For context, his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, has raised more than $12 million in campaign donations during his run for governor. Nearly $5,200 has been raised in independent expenditures for Ferguson, with nearly $170,000 spent against him. Independent expenditures from outside groups are not coordinated with candidates or their campaigns.
Evergreen Values has purchased ads that highlight Reichert’s votes on a national abortion ban during his time in Congress even though the former congressman has since distanced himself from conservative stances on abortion, even releasing his own ads stating that he would not meddle with Washington’s established abortion laws if elected.
Nearly $3 million of those total independent expenditures from Evergreen Values comes from the Democratic Governors Association, a dark-money super-PAC based in Washington, D.C. Dark money may come from individuals or corporations, but those details are not attached to the money that is passed along to campaigns like the one in Washington state.
“Abortion rights are on the ballot this year and Dave Reichert’s repeated votes to ban abortion, restrict access to birth control, and defund Planned Parenthood are proof that Washingtonians cannot trust him to protect personal freedoms,” Izzi Levy, deputy communications director for the DGA, told Cascade PBS last week. “Reichert can try all he likes to run from his record, but just this year he promised to ‘unravel’ access to reproductive health care services and we’re not going to let Washington voters forget it.”
The DGA, which sets its sights on electing and reelecting Democratic governors throughout the U.S., has also donated nearly $1 million to the Washington State Democratic Committee this election year. The group has donated $2,400 directly to Ferguson’s campaign, and contributed $4,800 to Lt. Gov. Denny Heck’s campaign in July.
Last week, Reichert warned followers on the social media platform X that they should prepare to mute their televisions during commercials in anticipation of the negative ad purchases.
“Why? Because outside dark money groups just dropped $3.7 million on ads to attack me and spread lies about my record,” he said. “These groups know Washington is ready for change, but they’ll do (and say) anything to prevent it.”
Since then, Evergreen Values, with additional funding from the DGA, has contributed an additional $1.4 million for independent expenditures against Reichert.
Other contributors to the committee include the D.C.-based American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Working Families Fund, which contributed $500,000; the Seattle-based Service Employees International Union 775 Quality Care Committee, which also donated $500,000; and the Justice for All PAC, another Seattle group, which donated $100,000.
There have been no independent expenditures for Reichert’s campaign.
While the expenditures from the DGA may seem like a large sum, the DGA has previously spent millions in other states, including on the 2023 race to elect current Gov. Andy Beshear in Kentucky. This year, the DGA is also spending big money on races in states like New Hampshire and North Carolina, according to their website.
According to OpenSecrets, the DGA has raised more than $24 million this election cycle, and spent more than $16 million. In 2022, the organization raised nearly $179 million and spent more than $198 million.
In contrast, the Republican Governors Association has not spent any money in Washington since 2012 in the race between Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee and former Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna in which Inslee beat McKenna with three percent of the vote. Washington has not had a Republican governor since 1985.