Democrats in Washington State have reportedly acknowledged their four-decade hold on the governor’s office could be in trouble this year, according to the Seattle Times, as the party still threw its weight behind Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
Ferguson, who has emerged over the years as an anti-gunner, is facing a serious challenge from former Congressman and King County Sheriff Dave Reichert, even though the Democrat has a whopping $7.5 million campaign war chest, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. The campaign has already spent just over $2.2 million, the PDC report says.
Over the weekend at the state Democratic convention in Bellevue, Ferguson reportedly told delegates, “I know it’s easy to think, ‘Hey, Washington’s a blue state,’ right? But if you look at the last two campaigns for governor in Washington state, when there was no incumbent on the ballot running … the total margin of victory for both Chris Gregoire and Jay Inslee combined? Three percentage points.”
While that quote didn’t appear in the Seattle Times report, it did show up in the Spokane Spokesman-Review.
What the Times did mention was Ferguson’s “styling (of) the former congressman as too conservative for the state on issues including abortion and the Affordable Care Act and pointing to his record of voting in alignment with former President Donald Trump.”
There is no small irony in the description, because Reichert has been described by supporters of the other Republican candidate, Semi Bird, as a “RINO,” (Republican In Name Only). Reichert has a solid record on Second Amendment issues, according to OnTheIssues.
Ferguson, on the other hand, sought legislation banning so-called “assault rifles” and “large-capacity magazines” repeatedly until he got it. He has also appeared at events sponsored by the Seattle-based and billionaire-backed Alliance for Gun Responsibility, a gun prohibition lobbying group.
Democrats have held the Evergreen State governor’s office since the election of the late Booth Gardner back in 1984.
As noted by the Seattle Times, “The Cook Political Report now ranks Washington’s race for governor as “Lean Democrat” instead of the bluer rating of “Likely” Democrat…”
According to a June 13 Cook report, “We shifted our rating from Solid to Likely Democrat back in February, and though we don’t have a ton of data yet, initial polls ahead of the August 6 all-party primary show an increasingly tight contest between Reichert and the Democratic frontrunner, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.”
According to the PDC, Reichert’s campaign has raised $3,869,818.56.
Washington’s gubernatorial election is likely to produce a heavier-than-usual gun owner vote—the state has mail-only balloting—because of Ferguson’s gun control activities. There are also several popular conservative initiatives on the ballot in November.
