GOP leaders in Washington react to new polls favoring Democrat in race for governor

Two new polls show Democrat Bob Ferguson holding a steady lead over Republican Dave Reichert in the race for Washington’s next governor.

The polls show Ferguson with roughly 50% of the statewide vote followed by Reichert with support from about 35%. The remaining 15% of people polled reportedly indicated they were undecided.

“While 72% of respondents said the choice was clear between the candidates, 10% said it was a hard choice between “not very good” candidates and 6% said it was a hard choice between two good candidates,” reads an Oct. 17 story published in Cascade PBS about the Crosscut-Elway poll.

Of the 401 people surveyed in the Crosscut-Elway poll, Reichert showed a strong lead among independent voters, garnering 30% of the support there compared to Ferguson’s 19%.

The Washington GOP and Reichert, a former U.S. representative and sheriff of King County, both argue that the new polls hold miniscule weight and that they are full steam ahead in their mission to put a Republican in the governor’s office for the first time in 40 years.

“Ballots have begun hitting mailboxes so the only poll that matters, and that we care about, is the one coming on Nov. 5,” said Jeff Harvey, a senior political adviser with the Reichert campaign.

“Our team is working day and night to share Dave’s message that he is the change we need to keep our communities safe and bring down our cost of living.”

The other newly released “WA Poll” published in the Seattle Times produced similar results to the Crosscut-Elway poll from a sample size of 1,001 Washingtonians, showing a similar vote spread. Both polls showed Democratic leads in the races for state attorney general and lands commissioner as well.

In a written statement Friday, Ferguson celebrated his projected lead and denounced his opponent.

“Our message of improving public safety, increasing affordability, and protecting reproductive freedom is resonating with Washingtonians concerned about Republican Dave Reichert’s support for Donald Trump’s policies and promise to ‘unravel’ abortion protections,” the statement reads.

Washington Republican Party Chairman and state Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, told The Spokesman-Review on Monday that he hopes people take the poll results “with a grain of salt” and look at the big picture.

“The significant thing is not the spread between the governor candidates,” Walsh said in a phone interview. “The significant thing is Ferguson’s inability to break above 50%, really, in any of these polls. For contrast, Kamala Harris … is polling in the mid-50s in Washington. So Ferguson is clearly underperforming.”

When asked whether drama at the state GOP conference in Spokane earlier this year may have fractured statewide Republican support for Reichert, Walsh said he didn’t think so.

“You always have a handful of disgruntled people,” Walsh said. “But mostly, people come together.”

Backlash erupted at this year’s GOP conference when the party announced it would not endorse a candidate for governor before overturning that decision and endorsing Republican Semi Bird, the third runner -up in August’s gubernatorial primary.

Bird, of Richland, has chosen not to make an endorsement.

When reached by phone, Bird declined to comment for this story.

Spokane County GOP Officer Rob Linebarger echoed Walsh’s take that any disagreements in the party earlier this year were inconsequential in Reichert’s chances to win the race.

He said dense population pockets in the state make it hard for Republicans to clinch statewide races.

“King County is a monster,” Linebarger said in a phone interview. “When King County is going 76%-24% Democrat, it really doesn’t matter. The way I modeled it, until the Republican Party can get King County to a 56%-44% split, they really don’t have a chance statewide in any race.”

State Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, said he could see Reichert picking up some of the undecided voter support, but that the price tag of this year’s race has been challenging.

“I think the Democratic Governors Association has spent $6 million on independent expenditures,” Padden said in a phone interview. “And Reichert’s raised about that much.”

As of Friday, state records showed Ferguson had raised roughly $13 million in campaign contributions, nearly double Reichert’s $6 million.

Voters have until Nov. 5 to return their ballots via mail or county drop box.