Current:Home > ScamsWashington attorney general and sheriff who helped nab Green River Killer fight for governor’s seat -EliteFunds
Washington attorney general and sheriff who helped nab Green River Killer fight for governor’s seat
View
Date:2025-04-14 08:02:11
SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state’s longtime attorney general and a former sheriff known for his work hunting down the Green River Killer are vying to become the next governor of a Democratic stronghold that hasn’t had an open race for the state’s top job in more than a decade.
Democrat Bob Ferguson, who has served as attorney general since 2013, will face former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert in Tuesday’s primary election in a race that has featured weeks of intense sparring between the two frontrunners in a field of more than two dozen candidates.
Ferguson has framed Reichert, a Republican, as a two-faced candidate whose more moderate rhetoric during this campaign does not align with statements he has made in private or his actions in Congress. Meanwhile, Reichert has painted Ferguson as a candidate who wouldn’t change anything about the state, while providing a continuation of “one-party rule.”
In a state with a long reputation as solid Democratic territory that hasn’t had a Republican governor in nearly 40 years, any conservative candidate faces an uphill battle. But polling shows Reichert not far behind Ferguson and the race is considered competitive.
Under Washington’s primary system, the top two vote getters in each of Tuesday’s races advance to the November election, regardless of party. Experts predict a Ferguson and Reichert matchup in November.
Military veteran Semi Bird also is a key figure in the race after being endorsed by the Washington State Republican Party. But he has become a polarizing figure amid accusations of mischaracterizing his military service, as well as a guilty plea to bank larceny in 1993 for putting his father’s name and social security number on a credit application. Bird said he has not been convicted of a crime since then and regrets what he did.
Democrat Mark Mullet, a state senator from Issaquah, also has garnered attention as a moderate candidate who would bring the perspective of a small business owner.
The success of a Republican candidate in the governor’s race will depend on their ability to build crossover appeal to independent voters and moderate Democratic voters, said Sandeep Kaushik, a Democratic political consultant with 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’re a different kind of Republican and willing to meet those voters halfway, willing to break with MAGA, break with the Republican Party,” he said. “Reichert has done none of that, so far as I can see.”
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
- Stay informed. Keep your pulse on the news with breaking news email alerts. Sign up here.
The campaign between Ferguson and Reichert has consistently focused on abortion. Ferguson’s team often references Reichert’s history of voting for a nationwide ban on abortion starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy as evidence of him being “wildly out of touch with the majority of Washingtonians.”
Abortion has long been legal in Washington until viability, a determination left up to the judgement of a health care provider, and after that in cases where the pregnant individual’s health or life is threatened.
Reichert has pushed back on Ferguson’s characterization and said his only plan for the state’s abortion law if elected governor is to enforce and support it. He accused Ferguson of trying to scare women into not voting for him.
Reichert said as governor he would prioritize public safety, referencing his 33 years and two terms as sheriff at the King County Sheriff’s Office and the dozens of sheriffs who have endorsed him.
He was the first King County detective assigned to the case of the Green River Killer, named for the waterway where the first bodies were found in 1982. Gary Ridgway, who killed 49 women, was arrested and convicted in 2003 during Reichert’s second term as sheriff.
Reichert said he also would focus on curbing homelessness, as the Seattle area has one of the nation’s highest rates of homelessness. He suggested moving people from the streets to state-owned land, including McNeil Island, where a facility for sexual predators is located.
“You tell me which one is more ridiculous: Living under a freeway in tents or maybe making a nice, warm, comfortable place on McNeil Island or Evergreen College,” he told The Associated Press.
Ferguson was endorsed by state Democratic leadership members including U.S. Senate Pro Tempore Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee, the longest serving governor in office in the country, who is not seeking a fourth term. Ferguson points to his record as attorney general, including reaching multimillion-dollar settlements with major opioid entities and standing up to former President Donald Trump.
But Republican state Rep. J.T. Wilcox said people in Washington state may be looking for a major leadership change after three terms of Inslee.
“Presidents usually leave office not at a high point, but at a point when people are sort of ready for them to be gone,” Wilcox said. “I think that that may have happened a little bit with Gov. Inslee. Twelve years, people feel like, ‘OK we’ve had all this, I’m getting tired of all the same rhetoric, maybe it is time for a change.’”
Washington is a vote-by-mail state and many voters have already cast their ballots before election day.
veryGood! (3274)
Related
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Federal trial to decide whether ex-chief of staff lied to protect his boss, Illinois House speaker
- Billy Porter says he needs to sell his house 'because we're on strike'
- How did the Maui fires start? What we know about humans making disasters worse
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- The Perseids — the best meteor shower of the year — are back. Here's how to watch.
- Man dies of heat stroke in Utah's Arches National Park while on a trip to spread his father's ashes, family says
- Lawsuit accuses Georgia doctor of decapitating baby during delivery
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist and songwriter of The Band, dies at 80
Ranking
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Wildfires take Maui by surprise, burning through a historic town and killing at least 6 people
- Woman rescued after vehicle rolls down steep embankment above West Virginia river
- Norfolk Southern content with minimum safety too often, regulators say after fiery Ohio derailment
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- Barbie-approved outdoor gear for traveling between worlds
- Hall of Fame coach Dennis Erickson blames presidents' greed for Pac-12's downfall
- At least 27 migrants found dead in the desert near Tunisian border, Libyan government says
Recommendation
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
Family sues Georgia doctor after baby was decapitated during delivery, lawsuit alleges
Lahaina Is ‘like a war zone,’ Maui evacuees say
Appeal arguments are set on an order limiting Biden administration communications with social media
Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
Khanun blows strong winds and heavy rains into South Korea, where thousands evacuated the coast
You're never too young to save for retirement. Why a custodial Roth IRA may make sense.
2 still sought in connection with Alabama riverfront brawl that drew national attention