As the Governor of Washington, Jay Inslee has been the target of glowing praise and harsh criticism. He made history as the second governor of Washington state to serve three terms consecutively and has been known to be particularly passionate about the environment and the fight against climate change. In his short run for President in 2019, climate change served as his central campaign issue before dropping out.

First elected to the office of Governor of Washington in 2012, he originally trailed in the polls but narrowly beat Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna. His priorities other than protecting the environment included legalizing gay marriage in the state and creating more jobs within the aerospace and biotechnology industries. While campaigning for his second term, he touted his increased spending on transportation and education and managed to increase his margin of victory in the 2016 gubernatorial election. In his final gubernatorial election in 2020, he beat his opponent, Republican Loren Culp, 43 to 56 after he dropped out of the presidential race and pivoted to running for an unprecedented third term.

Presiding over the first known COVID-19 case in the United States and having to govern through the millions of Washingtonians impacted by the pandemic during his third term, Governor Inslee’s policies meant to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 attracted much backlash, including from some Glacier Peak students and students in the Snohomish School District. Critics believed that Inslee’s actions with the State of Emergency he declared was an overreach of his power. However, many believed his actions were warranted as action could not be stalled by partisan fighting as COVID-19 continued to take the lives of thousands of Washingtonians.

On May 1, Jay Inslee announced that he would not be running for a fourth term as governor of Washington. Among the possible candidates for Governor is Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who has garnered national attention for suing the Trump Administration a grand total of 82 times, including suing over the earliest travel bans in 2017. He announced his exploratory committee for Governor on Tuesday, May 2. Hillary Franz, the state Commissioner of Public Lands, is also a potential contender for governorship along with State Representative Mark Mullet, a moderate democrat, and Richland Schoolboard member Semi Bird of the GOP.

Primary elections for the governorship will take place August 6 of 2024 and the general gubernatorial election will take place November 5 of 2024. The year 2024 will also be the presidential election year. If eligible, register or pre-register to vote here: https://olvr.votewa.gov/