A new Elway poll on Washington politics led off with bad news for Governor Bob Ferguson, leaving him with the lowest job rating for his first six months in office since 1992, when then-Democrat Mike Lowry was governor.
Washington has had a string of Democrat governors for four decades, dating back to the late Booth Gardner, elected in the 1980s.
According to Elway, only 32 percent of Evergreen State voters rate Ferguson’s first six months as “excellent” or “good.” Elway notes this is 8 points lower than Ferguson’s three-term predecessor, Jay Inslee and 11 points lower than former Gov. Christine Gregoire. It is a whopping 20 points lower than Democrat Gary Locke earned at the end of his first six months.
Even more embarrassing for Ferguson—who just signed the biggest tax increase in the state’s history—the Elway poll was heavily weighted toward Democrats (43%) and Independents (38%), while only 19 percent of the survey respondents consider themselves Republicans.
According to the Tacoma Weekly, “More than half of voters who rated Ferguson negatively cited the state budget or taxes in their opinion. His budget included a mix of spending reductions and higher taxes.”
The Weekly also revealed, “For only the second time in 33 years of asking these questions, more voters thought things looked worse at all four levels. The proportion of optimists hit all-time lows in the household level (41%), community (33%) and state (24%).
“By contrast,” the newspaper said, “the 33-year average for positive feelings at the household level is 70%.”
This leaves Ferguson in a lot of trouble going forward, and as his new taxes kick in, voters—who are also taxpayers—are going to remember whose party to blame during the 2026 midterm elections next year. State Republicans have essentially just been handed a huge campaign issue, so it will be now up to GOP leaders including State Republican Chair Jim Walsh to take advantage.
The poll also revealed something about the Democrat base. The top reason (19%) for Ferguson’s popularity with his supporters is that he “Fights with (President) Trump.”
The biggest negative among his detractors (41%) is that he raised taxes. Their second biggest complaint is about Ferguson’s ideology. They consider him a “Liberal/Woke/Radical/Dem.”
