Known as a champion for addressing climate change, the nation’s longest serving governor announced Monday he won’t seek reelection next year. Gov. Jay Inslee has served as Washington’s governor since 2012 after representing the state in Congress for eight terms. Inslee ran a climate-centered platform in a presidential bid, before dropping out of the 2020 election race in August 2019. In a statement announcing his decision, Inslee highlighted his record on climate change, along with gun violence and criminal justice reform.
Two Democrats in the state, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, are expected to soon announce their candidacy to follow the retiring Inslee. Both were expected to run for the governorship in 2020, but stayed out of the race after Inslee decided to seek a third term. (CNN, NBC News, Seattle Times $, Capitol Hill Seattle, Axios, E&E $, New York Times $)