MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Republican Bill Bryant concedes to Gov. Jay Inslee

Nov 8, 2016, 8:11 PM | Updated: Nov 9, 2016, 5:05 pm

gubernatorial debate, Inslee, Bryant...

Gov. Jay Inslee and Bill Bryant clashed in another debate Wednesday night. (AP)

(AP)

Washington voters came out in strong favor of Democratic gubernatorial incumbent Jay Inlsee Tuesday night.

Bill Bryant told a crowd Tuesday in Bellevue that the fight was “not over yet,” The Seattle Times reports. But in a Facebook video Wednesday, Bryant conceded to Inslee.

Inslee led his Republican opponent with 56 percent of the vote going into Wednesday evening. Bryant lagged behind with 44 percent.

Though the votes are still coming in, many news outlets have already called Inslee the winner by Wednesday morning.

“I think from tonight, we can say this: Washington was, is, and will always be a beacon for progressive values across the United State of America,” Inslee told supporters Tuesday night.

The governor, who has held office since 2013, and former Port of Seattle Commissioner Bryant went blow-for-blow over the last several months of their campaigns.

Bryant criticized Inslee over his attacks against the Republican nominee for not — at least immediately — coming out in opposition of controversial presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“Jay Inslee keeps attacking Mr. Trump as if he’s running against Mr. Trump,” Bryant told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “He’s not. He’s running against me. And he’s going to have to run on his record. And it’s a record of failure.”

Of course, Inslee was able to point out Bryant’s misgivings as well, including the statement the Republican candidate made about homelessness and not being “well apprised on how the funding for city programs comes about.”

“We cannot allow the Republican Party to cut money for homelessness programs. We cannot allow that. And the day before yesterday, Bill said he wasn’t even aware of the way we fund homelessness programs,” Inslee said.

The two sparred over education, taxes, and government oversight as well. During the second debate, Bryant continued to claim that Inslee had mismanaged state departments and failed to come up with a plan to fund K-12 education. Inslee countered with a can-do attitude and said the state has invested $5.5 billion in public education and created more than 200,000 jobs since he’s been governor.

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