Sure you have the voter’s pamphlet, but do you have all of the background stories on the 2020 candidates? Check back for more information as we add more stories.
Washington State Governor
Jay Inslee – Jay Inslee was first elected governor in 2012, when he edged out former state Attorney General Rob McKenna 51% to 48%. He won reelection in 2016 over Republican challenger Bill Bryant by a 54% to 45% margin.
The governor ran for President of the United States in 2019. He suspended his campaign in August 2019 after about five months of campaigning.
Inslee has been both praised and criticized for his handling of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. Critics say his lockdown and then reopening plan wasn’t fair to businesses. Others credit his plan to keeping cases and the death toll in Washington state relatively low.
Read more about Jay Inslee:
Joe Biden endorses Jay Inslee for Washington governor
Lieutenant Governor
Denny Heck – Denny Heck is a Democrat who most recently represented Washington’s 10th Congressional District. Heck represented the 10th District since 2013. Before that, Heck served in the state House of Representatives from 1976 to 1986.
The race for Lieutenant Governor opened when incumbent, Cyrus Habib, announced he would not run for reelection to join the Society of Jesus religious order.
“Frankly, President Trump being the chief law enforcement officer concerns me deeply … I think he’s manifestly unfit to occupy the White House,” Heck said in January 2019, about two months before the Mueller Report was delivered to Attorney General William Barr.
Heck announced his retirement from Congress in December 2019, citing long hours working on potential election interference by Russia.
“The countless hours I have spent in the investigation of Russian election interference and the impeachment inquiry have rendered my soul weary,” Heck said.
Attorney General
Bob Ferguson – Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) has served as the state’s attorney general for eight years, after starting his legal career in Spokane serving as a law clerk for two federal judges and then as an attorney, according to his statement in the voters’ guide.
Ferguson said he’s running for reelection with two key focuses:
“Number one, to continue to running an independent law firm on behalf of people in the state of Washington. And number two, to continue the focus I’ve brought to the office on the work we do directly on behalf of the people as the people’s law firm,” he said.
Ferugson says he set the tone on day one by keeping everyone in office after he took over from former attorney general Rob McKenna. The political party preferences of the staff, he says, did not concern him, and he knew they had a reputation for running an independent law firm, which is why he kept them on and many of them are still there.
Read more about Bob Ferguson:
WA attorney general candidates clash in debate over job history, state’s future
Ferguson won’t drop USPS lawsuit despite Postmaster General halting changes
Ferguson warns battle over DACA may not be over
King County judge rules against effort to recall state AG Bob Ferguson
Matt Larkin – Matt Larkin (R) writes that he is “not a career politician,” which he says allows him to “bring a fresh perspective” to the office. He is a veteran attorney licensed to practice law in Washington and Oregon.
“I’m running because, like a lot of people in this state, I’m frustrated,” Larkin said in the virtual debate. “I got into this race because I just feel like I don’t recognize this state anymore.”
Larkin says he has four young kids and wants them to grow up in a state that’s “heading in the right direction.”
He cites a concerning increase in crime statewide, adding that as attorney general, he would want to drive those numbers down and put an emphasis on criminal law.
“I want my kids to be as proud of this state as I am, because I am proud of this state,” he said.
While admitting that these are big challenges and there’s a lot of work to do, he thinks the attorney general’s office can refocus and work to make the state a better place.
Read more about Matt Larkin:
AG candidate Matt Larkin on legality of coronavirus actions by Inslee
Bob Ferguson, Matt Larkin leading in race for Washington Attorney General
AG candidate tired of Ferguson’s focus on the wrong Washington
AG candidate Larkin would redirect resources to help law enforcement
Secretary of State
Gael Tarleton – Democratic state representative Gael Tarleton of the 36th Legislative District says she’s running for Secretary of State because voting rights in Washington state are under attack — since 2016.
“As a former senior defense intelligence analyst, I take it seriously when you have both attacks happening — one from the outside, one from the inside,” Tarleton told Seattle’s Morning News on KIRO Radio. “You better take it seriously,” she added. “Don’t ever take it for granted that we will always have our democracy here.”
Read more about Gael Tarleton:
WA Sec of State candidate Tarleton: ‘Our voting rights are under attack’
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Commissioner of Public Lands
Sue Kuehl Pederson – “I grew up in a salmon hatchery in southern Washington on the Columbia River, and I’ve never seen fires like we’ve had in the past five, six years. That’s actually the reason I entered this race,” Sue Kuehl Pederson told KTTH’s Jason Rantz.
Sue Kuehl Pederson ran for Washington State Senate District 19 in 2016 as an Independent Republican. She lost to incumbent Dean Takko (45% to 55%).
Read more about Sue Kuehl Pederson:
WA Commissioner of Public Lands candidate: Never seen fires like past few years
Referendum 90
By the Associated Press
Democrats in the Washington state Legislature thought they had passed a routine sex education requirement for public schools earlier this year. But a coalition of Republicans and religious conservatives launched a swift, historic backlash that’s led to a bitter partisan fight and an effort to overturn the measure on the November ballot.
Democrats say they want to protect young people from sexual abuse, diseases and infections. But Republicans have taken issue with the content of the standards. The resulting referendum on the November ballot marks the first time in the country that such a decision on sex ed will be decided by voters.
Under the wide-ranging bill, kindergarteners would be taught how to manage feelings and make friends, while older kids will learn about consent and how to respond to violence. The curriculum must also address issues faced by LGBTQ students.
At least 29 states plus Washington, D.C., require public schools to teach sex education, but the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Education Commission of the States — two organizations that track policy trends — said it has never appeared on a statewide ballot. Instead, the curriculum has been debated at school boards and statehouses.
Read more about R-90:
Family health physician: WA sex-ed curriculum ‘will help keep all students safe’