Reprinted from Ammoland News
In 2024, Democrat Bob Ferguson defeated Republican Dave Reichert in the Washington governor’s race by about 433,000+ votes—a 55.6% to 44.4% margin. On paper, it looked decisive. In practice, that margin guaranteed four more years of one-party control in Olympia, where the legislative agenda mirrors the Everytown for Gun Safety playbook.
For Washington gun owners, that means more restrictions, more hoops to jump through, and almost zero chance of rolling any of it back.
When the Victory Margin Mirrors the Flaws in the System
The real story isn’t Ferguson’s win—it’s how secure that win really was. We The Governed’s election watchdog, Glen Morgan, reviewed Washington’s voter rolls and uncovered a problem that should worry anyone who believes in clean elections: roughly 709,000 registered voters have no Social Security number on file, and about 25,000 have neither a driver’s license nor an SSN in state records.
Put that side-by-side with Ferguson’s 433,000-vote win and Kamala Harris’s 714,926-vote presidential margin in the same election, and you get an uncomfortable overlap. The number of potentially unverifiable voters is nearly double the number Ferguson needed to win—and almost identical to the number Harris won by. That’s not a conspiracy theory. It’s arithmetic.
Morgan’s conclusion was blunt: “Fourteen percent of these voters… don’t have any Social Security numbers referenced in the state’s data at all.” The fact that these are mostly active voters—not old, inactive names—should set off alarms for anyone serious about election integrity.
From Bloated Rolls to a Locked-In Agenda
When elections are this lopsided—and when the voter registration system is riddled with holes—policy outcomes become predictable. Ferguson has built his career as a dependable ally of the gun-control lobby. As Attorney General, he secretly investigated the Second Amendment Foundation, costing them millions in legal fees.
“It is a sad day when you have to sue the state Attorney General for violating your civil rights,” Gottlieb stated. “This is not something we ever anticipated, nor do we take any pleasure in it. However, because the CPD has singled out SAF and myself for invasive and expensive harassment because of my political beliefs, especially my positions on gun control and our outspoken criticism of Attorney General Ferguson, our only recourse is to take legal action.
As AG, he pushed for bans on so-called “assault weapons,” limits on magazine capacity, mandatory waiting periods, and mandatory safety training. Now, as governor, Ferguson can sign and defend any new gun restriction that crosses his desk.
Washington currently ranks #9 in the nation for gun law “strength” according to Everytown for Gun Safety, one of the most devious gun-control organizations in the country. That’s no coincidence. The group’s checklist—ban modern sporting rifles, outlaw standard-capacity magazines, regulate “ghost guns,” expand dealer licensing, and mandate reporting of lost or stolen firearms—has been practically photocopied into Washington law.
And with Democrats holding both chambers of the legislature and the governor’s office, Olympia doesn’t have to negotiate with gun owners; they can steamroll them.
The Rural Cost of Urban Politics
Rep. Dan Newhouse has been one of the few public officials willing to point out what rural Washington already knows: these laws aren’t about “safety”—they’re about control.
In many rural counties, sheriff’s deputies might be an hour away on icy roads. In a place like Wenatchee or Okanogan, if someone breaks into your home, you don’t have the luxury of waiting for a cruiser to pull up.
The same goes for defending livestock from predators. Whether it’s a cougar picking off calves or a grizzly bear threatening a ranch, firearms are tools as essential as a tractor or a water pump. Politicians from Seattle or Olympia legislate as if every emergency gets a rapid 911 response.
Out here, that’s a dangerous fantasy.
One-Party Rule Means No Brake Pedal
The danger of a political monopoly is simple: bad ideas never have to survive real opposition. When the ruling party’s control is never in doubt, their agenda accelerates unchecked.
Washington’s tightening web of firearms restrictions didn’t happen by accident—it’s the product of a political system where power never changes hands. Bloated, unverifiable voter rolls are part of what helps guarantee it stays that way.
When the same party controls the governor’s office, both chambers of the legislature, and most statewide offices, there’s no meaningful debate about whether laws respect the constitutional rights of Washingtonians.
The only debate is how far to go next.
Why Gun Owners Must Care About the Voter Rolls
Gun rights advocates often focus their battles on specific bills, ballot measures, or lawsuits. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: if your elections aren’t built on clean, verifiable voter rolls, you’re fighting uphill from day one.
You can’t change the laws if you can’t change the lawmakers—and in Washington, the path to changing lawmakers runs straight through a voter registration system that Morgan’s findings say is 14% noncompliant with federal standards.
In fact, Washington’s Attorney General is actively fighting against measures that could lead to cleaner voter rolls. In April 2025, the state joined Oregon in suing to block a federal executive order that would have required proof of citizenship to vote and tightened deadlines for ballot receipt. While framed as protecting “access,” the lawsuit’s effect would be to preserve a registration system already riddled with unverifiable voters. By opposing even modest verification requirements, Ferguson’s office is ensuring that the structural problems Morgan identified will remain untouched — locking in the same political imbalance that drives the state’s aggressive gun-control agenda.
That’s not just a partisan gripe—it’s a structural flaw. Until it’s fixed, election outcomes will be predictably lopsided, and the political landscape will stay hostile to gun owners.
The Stakes for the Next Four Years
With Ferguson in office, gun control in Washington won’t just hold steady—it will expand. The political climate in Olympia makes it nearly impossible to repeal existing laws or stop new restrictions from becoming law.
The downstream effects are already visible:
- More bans on firearms and accessories, dressed up as “public safety.”
- Higher barriers to ownership through licensing and training mandates.
- Rural residents are left less able to defend themselves, their families, and their property.
For gun owners, the lesson is clear: until Washington cleans up its voter rolls and restores true electoral competition, the fight to protect your Second Amendment rights can’t be won in the legislature. It has to start with securing the ballot box itself.
Because if the foundation of your elections is cracked, it doesn’t matter how strong your arguments are in the hearing room—you’ve already lost before you walked in the door.
