SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state’s attorney general and a former sheriff known for his work in the fight against the Green River Killer are vying for the title of governor of a Democratic stronghold that hasn’t seen an open race for the state’s top job in more than a decade.
Democrat Bob Fergusonwho has been attorney general since 2013, will face former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in Tuesday’s primary, a race that has been fiercely contested for weeks between the two front-runners in a field of more than two dozen candidates.
Ferguson has portrayed Reichert, a Republican, as a two-faced candidate whose more moderate rhetoric during this campaign has been at odds with statements he has made in private or his actions in Congress. Meanwhile, Reichert has painted Ferguson as a candidate who would change nothing about the state while offering a continuation of “one-party rule.”
In a state with a long reputation as a solidly Democratic area that hasn’t had a Republican governor in nearly 40 years, any conservative candidate faces an uphill battle. But polls show Reichert not far behind Ferguson, and the race is considered competitive.
Under Washington’s primary system, the top two candidates in each Tuesday race advance to the November election, regardless of party. Experts predict a Ferguson-Reichert showdown in November.
Military veteran Semi Bird is also a key figure in the race after being endorsed by the Washington state Republican Party. But he has become a polarizing figure amid allegations of misrepresenting his military service, as well as a guilty plea to bank robbery in 1993 for putting his father’s name and Social Security number on a loan application. Bird said he has not been convicted of a crime since then and regrets what he did.
Democrat Mark Mullet, senator from Issaquah, has also gained attention as a moderate candidate who brings a small-business perspective to the table.
A Republican candidate’s success in the gubernatorial race will depend on his ability to build collective appeal among independent voters and moderate Democratic voters, said Sandeep Kaushik, a Democratic political consultant at Sound View Strategies.
“The only way a Republican can win a statewide race in Washington state is if they convince voters in the middle of the state, who lean blue, that they are a different kind of Republican and are willing to meet those voters halfway, willing to break with MAGA, to break with the Republican Party,” he said. “Reichert has done none of that, as far as I can see.”
The Ferguson-Reichert campaign has consistently focused on abortion. Ferguson’s team often points to Reichert’s history of voting for a nationwide ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy as evidence that he is “completely out of touch with the majority of Washington residents.”
Abortion has long been legal in Washington until it is possible. The decision is left to the discretion of a health care provider. Abortion is also legal in cases where the health or life of the pregnant woman is at risk.
Reichert rejected Ferguson’s characterization and said his only plan for the state’s abortion law, if elected governor, is to uphold and support it. He accused Ferguson of trying to scare women into not voting for him.
Reichert said he would prioritize public safety as governor, citing his 33 years and two terms as sheriff of the King County Sheriff’s Office and the dozens of sheriffs who have supported him.
He was the first King County detective assigned to the case of the Green River Killer, named after the waterway where the first bodies were found in 1982. Gary Ridgway, who murdered 49 women, was arrested and convicted in 2003, during Reichert’s second term as sheriff.
Reichert said he would also focus on reducing homelessness, as the Seattle area has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country. He proposed moving people off the streets and onto state-owned property, including McNeil Island, which houses a facility for sexual predators.
“Tell me what’s more ridiculous: living under a highway in tents or maybe creating a nice, warm, comfortable place on McNeil Island or Evergreen College,” he told The Associated Press.
Ferguson was backed by state Democratic leaders, including U.S. Senate Pro Tempore Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee, the nation’s longest-serving governor, who is not seeking a fourth term. Ferguson points to his record as attorney general, including reaching millions of dollars in settlements with major opioid entities and standing up to former President Donald Trump.
But Republican Rep. JT Wilcox said Washington state residents may be looking forward to a major leadership change after Inslee’s three terms.
“Presidents don’t usually leave office on a high note, they leave at a point where people are ready for them to go,” Wilcox said. “I think that’s what happened a little bit with Governor Inslee. After 12 years, people think, ‘OK, we’ve been through this, I’m getting tired of all the rhetoric, maybe it’s time for a change.'”
In Washington, voting by mail is in effect, and many voters have already cast their ballots before Election Day.
