evacuations in Grant County.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
The Ryegrass Coulee Fire on July 9–10 burned 1,600 acres, closed 20 miles of Interstate 90 in both directions for most of a day, and forced the complete evacuation of Vantage, Washington. It was the first of the state's fire season to trigger a level three evacuation or a road closure. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released funds, saying that "the fire threatened such destruction as would constitute a major disaster".


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
The Little Camas Fire at , in the Cascades south of Leavenworth, Washington, started on July 5 and reached over 300 acres. It caused the evacuation of a bible camp. Over 440 firefighters and three helicopters were sent to contain it.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
The Vulcan Mountain Fire at Vulcan Mountain in Ferry County grew to over 20 acres around July 13, before being contained.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
Smoke conditions in mid July were judged as good, in contrast to the 2017 season which had Seattle blanketed in smoke and ash around the same time due to fires in British Columbia, Eastern Washington and Oregon.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
The Rocky Reach Fire at , near Wenatchee, started on Friday, July 13 and reached over 3,386 acres (1,370 ha) before being contained.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
The Boylston Fire started on July 19 again shut down I-90 east of Ellensburg for 24 hours. It burned 80,000 acres, mostly on the Yakima Training Center, caused level three "leave now" evacuations, and destroyed five buildings while being fought by three fixed-wing aircraft and two helicopters. Military personnel and equipment to fight the fire were sent from Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane and Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the Puget Sound Area. The smoke caused "unhealthy" air conditions in Spokane on July 20.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
The Upriver Beacon Fire in Spokane County, on the Spokane city/county border at , caused the evacuation of 800 homes and evacuation warnings for thousands more on July 18. It burned 120 acres (49 ha) before being contained. Nearly all local fire agencies including cities of Spokane, Spokane Valley and Spokane County, and out-of-area fire aircraft, responded.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
The Cougar Creek Fire at  near Entiat started on July 28 as the result of lightning. Forest recreation users were told to leave.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
Smoke from fires in Siberia was visible over southern British Columbia in late July and was assessed to be a possible health impact to Washington residents. On July 29, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency stated the Puget Sound region would experience "moderate air quality at times with some upper level smoke making for pretty sunsets. This smoke comes from distant fires, mostly originating from Siberia." On July 30, University of Washington meteorology professor Cliff Mass noted the progressively more smoky situation in Seattle from Siberian wildfires, and said a "smoke front" from California's Carr Fire would arrive before sunset.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
Parts of Goat Rocks Wilderness were closed for the month of September in response to the Miriam Fire at , reported July 30 as the result of lightning. 400 campers were evacuated.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
The Milepost 90 Fire in the Columbia Gorge near Wishram, Washington started on July 31 and reached over 11,000 acres (4,500 ha) by August 1. Level 2 and level 3 evacuation orders were issued near Wishram. Almost 20 miles of State Route 14 were closed in both directions. On August 3, it burned 14,500 acres (5,900 ha) and 85% contained.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
Crescent Mountain and Gilbert Fires at  near Twisp began with lightning on July 29 and grew quickly to over 100 acres (40 ha) by August 1, driven by evening downslope wind. Four helicopters and other equipment were assigned and smokejumpers sent in to the rough terrain. Hikers and campers were told to leave. Crescent Mountain Fire increased to 7,671 acres (3,104 ha) by August 5. It was controlled as of October 22, 2018 and burned a total 52,000 acres.


2018 Washington wildfires, Fires and smoke
The Maple Fire at  near the Hamma Hamma River on the Olympic Peninsula sent smoke towards Seattle on August 7.


2018 Washington wildfires, Resources
An infrared thermography-capable RC-26 surveillance aircraft and support crew from Washington Air National Guard were deployed in support of the National Interagency Fire Center for the third year in a row.


2018 Washington wildfires, Resources
The Governor's July 31 state of emergency declaration allowed the Washington National Guard to be deployed; two Blackhawk helicopters at Fairchild Air Force Base were quickly allocated to firefighting.


2018 Washington, D.C. mayoral election
The  2018 Washington, D.C., mayoral election took place on November 6, 2018 to elect the Mayor of the District of Columbia. Incumbent Democrat Muriel Bowser won re-election, becoming the first Mayor to do so for Washington, D.C. since Anthony A. Williams won a second term in 2002.


2018 Washington, D.C. mayoral election
In the first 80 days of her re-election campaign, Bowser raised about $1.4 million for her campaign fund. She had no serious challengers in the primary, with only some little-known candidates filing to run against her. Bowser won the June 19 primary with 80% of the vote.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship
The 2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship is the 131st edition of the Waterford GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for senior graded clubs in County Waterford, Ireland. The tournament consists of 12 teams, with the winner going on to represent Waterford in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship. The championship starts with a stage and then progresses to a knock out stage.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship
Stradbally were the defending champions after they defeated The Nire in the previous years final. However the defence of their title came undone at the Quarter-Final stage when losing to neighbours Kilrossanty.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship
This was Dungarvan's return to the senior grade after claiming the 2017 Waterford I.F.C. title. This was their first year back in the top-flight of Waterford club football in 5 years since relegation at the end of the 2012 season.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship
On 28 October 2018, The Nire claimed their 9th Waterford S.F.C. crown when defeating Kilrossanty by 0-9 to 0-7 in the final at Fraher Field.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship
Dungarvan were relegated to the 2019 I.F.C. after losing their Relegation Final to Ardmore St. Declan's. This ended their one year stay in the senior ranks.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Team Changes
The following teams have changed division since the 2017 championship season.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Group stage
All 12 teams enter the competition at this stage. Groups are organised into three groups of four teams. The previous year's champions must enter Group 1, the previous year's runners-up must enter Group 2 while the two beaten semi-finalists will both enter Group 3.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Group stage
The top placed team in each group will qualify directly for the Quarter-Finals joined by the 2nd placed team with the best group record. The best 2nd placed team shall be decided on following criteria: 1. Total points won in the group; 2. Best scoring difference;3. Total scores for;4. Total goals scored;5. Where teams still cannot be separated,  a draw shall take place. No play-offs shall be used.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Group stage
The remaining eight teams shall then be divided into two pots. Pot A is to consist of the remaining 2nd placed teams plus the two 3rd placed teams with the best group record. The best 3rd placed teams shall be decided on the same criteria as outlined above. Pot B shall consist of the remaining 4 teams.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Group stage
A draw will take place to give four matches with no repeat of group matches allowed. The four winners will advance to Quarter-Finals to oppose the four teams already qualified in a seeded draw. The four losers are to contest the Relegation Play-Offs.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Finals, Preliminary Quarter-Finals
All eight teams who failed to finish top of their group (except for the 2nd placed team with the best group record) shall enter the Preliminary Quarter-Finals. Teams are divided into two pots. Pot A is to consist of the remaining 2nd placed teams plus the two 3rd placed teams with the best group record. The best 3rd placed teams shall be decided on the same criteria as outlined above. Pot B shall consist of the remaining 4 teams.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Finals, Preliminary Quarter-Finals
A draw will took place to give four matches with no repeat of group matches allowed. The four winners will advance to Quarter-Finals to oppose the four teams already qualified in a seeded draw. The four losers are to contest the Relegation Play-Offs.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Finals, Quarter-Finals
The three teams who topped their groups along with the best ranked 2nd placed team will face the four Preliminary Quarter-Final winners in the Quarter-Finals.


2018 Waterford Senior Football Championship, Relegation Play-Offs
The four losers from the Preliminary Quarter-Finals enter the Relegation Semi-Finals. The two winners of these Semi-Finals will secure their senior status for 2019 while the two losers will face each other in the Relegation Final. The winner of this match will secure their senior status for 2019 while the loser will be relegated to next year's I.F.C.


2018 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
The 2018 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship was the 118th staging of the Waterford Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Waterford County Board.


2018 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
On 7 October 2018, Ballygunner won the championship after a 2-19 t 0-13 defeat of Abbeyside in the final. It was their 17th championship title overall and their fifth title in succession.


2018 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship
Ballygunner's Pauric Mahony was the championship's top scorer with 2-66.


2018 Waterloo Region municipal elections
The 2018 Waterloo Region municipal elections were held on October 22, 2018 in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, to elect Waterloo Regional Council, the mayors and city councils of Cambridge, Kitchener, North Dumfries, Waterloo, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich, the Waterloo Region District School Board (Public), the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, and the regional members of Conseil Scolaire de District Catholiques Centre-Sud and Conseil Scolaire Viamonde (Public). The election was held in conjunction with the province wide 2018 municipal elections.


2018 Waterloo Region municipal elections, Waterloo Regional Council, Council
Waterloo Regional Council includes the chair, the mayors of the seven constituent municipalities (see below) plus the following council races:


2018 Waterloo Region municipal elections, Cambridge, Referendum
Referendum on ranked ballots: "Are you in favour of the City of Cambridge using a ranked ballot system for the 2022 municipal election?"


2018 Waterloo Region municipal elections, Cambridge, Referendum
As the only 27.27% of eligible voters voted in the referendum, the results are non binding.


2018 Waterloo Region municipal elections, Cambridge, Cambridge City Council, By-election
Following the death of Frank Monteiro, a by-election was held in Ward 7 on October 5, 2020:


2018 Watford Borough Council election
The 2018 Watford Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Watford Borough Council in England. This was the same day as other local elections.


2018 Watford Borough Council election
Watford was one of the boroughs subject to a trial of voter ID restrictions requiring the production of polling cards.


2018 Watford Borough Council election
Since the election of the full council in 2016, there had been three bye-elections, but the balance of the council remained the same, as they were won by the defending party, in the case of Leggatts Ward by Labour and in the cases of Oxhey and Park by the Lib Dems.


2018 Watford Borough Council election, Mayoral Election Candidates
Peter Taylor of the Liberal Democrats retained the Watford mayorlty for the Liberal Democrats on the second count. Prior to the election, the mayor had been Dorothy Thornhill, representing the Liberal Democrats.


2018 Web.com Tour
The 2018 Web.com Tour is the 29th season of the top developmental tour for the PGA Tour in men's golf, and the seventh under the current sponsored name of Web.com Tour. It runs from January 13 to September 23. The season consists of 27 official money tournaments, five of them played outside of the United States.


2018 Web.com Tour, Schedule
The table below shows the Web.com Tour's 2018 schedule, which includes two new tournaments. The numbers in parentheses after winners' names show the player's total number of wins on the Web.com Tour including that event. No one accumulates many wins on the Web.com Tour because success at this level soon leads to promotion to the PGA Tour. Any player who wins three Web.com Tour events in a season will automatically earn their PGA Tour card immediately.


2018 Web.com Tour, Money leaders
The table shows the final top 10 money winners for the 2018 Web.com Tour season. For the list of the 50 golfers given PGA Tour memberships for the 2018–19 season, see 2018 Web.com Tour Finals graduates.


2018 Web.com Tour Finals graduates
This is a list of golfers who graduated from the Web.com Tour and Web.com Tour Finals in 2018. The top 25 players on the Web.com Tour's regular-season money list in 2018 earned PGA Tour cards for 2019. The Finals, which concluded on September 23, determined the other 25 players to earn PGA Tour cards and the priority order of all 50.


2018 Web.com Tour Finals graduates
As in previous seasons, the Finals featured the top 75 players on the Web.com Tour regular season money list, players ranked 126–200 on the PGA Tour's regular-season FedEx Cup points list (except players exempt through other means), non-members of the PGA Tour with enough regular-season FedExCup points to place in the top 200, and special medical exemptions.


2018 Web.com Tour Finals graduates
To determine the initial 2019 PGA Tour priority rank, the 25 Web.com Tour regular-season graduates will be alternated with the 25 Finals graduates. This priority order will then be reshuffled several times during the 2019 season.


2018 Web.com Tour Finals graduates
Im Sung-jae and Denny McCarthy are fully exempt for the 2019 PGA Tour season after leading the full-season and Finals money lists, respectively.


2018 Web.com Tour Finals graduates, 2018 Web.com Tour Finals
*PGA Tour rookie in 2019†First-time PGA Tour member in 2019, but ineligible for rookie status due to having played eight or more PGA Tour events in a previous season


2018 Web.com Tour Finals graduates, Results on 2019 PGA Tour
*PGA Tour rookie in 2019†First-time PGA Tour member in 2019, but ineligible for rookie status due to having played eight or more PGA Tour events in a previous season


2018 Web.com Tour Finals graduates, Results on 2019 PGA Tour
Kramer Hickok, Robert Streb, Cameron Davis, Fabián Gómez, and Hank Lebioda regained their cards through the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Finals.


2018 Webby Awards
The 23rd annual Webby Awards were held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on May 14, 2018, which was hosted by comedian and writer Amber Ruffin. The Webby Awards have been dubbed the "internet's highest honor" and, in 2018, received over 13,000 entries from 70 countries, with 10% receiving nominations.


2018 Weber State Wildcats football team
The 2018 Weber State Wildcats football team represented Weber State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by fourth-year head coach Jay Hill and played their games at Stewart Stadium as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 10–3, 7–1 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for the Big Sky championship with Eastern Washington and UC Davis. They received the Big Sky's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where, after a first round bye, they defeated Southeast Missouri State in the second round before losing in the quarterfinals to Maine.


2018 Weber State Wildcats football team, Previous season
The Wildcats finished the 2017 season 11–3, 7–1 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for the Big Sky championship with Southern Utah. Due to their head-to-head loss to Southern Utah in the regular season, they did not receive the Big Sky's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs, but did receive an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, their second straight trip to the playoffs. In the first round, they defeated Western Illinois. In the second round, they avenged their regular season loss to Southern Utah. In the quarterfinals, they lost to eventual national runner-up, James Madison.


2018 Weber State Wildcats football team, Preseason, Polls
On July 16, 2018, during the Big Sky Kickoff in Spokane, Washington, the Wildcats were predicted to finish in second place by both the coaches and media.


2018 Weber State Wildcats football team, Preseason, Preseason All-Conference Team
The Wildcats had a conference leading six players selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team.


2018 Weber State Wildcats football team, Schedule
Despite also being a member of the Big Sky, the game against Cal Poly was considered a non-conference matchup having no effect on conference standings.


2018 Wellington County municipal elections
Elections were held in Wellington County, Ontario on October 22, 2018 in conjunction with municipal elections across the province.


2018 Wellington County municipal elections, Wellington County Council
The council consists of the seven mayors of the constituent municipalities plus nine councillors elected from county wards.


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election
The 2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election was triggered on 27 June by the resignation of Andrew RT Davies.


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election
Davies had led the Welsh Conservatives since 14 July 2011.


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election
Paul Davies won the contest and became the new leader.


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election, Procedure
Candidates require a total of four nominations from Conservative AMs, including themselves, to stand.


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election, Procedure
If there are three or more candidates, Conservative AMs vote until there are two candidates, who are then voted on by the party's membership.


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election, Campaign
Leader Andrew RT Davies stood down in June 2018. WalesOnline reported that this was because he felt he did not have the full support of the Conservative group. He told the BBC that he had been aware of plans to remove him for more than a year. His departure was credited to what The Guardian described as his "uncompromising" support for Brexit.


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election, Campaign
Deputy Leader Paul Davies was appointed as an Interim Leader, and announced that he would stand for the permanent leadership.


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election, Campaign
In July, Suzy Davies announced she would stand, saying that she thought it was important for the Welsh Conservatives to have a contested election. She said she would be willing to work with Plaid Cymru to get rid of the Labour government in Wales. She supported reducing taxes, as well as giving some business rates proceeds to councils to use them for private sector-led local development strategies. Suzy Davies also argued for giving the private sector a "real stake in the communities in which they develop" and giving workers an "emotional stake" in their employers.


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election, Campaign
Paul Davies launched his campaign in Gwent, pledging to give Welsh Conservative Party members a vote on any potential coalition in the Welsh Assembly. He said he would consider cutting taxes in Wales, as well as supporting high street businesses and redesign the business rates system.


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election, Campaign
The South Wales Argus described Paul Davies as having the support of "most of the big hitters in the party".


2018 Welsh Conservatives leadership election, Candidates
Shadow Minister for Tourism, Culture and the Welsh Language from 2011 to 2016


2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election
The 2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election took place from 16 February to 21 April 2018. It followed a review in the Welsh Labour Party which for the first time formalised the role of Deputy Leader. As the then leader Carwyn Jones was male, only women were eligible to stand for the role of deputy.


2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election
On 21 April 2018, Swansea MP Carolyn Harris was elected as Deputy Leader.


2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election, Voting system
The election was conducted under an Electoral College system in which Labour Party members, affiliated trade union members and Welsh Labour elected officials all held an equal share of the votes.


2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election, Voting system
Based on the turnout figures, Welsh Labour has approximately 25,000 individual members and 76,400 affiliated union members, as well as 58 elected officials (29 AMs, 28 MPs and 1 MEP).


2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election, Candidates and Endorsements
To stand, candidates needed the support of a minimum of 12 parliamentarians with a minimum of three AMs and three MPs


2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election, Candidates and Endorsements
Nominations closed at Midday on 16 February and two candidates – Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris, and Cardiff North AM Julie Morgan were successfully nominated.


2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election, Candidates and Endorsements
Newport Council Leader Debbie Wilcox announced her candidacy but withdrew in favor of Julie Morgan.


2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election, Candidates and Endorsements
The following were reported as endorsements at the close on nominations on 16 February 2018:


2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election, Results and turnout
The results were announced at the Welsh Labour Conference in Llandudno on 21 April 2018. Carolyn Harris was elected as Deputy Leader. Harris won decisively amongst affiliated members and elected members, whilst Morgan won even more decisively amongst the votes of full party members by a 2:1 margin. Moreover Morgan won 1,401 more votes than Harris if all three sets of results are aggregated. The overall result saw Harris win by 52%–48% in the electoral college. Morgan won the popular vote 54%–46%.


2018 Welsh Labour Party deputy leadership election, Results and turnout
The turnout among Parliamentarians was 93.1% (with 4 non voters), among full party members it was 38.3% and among affiliate members it was 4.7%, giving an overall turnout of 9.4%.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election
The 2018 Welsh Labour Party leadership election took place between 9 November and 6 December 2018 to elect a successor to Carwyn Jones as leader of the Welsh Labour Party.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election
Carwyn Jones, who had led Welsh Labour since 2009, announced his intention to resign at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno in April 2018. He stated that he would stand down in autumn 2018, and that he would continue to lead the party until then.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Procedure
Ahead of the election, Drakeford and Morgan argued in favour of changing the voting system to one member one vote. Four trade unions—GMB, Unison, Usdaw and the CWU—supported the continuation of an electoral college, whilst Unite supported changing to one member one vote.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Procedure
A special conference held on 15 September decided that the system that will be used for the election will be by one member one vote+. This means that the votes of party members and members of affiliated organisations who vote carried the same weight. The decision by the special conference followed a consultation that was carried out by Lord Murphy.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Procedure
Ballot papers were sent out to members on 9 November by email, or by post for those who did not have an email address. They had until 3 December to return their vote. A preferential voting system was used.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Procedure
The result of the election was announced on 6 December, with Carwyn Jones scheduled to formally resign as First Minister of Wales the following week. His resignation will trigger a vote of all Assembly Members to elect his successor as First Minister.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Procedure
Welsh Liberal Democrat AM Kirsty Williams had joined Welsh Labour in government following the 2016 assembly election as Cabinet Secretary for Education. She said that she would stay on in post if the same terms were available as those agreed with Carwyn Jones when she joined the government.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Procedure
Former Plaid Cymru AM Dafydd Elis-Thomas left his party in October 2016 to support the Labour-led government, and joined the government as Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport in November 2017. This gave the government side a majority of 31 out of the 60 Assembly Members.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Procedure
All three candidates in the election indicated they would wish for Williams and Elis-Thomas to remain in the government.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Nominations
In order to become a candidate, individuals required 20% of current Labour AMs to nominate them. This equated to six AMs, including themselves.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Nominations
Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford was the first candidate to declare he was standing, shortly after Jones announced he would be stepping down. He immediately securing the support of seven other AMs, ensuring he would be on the ballot. A further nine AMs later announced they were nominating Drakeford, giving him the support of a majority of the Labour Group. He has the backing of Momentum, a group supportive of national leader Jeremy Corbyn, and has been described as both a "Corbynist" and as a pragmatist. Drakeford started the election as the favourite, though academic Roger Awan-Scully suggested that he may not necessarily remain the frontrunner.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Nominations
Health Secretary Vaughan Gething announced his candidacy on 25 May, with the support of four members of the Assembly, putting himself one nomination short of becoming a candidate. He later achieved the required number of endorsements when Ann Jones announced she would nominate him on 10 August.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Nominations
Minister for Welsh Language & Lifelong Learning Eluned Morgan announced her intention to run on 11 June 2018, declaring herself to be a 'centre-left candidate'. She didn't receive any further nominations until Huw Irranca-Davies and Alun Davies, who had wanted to stand for the leadership but received no public support from other AMs, withdrew and nominated her. Two other AMs also nominated her, putting her one nomination short of the six required. After Gething received sufficient nominations, he asked that no further AMs nominate him, but instead nominate a female candidate.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Nominations
He suggested that Drakeford himself could nominate Morgan to ensure diversity in the election. National party leader Jeremy Corbyn called for diversity in the choices offered to Welsh Labour members. On 24 September, at the Labour Conference in Liverpool, Carwyn Jones said that if necessary he would nominate Morgan to ensure that there was a woman on the ballot paper, making it clear that he would remain neutral regarding the merit of the candidates.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Nominations
In addition to nominations from AMs, candidates could receive supporting nominations from Welsh MPs, affiliated trade unions and Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs), to be listed alongside the candidates' names on the ballot paper.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Campaign
Drakeford started the election as the favourite, though academic Roger Awan-Scully cautioned against the assumption that he would go on to win. Drakeford said he would act as a "bridge" to a new generation, and that he would stand aside midway through the next term of the Assembly. His early policy proposals included a pilot of universal baby boxes like those used in Finland and Scotland.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Campaign
In addition to a formal campaign launch in the Ely area of Cardiff at the community centre where he once worked, Drakeford held a second launch at Northop College to announce his plans for North Wales. He also launched a set of economic policy proposals at the North Wales launch, and later held further policy launch events: a social policy launch in Blackwood and an environmental policy launch in Carmarthen.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Campaign
In a speech delivered in his former department at Cardiff University, Drakeford set out the political philosophy he called '21st Century Socialism', in which he suggested the Labour Party in Wales should use its traditional socialist principles to find solutions for the challenges facing modern Wales, such as the housing crisis, climate change and Brexit.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Campaign
Gething put focus on inter-generational poverty, and committed to improving productivity. He also pledged to create a National Care Service to deliver elderly care free at point of use, funded by tax increases or a new care levy.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Campaign
Gething faced controversy for creating a group separate to his leadership campaign called Together for Labour, which was accused of being a vehicle to keep data after the end of the leadership campaign. He was also criticised for accepting large campaign donations from a company which had been convicted for environmental infringements, another which is a major property developer in his constituency, and another which is owned by a controversial former local Councillor.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Campaign
Morgan said she would appoint a minister for north Wales, as well as increasing support for the self-employed. She also proposed a universal basic income for Wales, starting by pitching for a pilot to be held in a Welsh community.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Campaign
Morgan also faced questions about her election expenses, as she did not publicly register any donations to her campaign.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Campaign
Both Gething and Morgan said they would support a public vote on the final Brexit deal if elected leader, while Drakeford supported the national Labour Party position of only calling for another referendum as a last resort.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Candidate endorsements, Withdrawn
Huw Irranca-Davies and Alun Davies withdrew on 18 September 2018 to endorse Eluned Morgan.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Results and turnout
The results were announced at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 6 December 2018.


2018 Welsh Labour leadership election, Results and turnout
Turnout among members was 53.1% (~13,275 votes cast) and among affiliates it was 5.6% (~8,400 votes cast).


2018 Welsh Open (snooker)
The 2018 ManBetX Welsh Open was a professional ranking snooker tournament, that took place from 26 February to 4 March 2018 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales. It was the sixteenth ranking event of the 2017/2018 season and a part of the Home Nations Series.


2018 Welsh Open (snooker)
The defending champion Stuart Bingham lost 1–4 to Matthew Stevens in the last 32.


2018 Welsh Open (snooker)
John Higgins won a record fifth Welsh Open title and 30th ranking title overall, beating Barry Hawkins 9–7 in the final.


2018 Welsh Open (snooker), Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2018 Welsh Open (snooker), Prize fund
The "rolling 147 prize" for a maximum break stood at £20,000


2018 Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council election
Elections to Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council took place on 3 May 2018. This was on the same day as other local elections across the United Kingdom.


2018 Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council election, Composition of the Council
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:


2018 Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council election, By-Elections, Welwyn West
A by-election was held on 29 November following the death of Mandy Perkins, the leader of the Council.


2018 Wentworth by-election
A by-election for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Wentworth took place on 20 October 2018 after the parliamentary resignation of the former Prime Minister of Australia and incumbent Liberal MP Malcolm Turnbull.


2018 Wentworth by-election
The seat was won by independent candidate Kerryn Phelps, with a swing of almost twenty percent away from the Liberal Party. In early counting, just over an hour after the close of polls, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's election analyst Antony Green predicted Phelps would win the by-election. It is the first time since the inaugural 1901 election that the seat has not been represented by the Liberals, its predecessors, or party defectors.


2018 Wentworth by-election, Background, Wentworth
The Liberal Party of Australia and its predecessors have continuously held Wentworth since the inaugural 1901 election, except for the brief party defections of Walter Marks in 1929 and Peter King in 2004. Wentworth was a stronghold for over 80 years, until the 1984 expansion of parliament and its redistribution saw Wentworth's Liberal margin notionally reduced by 7%, changing Wentworth from a safe Liberal seat with margins usually well in excess of 10%, to a more marginal seat which produced single-digit Liberal margins for the next 25 years.


2018 Wentworth by-election, Background, Wentworth
Defeating former Liberal and independent incumbent Peter King, Liberal candidate Malcolm Turnbull first won Wentworth at the 2004 election on a reduced 5.5% Liberal margin, following a 2.4% swing against the national and state trend. At the change-of-government 2007 election a redistribution reduced the Liberal margin to a notional 2.5%, but was retained with an increased Liberal margin of 3.9%, also against the national and state trend. Turnbull replaced Brendan Nelson as Liberal leader at the September 2008 Liberal leadership ballot, however Tony Abbott replaced Turnbull as Liberal leader at the December 2009 Liberal leadership ballot.


2018 Wentworth by-election, Background, Wentworth
At the 2010 election, the seat went from being marginal to safe in one stroke with a 14.9% margin from an 11% swing which saw the seat become the ninth-safest Liberal seat in the nation. At the change-of-government 2013 election there was a further increase which saw the seat become the sixth-safest Liberal seat in the nation with a 17.72% Liberal margin. Turnbull replaced Abbott as Liberal leader and prime minister at the September 2015 Liberal leadership ballot. A redistribution in Wentworth increased the Liberal margin to a notional 18.9%, however at the 2016 election, a swing away saw the Liberal margin slightly reduced to 17.75% but became the fifth-safest Liberal seat in the nation.


2018 Wentworth by-election, Background, Liberal Party leadership spills
The by-election came after Scott Morrison replaced Turnbull as Liberal leader and prime minister on 24 August 2018, following the second of two Liberal leadership ballots held that month, which saw Morrison win the ballot against Peter Dutton with 45 votes to 40 after third-placed Julie Bishop was eliminated and the 11 votes she achieved were re-cast in the final two-candidate run-off. Turnbull won the first Liberal leadership ballot against Dutton, which was held three days before the second ballot, by 48 votes to 35.


2018 Wentworth by-election, Background, Liberal Party leadership spills
In the secondary spill, Turnbull did not contest the ballot for leader after losing a motion to spill the leadership by 45 votes to 40. Turnbull had previously indicated that he would leave parliament immediately if his party removed him as Liberal leader and prime minister. On 31 August 2018, one week after the second leadership spill, Turnbull submitted his resignation to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.


2018 Wentworth by-election, Background, Minority Coalition government
Turnbull's departure dropped the Liberal-National Coalition in to minority government, with Nationals MP Kevin Hogan having declared he would move to the crossbench in protest immediately following the second spill. Hogan indicated he would remain a Nationals MP and provide confidence and supply support to the Coalition. Independent Cathy McGowan has indicated that she will not support a motion of no confidence in the Morrison Government before the Wentworth by-election has been decided. Rebekha Sharkie stated that she would review her position after the Wentworth by-election.


2018 Wentworth by-election, Background, Liberal Party pre-selection
The Liberal Party preselected their candidate, Dave Sharma, on 14 September. Other candidates for preselection included: Peter King, barrister and Turnbull's predecessor in Wentworth; Mary-Lou Jarvis, Woollahra councillor; Richard Shields, Woollahra councillor; Katherine O'Regan, Sydney East Business Chamber chair; Michael Feneley, cardiologist; Carrington Brigham, digital campaign business director; and Maxine Szramka, rheumatologist. Christine Forster, City of Sydney councillor and the sister of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, announced her intention to seek preselection but then withdrew.


2018 Wentworth by-election, Background, Liberal Party pre-selection
Preselection front-runner Andrew Bragg, former Acting Federal Director of the Liberal Party and current executive at the Business Council of Australia, withdrew from the preselection contest on 10 September, citing his preference for a female Liberal candidate. Prime Minister Scott Morrison reportedly endorsed O'Regan for preselection, while former prime ministers Turnbull and John Howard endorsed Sharma. Following this, Katherine O'Regan called for the Liberal Party's fighting fund for women to be accessible to women seeking pre-selection.


2018 Wentworth by-election, Campaign
Turnbull quit Australia for New York where he remained for the duration of the by-election, refusing requests to assist the Party in retaining its one-seat Parliamentary majority by campaigning for Sharma. While in New York, Turnbull told an audience: "When you stop being prime minister, that's it. There is no way I'd be hanging around like embittered Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbott. Seriously, these people are like, sort of miserable, miserable ghosts." At the outset of Liberal preselection, he tweeted support for preselection of candidate Dave Sharma after Morrison had called for a female candidate.


2018 Wentworth by-election, Campaign
On October 18, he liked a tweet favouring Phelps. From New York, Turnbull lobbied his former colleagues to refer his leadership rival Peter Dutton to the High Court over his eligibility to sit in Parliament and tweeting "The point I have made to @ScottMorrisonMP and other colleagues is that given the uncertainty around Peter Dutton's eligibility, acknowledged by the Solicitor General, he should be referred to the High Court, as Barnaby was, to clarify the matter." In September 2018, it was reported that his son Alex Turnbull was supporting the Labor Party at the by-election.