KIRO NEWSRADIO OPINION

John Curley: WA thrives if Gov. Bob Ferguson works with both sides, even if approval numbers drop

Mar 16, 2025, 5:58 AM | Updated: 12:30 pm

Bob Ferguson approval rating...

Newly-elected governor Bob Ferguson gives his victory speech at the Washington State Democrats Election Night Watch Party at the Seattle Convention Center on November 05, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld, Getty Images)

(Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld, Getty Images)

Columnist Danny Westneat’s latest Seattle Times column, dubbed “Democrats might be having some second thoughts about WA’s new governor,” explains how Washington Governor Bob Ferguson’s approval rating within his own party has dropped from 86% in November to 65% in March, according to DHM Research polling.

The response? 643 comments from readers ranged from agreeing with Westneat to fervently denying his claims. It got so contentious that The Seattle Times put a warning over the comment section to keep them from becoming too hostile.

“This story has gotten a lot of reported comments, so I’m checking in to remind everyone to stay civil,” The Seattle Times staff wrote. “From here on, any comments that egregiously violate our policies may result in an immediate suspension or ban, without warning. We may also close this comments section if bad behavior continues.”

Is Bob Ferguson actually a moderate Democrat?

The host of “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio had strong reaction to both the column and the responses.

“This is getting away from your sort of mindset and being able to say, ‘OK, if this guy is legitimate, and he does want to triangulate and get something done with those on the right and those on the left, we are all better served,” Curley said. “Because if you are Republican, you know, in the state of Washington, you are often outnumbered. If you can get a governor in there to do a little bit of horse-trading, we would all be better served for it. If it ends up that the new governor of Washington is more responsible with your tax dollars, we would all be better served. So we’ll see if this is true. We’ll find out, because at a certain point, coming up in a few weeks, some tough decisions in the state of Washington will need to be made.”

Listen to the full conversation below.

More from John Curley: Seattle City Attorney defends future of sanctuary city status amid Trump’s threat to hold funding

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John Curley: WA thrives if Gov. Bob Ferguson works with both sides, even if approval numbers drop