![]() Meanwhile, Republicans recoiled from Inslee’s strict pandemic health measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. The races come after Inslee used unprecedented powers during the pandemic, and as progressive Democrats harness their power in Olympia to use government more forcefully to tackle issues like homelessness and on business regulations, Fincher said. Governorīefore any candidates get through the top-two primary in August 2024, they first have to navigate the shifts within both Democratic and Republican politics. But he envisions scenarios where the race could boil down to two Democrats at the top of the ticket, or even possibly two Republicans. Hays said he believes the most likely outcome is a Democrat and a Republican competing in November 2024. In that contest, a fractured Democratic primary field allowed for a face-off between two Republicans that November. And there’s precedent in the other direction too, with the 2016 race for state treasurer. In recent years, that dynamic has already led to a pair of Democrats competing for lieutenant governor in 2020. The August 2024 primary allows the two top vote-getters to advance, regardless of party. Washington’s top-two primary could spice the intrigue up another notch or two. ![]() Mark Mullet, a moderate Democrat from Issaquah who has now been challenged by his own party as it moves further to the left. “I would say, we are likely to see a lot more people enter this race,” said Alex Hays, a Republican political consultant.įincher and Hays note other potential candidates, such as Tiffany Smiley, the Republican who last year challenged Democratic U.S. The list is likely to grow over the next year plus. He joins another Republican, Richland School Board member Semi Bird, in announcing a bid. He entered the primary late in 2020, losing out to Inslee and Loren Culp. Both Ferguson and Franz, whose office oversees the state Department of Natural Resources, expressed interest in the 2020 governor’s race, before Inslee declared for a third term.Īlso back is a moderate Republican, Raul Garcia, an emergency physician from the Tri-Cities area. The stakes may feel high, but the field for now is not necessarily a surprise. “For the Republican side, as a counterweight to Biden, and for the Democratic side, a counterweight to Trump and other Republicans.” ![]() “There’s just a lot more at stake, it feels like,” she said. The rising polarizations and deepening divisions in the nation have come to make elections feel more consequential, said Crystal Fincher, a political consultant who works on Democratic and progressive campaigns. Most – but not all – Washingtonians have weathered the pandemic as well as a racial reckoning after the murder of George Floyd. ![]() Moderate Republicans, once a hallmark of Washington politics, have melted away, Democrats have consolidated political power. Capitol four years later – turned progressive parts of Washington state into “the resistance”’ while stirring up a populist, hard-right conservative base. The election of former President Donald Trump – and the armed attack on the U.S. He is currently the longest-tenured governor in the country.Next year’s governor race will be the first contest for an open seat since 2012, and a lot has happened in America, in politics and in Washington in the past decade. Before being elected as governor, he served over a dozen years in Congress - for one term in the early 1990s, and then from 1999 until he resigned in early 2012 to focus on his gubernatorial campaign. Inslee, a 72-year-old former chair of the Democratic Governors Association, focused much of his tenure in office - and his brief presidential campaign - on fighting climate change. Whichever Democrat emerges from the primary - all the candidates run in a single primary, with the top two advancing to the general election - would be an early favorite against any Republican. Jaime Herrera Beutler, whom The Dispatch reported earlier this year was having preliminary conversations about a run. But some early names on the GOP side include Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier and former Rep. Inslee cruised by his Republican opponent Loren Culp by over 13 points in 2020, and Senate Republicans invested in the state in 2022 only for incumbent Democratic Sen. It remains unclear how much interest the race will draw from Republicans. King County Executive Dow Constantine, another Democrat who is regularly mentioned as a potential gubernatorial hopeful, opted against a run in mid-March. Two prominent Democrats in the state have publicly been mulling runs while Inslee has been making up his mind: state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz.īoth Ferguson and Franz were considered potential replacements in 2020 when Inslee was running for president, but stepped aside once Inslee returned his focus to state office.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |