New poll shows Republican out to narrow lead in race for Washington governor

A new poll released by the Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI) shows Republican Dave Reichert jumping out to a lead over Democrat Bob Ferguson in the 2024 race for Washington’s next governor.

With incumbent Governor Jay Inslee not running for reelection, the field is wide open for the first time since 2012. That’s had a long list of candidates lining up to replace Inslee in the months since he announced his decision.

Among 700 likely voters surveyed, Reichert and Ferguson are tied at 31% for an open primary, followed by Republican Semi Bird and Democrat Mark Mullet at 10% and 5% respectively.

In a head-to-head race between Reichert and Ferguson, though, Reichert holds a narrow 46% to 44% advantage over Ferguson, with 9% saying they still weren’t sure.

According to the NPI, that’s driven by one primary factor.

“Republican voters are very united behind Dave Reichert, whereas Democratic voters are less committed to Bob Ferguson,” they said in a news release.

Of the Democrats polled, 76% stood behind Ferguson, while 90% of Republicans said they’d vote for Reichert.

Reichert previously served in the U.S. Air Force, before becoming King County Sheriff in 1997. In 2005, he made the move to national politics, where he served as Washington’s 8th district representative. He eventually decided not to run for reelection in 2018.

Ferguson has served as Washington’s Attorney General since 2013. Before that, he was a King County Councilmember from 2004 to 2013.

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