WASHINGTON (AP) — Five months after holding its presidential primaries, Washington state is looking further down the ticket and selecting candidates to compete for federal and state offices in November.
A handful of retirements — most notably those of third-term Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, Democratic Rep. Derek Kilmer and Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers — have injected some excitement into primaries for this left-leaning state.
The governor’s race has drawn a crowded field, with 28 candidates, including the state’s current attorney general, Bob Ferguson. That figure doesn’t include two additional Democratic candidates also named Bob Ferguson, both recruited by a conservative activist, who withdrew from the ballot shortly after filing. The short-lived gag hasn’t seemed to take the wind out of Attorney General Ferguson’s sails, as he’s raised more than $8.6 million — more than double the next-best funded candidate.
The state’s eight other executive offices are also up this year. Three of them do not include incumbents. Ferguson is leaving the attorney general’s office to seek the governorship, while Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz is running for U.S. House and Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who faced accusations of creating a hostile workplace and calls to resign during his current term, is not running for reelection.