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.