By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A new survey from the Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI) says Washington’s Democrat Attorney General Bob Ferguson is the current frontrunner in the race to become the next Evergreen State governor.
The survey was conducted for NPI by Public Policy Polling. It shows Ferguson at 25 percent, with Republican Raul Garcia trailing at 17 percent, followed by conservative Republican Semi Bird at 10 percent. Democrat Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz comes in at 9 percent and 7 percent support Democrat State Sen. Mark Mullet.
Ferguson is the lead defendant in several gun rights legal actions filed by the Second Amendment Foundation. Early last month, he was also sued by SAF, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and veteran gun rights advocate Alan Gottlieb for alleged civil rights violations.
Ferguson has advocated for restrictive gun control policies including a ban on so-called “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines.” Gottlieb is the SAF founder and serves as its executive vice president. He is also chairman of the CCRKBA, a grassroots gun rights group.
Additional plaintiffs in that case are the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, the Service Bureau Association, Merril Mail Marketing and Liberty Park Press.
In May, when SAF and Gottlieb announced the civil rights lawsuit, it was revealed that for the past two years, “the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office (“CPD”) has carried out an expansive, highly intrusive probe into the private affairs of SAF, CCRKBA, CDFE, SBA, LPP, MMM, Mr. Gottlieb, and his family.”
In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Gottlieb said, “This is not something we ever anticipated, nor do we take any pleasure in it. However, because the CPD has singled out SAF and myself for invasive and expensive harassment because of my political beliefs, especially my positions on gun control and our outspoken criticism of Attorney General Ferguson, our only recourse is to take legal action.”
The NPI survey was conducted June 7-8 from among 773 likely Washington State voters. It has a +/- 3.5 percent margin of error with a 95 percent confidence interval.
In a report from NPI, the group stated, “It’s going to be exceptionally difficult for either of them to get more votes than Ferguson in the elimination round to make that runoff. Ferguson will have plenty of money to work with as the frontrunner, and he’s better positioned out of the gate than anyone else to lock down additional Democratic support.”
Washington has become increasingly “blue” in its election results over the past decade. Despite strong conservative voting in eastern and southwest regions, liberal voter turnout along the I-5/Puget Sound corridor has been consistent while conservatives tend to not vote as regularly, especially gun owners and sportsmen who complain about reduced hunting opportunity and increasingly restrictive gun control laws.
