Half of the more than 400 poll respondents said they were “certain” or “inclined” to vote for Ferguson, compared to 39% for Reichert. The poll reached out to registered Washington voters Sept. 3 to Sept. 6 via a live phone interview or a text invitation to an online survey.
The poll has a margin of error of ± 5% at a 95% confidence level, which means if the same survey was conducted 100 times, the results would be within five percentage points at least 95 times.
Not surprisingly, support for each candidate ran along party lines — with 92% of Democratic respondents backing Ferguson and 94% of Republican respondents supporting Reichert. Independents were leaning toward Reichert, with nearly half saying they would vote for the Republican.
The poll found 20% of voters indicated that “ideology” was a top issue or factor in deciding which gubernatorial candidate to support. Only the economy, at 21%, was higher on their priority list. About 22% of Democratic voters said ideology was most important, compared to 19% of Republicans. About 20% of independent voters indicated ideology as a top issue.
Other top issues voters said they consider are crime at 12% and homelessness and housing, candidate qualities and taxes, all at 11%.
Tanya Adamson, 55, a poll participant who lives outside Olympia, said she was “committed” to voting blue and would have voted for Ferguson, the Democrat, regardless. However, she also believes Ferguson will continue in the direction of current Gov. Jay Inslee, especially on environmental issues.
Adamson said she’s voted Democrat her whole life because she feels the party reflects her values concerning the environment and supporting diversity among the state’s residents, including immigrants.
“[Reichert] has opinions I just don’t agree with, and [he] wants to take the direction of the state different than what Inslee has established,” Adamson said. “I like the job that Inslee has done. I don’t want to see what he’s done destroyed.”
Only about 2% of Democrats polled said they were going to vote for Reichert, with much more enthusiasm for his campaign from independents. Nine percent of voters said they were undecided on their choice for governor, including 25% of independents.
Drew Pilon, a 33-year-old independent voter from Tacoma, said he planned to vote for Reichert. Pilon said that problems, such as the fentanyl crisis, once deemed “Seattle” problems are now spreading to other parts of the Puget Sound region and the state.
He said that neither Gov. Jay Inslee nor Ferguson, in his position as state attorney general, executed policies or plans to sufficiently address the fentanyl issues or other challenges facing the region and state, such as homelessness, the cost-of-living or crime.
Electing Ferguson would mean extending policies similar to Inslee’s, Pilon said. “I haven’t seen any interviews or policies that show any distinction between Bob Ferguson or Jay Inslee.”
Pilon said Reichert’s experience, both as King County sheriff and as a congressman, shows he could develop and execute policies that help the state address issues like homelessness and crime. In particular, he took note of Reichert’s work on the Green River killings, named for the river where the first bodies were found back in 1982.
Pilon said he felt Reichert was transparent about the investigation and willing to make changes when mistakes were made. He believes Reichert can offer a new perspective on tackling the state’s most challenging issues.
“I’m hoping Dave Reichert can come in and say, ‘We have our differences, [but] this is the direction we’re going, and we can execute [policy],” he said.
However, Pilon said he was interested in voting for some Democrats, including those in his legislative district. He said he would split his ticket depending on the policies they offer.
In general, Pilon didn’t want a governmental body, such as the state Legislature, with members who all voted the same way. He would prefer people with diverse ideas to work on solutions that work for all.
“There needs to be dissent, there needs to be conversation, there needs to be debate,” he said.
About 29% of polled voters said they would vote for all Democratic candidates in state House and Senate races, and another 23% said they would vote for mostly Democrats. That included both Democrats and independents. Meanwhile, 19% of poll respondents said they would vote for all Republican candidates, and 14% said they would vote for mostly Republicans, including Republican and independent voters.
Adamson said she will continue to vote for Democrats, including those in the state Legislature, to ensure some continue to push for policies that help the environment.
She empathizes with Republican voters who might feel they don’t have a voice in Olympia, where Democrats have the majority in the Legislature and serve in every statewide elected office. However, Adamson said that she feels Republicans, especially those who back Trump and his “Make America Great Again (MAGA)” movement, back policies that harm others and limit their rights, including immigrants. “They’re not reasonable or rational to me,” she said.
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