Democrat Bob Ferguson and Republican Dave Reichert will battle to be Washington’s next governor in November after storming to the front of the 28-person field in Tuesday’s primary.

Ferguson, 59, the three-term attorney general, had hauled in around 45.5% of the vote, according to results posted by the secretary of state around 8:30 p.m. Reichert, 73, a seven-term congressman and former King County sheriff, received 27.9%.

The Associated Press called the primary for Ferguson and Reichert around 8:15 p.m.

Both dusted off intraparty challenges to their political right. 

State results: See primary election totals for legislative districts and statewide races

Republican Semi Bird, a former Richland school board member and the Washington State Republican Party’s endorsed candidate, had 9.4%. Democratic state Sen. Mark Mullet, running as a moderate alternative to Ferguson, was fourth with 5.8%.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s decision to retire means Washington will get a new governor for the first time in 12 years.

Recent history shows battles for open seats are close. In 2004, Democrat Christine Gregoire defeated Republican Dino Rossi by just 129 votes following a hand recount. Eight years later, Inslee collected 51.5% en route to beating Republican Rob McKenna.

Washington’s last Republican governor was John Spellman. He was elected in 1980 but lost re-election. Since then, Democrats have won 10 straight gubernatorial contests.

Ferguson entered the race as the presumptive frontrunner. He had a stockpile of cash from prior campaigns, organization and he’d already done a bit of groundwork in 2020 when it seemed Inslee, after a failed presidential bid, would step aside rather than seek a third term. 

But Inslee ran, scuttling Ferguson’s gubernatorial ambitions. Ferguson instead won another term as the state’s top lawyer.

A tireless campaigner, Ferguson vacuumed up endorsements of Democratic Party organizations across the state and is the top choice of the state Democratic Party. He had raised $9 million and spent just over $7 million as of Monday, according to filings with the Public Disclosure Commission.

While he’s won backing from the party’s left-flank, he’s campaigned on a Republican-oriented message of improving public safety and hiring cops. He’s also outlined plans to make housing more affordable and to resolve problems plaguing Washington State Ferries.

Reichert is running after years of considering a bid for this office. He’s raised $4.4 million and spent $3.9 million ahead of Election Day.

He too talks about reducing crime, making communities safer, and lowering every day costs for families. And Reichert has, at times, looked to tie Ferguson to the myriad of policies passed by the Democratic majority in Legislature and signed by Inslee.

Expect abortion to be a central focal point in their battle this fall.

Ferguson has attacked Reichert unrelentingly for his votes in Congress on bills that, had they passed, would have imposed greater limits on abortion access than allowed in the state.

Reichert put out an ad in the primary stating that if elected he won’t work to change Washington laws. But it won’t erase the issue given his history.

He’s personally opposed to abortion. In his seven terms in Congress, he supported bills to eliminate federal funding for it and create a national abortion ban at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Meanwhile, he and other Republicans have chastised Ferguson for being soft on public safety issues during his time as attorney general.

In the meantime, Bird and Mullet proved to be pesky challengers for each of their parties frontrunners. And their supporters could spell the difference in November for Ferguson and Reichert.

Bird, a military veteran, snagged the state Republican Party endorsement and had boisterous support from a bloc of the party that is more conservative on social issues and wary of government overreach. 

He also faced scrutiny from some in the party. They viewed him as unelectable, citing his 2023 recall from the school board and personal travails including a misdemeanor conviction three decades ago for seeking to obtain a line of credit by forging his dad’s name on a bank application.

“I take full accountability,” he told delegates at the state party convention before they endorsed him. His campaign struggled to gain traction after the convention.

Mullet encountered similar hurdles running as a social progressive and fiscal conservative. 

He criticized Ferguson for supporting the decriminalization of drugs and raised questions about the attorney general’s fundraising. Those swipes at his Democratic opponent failed to meaningfully shift the dynamics of the race, as Mullet struggled to overcome a lack of name recognition and, despite support from pro-business donors, trailed far behind Ferguson raising money.

This story was initially published by Washington State Standard, a nonprofit news organization and part of the States Newsroom network, covering state issues. Read more at www.washingtonstatestandard.com.

Today’s Wyoming sunrise was captured by Rich Hall from Buffalo. Rich writes, “This photo was taken at Lily Lake in the Bighorn Mountains. I like the way the sunrise is reflected in the lake.”

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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco transit leaders are tabling a vote that could change just about any road in the city.

The SFMTA Board of Directors will wait to decide whether to ban right turns at red lights anywhere in San Francisco.

SFMTA talked until late Tuesday about plans to implement new restrictions at hundreds of intersections across Downtown neighborhoods.

SF transportation agency wants to expand ‘No Turn On Red’ restrictions in city

The signs will go up in an area that has seen the most accidents involving pedestrians.

One big sticking point – whether to make this a citywide ban.

There have been plenty of close calls on San Francisco city streets involving cars and pedestrians.

“I literally treat cars like they don’t see me because that’s for my own safety,” said Carl Compton of San Francisco.

SFMTA will soon ban drivers from making right turns during red lights at 200 intersections across Downtown neighborhoods including South of Market, Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach and the Financial District.

San Francisco’s traffic engineer approved all these locations for “no turn on red” signs.

“No turn on red” signs went up in the Tenderloin in 2021.

The SFMTA says that helped cut down on the number of people being hit by cars.

MORE: Why do we have right-on-red, and is it time to get rid of it?

The city has already given the green light for Downtown and SoMa to move forward with the new restrictions.

Now the SFMTA is expected to expand the policy to more neighborhoods.

The expansion is part of San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s plans to curb traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets.

Advocates for pedestrians say the policy prevents drivers from driving into crosswalks.

Jodie Medeiros is with Walk San Francisco.

“Pedestrian number one capsulitis in all of our traffic violence. More than 50% of our annual fatalities are people crossing, walking in the crosswalk,” said Medeiros.

People who walk and bike in the city are mixed about the new policy.

MORE: To catch a speeder: 33 new speed cameras to be installed in SF

“It doesn’t work. I’m sorry. It doesn’t work,” said Carl Compton of San Francisco. “To put up a policy to make up for bad drivers seems like bad policy.”

“I think it’s a good idea. I think it’s more like an educational thing. People need to know it’s for their own good,” said Alvin Wong of San Francisco.

Many critics question how the new policy will be enforced given the number of.

“It is something we will be asked to be sure that it is enforced. And again, start with education before penalty,” said Medeiros.

We asked SFPD, the mayor’s office, and SFMTA if the city has the capacity to enforce this policy but haven’t gotten a response.

Traffic safety experts believe this “no turn on red policy” will keep people who walk or bike safe.

To be clear, this is not a citywide ban, as some advocates have hoped for. Seattle, Boston, and Washington, D.C. are also considering similar “no turn on red” policies.