Bob Ferguson signals victory in race for Washington Attorney General
Nov 3, 2020, 8:40 PM | Updated: Nov 4, 2020, 4:44 pm
Attorney General Bob Ferguson. (AP)
(AP)
Bob Ferguson appears headed to victory in the race for Washington Attorney General, holding a 59% to 41% lead over challenger Matt Larkin.
I want to thank the people of Washington state for re-electing me as your Attorney General. We won an overwhelming victory despite hundreds of thousands of dollars in negative ads.
Now it's back to work. Every legal vote must be counted. Our democracy depends on it.
— Bob Ferguson (@BobFergusonAG) November 4, 2020
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 was first elected as Washington State’s Attorney General in 2012, when he defeated Republican Reagan Dunn 53.5% to 46.5%. He won reelection in 2016, when he bested Libertarian candidate Joshua Trumbull, who ran unopposed in the Primary, 67% to 32%.
Ferguson has become known in recent years for the many lawsuits he’s filed against the Trump administration, numbering at least 65 since 2016. He’s won 29 of those lawsuits, and lost just one. He’s previously 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.
Larkin (R) writes that he is “not a career politician,” which he says allows him to “bring a fresh perspective” to the office, and his campaign emphasized finding solutions to homelessness, drug abuse, and crime. He is a veteran attorney licensed to practice law in Washington and Oregon, and has worked as a Prosecutor for Pierce County and served as a Rule 9 Prosecuting Extern in Spokane County.
Larkin previously noted in a debate that “I’m running because, like a lot of people in this state, I’m frustrated. I got into this race because I just feel like I don’t recognize this state anymore.”
