WAWG
By Diana Carlen
Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers
The recent election showed that while the country veered red, Washington state turned bluer. Democrats will continue to hold all statewide elected positions and have slightly expanded their majorities in the Legislature.
Governor. Washington’s current attorney general, Bob Ferguson, will be our new governor after defeating Republican former Congressman Dave Reichert. This will extend the streak of Washington state not electing a Republican governor going back to 1980. While we expect Governor-Elect Ferguson’s priorities to be similar to out-going Gov. Jay Inslee, Ferguson is not as singularly focused on climate change as Gov. Inslee. During his time as attorney general, Ferguson’s main priorities were consumer protection, and he has publicly stated that he wants to focus on behavioral health, public safety, and housing. He also made a name for himself by filing almost 100 lawsuits challenging policies of the first Trump administration, and he said he is prepared to respond if the second Trump administration overreaches.
Attorney General. Nick Brown will be our new attorney general. Brown formerly served as Inslee’s general counsel and also was the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington.
Commissioner of Public Lands. King County Council Member Dave Upthegrove will be the new commissioner of public lands after defeating former Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler. Upthegrove formerly served in the Washington State House of Representatives where he was the chair of the House Environment and Energy Committee.
Insurance Commissioner. Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Seattle) defeated Sen. Phil Fortunato (R-Auburn) and will be our new insurance commissioner. This opens Kuderer’s current Senate seat for appointment in the new year. Both 48th District representatives, Amy Walen and Vandana Slatter, are expected to seek Kuderer’s seat. Democratic Precinct Committee officers will meet to recommend three names to the King County Council and will select one of those names to serve as Kuderer’s replacement until a special election can be held in November of 2025.
Initiatives
Three of the four initiatives to roll back the state cap-and-trade program and state tax policies to repeal the capital gains tax and the payroll tax for long-term insurance have failed. The only initiative that was approved by the voters was Initiative I-2066 to block state and local efforts to phase out natural gas service, which passed by a margin of 51.64% to 48.36%, but opponents have already indicated that they plan to sue, arguing that it violates the single subject rule, which was the demise of many Eyman initiatives by the Washington State Supreme Court.
The no campaigns on the three initiatives that failed to pass were greatly outspent by the yes campaigns (no campaigns raised over $33 million versus Let’s Go Washington raising around $9 million for all four initiatives, and most of that money was spent to qualify the measures for the ballot). Plus, the wording of the ballot titles, which were drafted by the attorney general, was confusing. Finally, the Legislature added a requirement that all ballot titles must contain fiscal impact statements for initiatives that impact revenue. This year’s initiatives were the first to be caught up in that requirement, highlighting the specific programs that would be defunded and by how much by each initiative.
What can we expect now that Washington state’s Climate Commitment Act will remain in place? The state will continue to discuss linking its carbon market to California and Quebec. We anticipate seeing legislation in the upcoming legislative session beginning in January on making tweaks to the law that will further linkage and implementing the program. We will be actively involved in these conversations to ensure that the exemption for agriculture on exempt fuel is honored.
Legislature
Democrats currently hold majorities of 58-40 in the House and 29-20 in the Senate. Democrats were hoping to pick up enough seats for a super-majority (two-thirds majority) in both chambers. This would have granted them the authority to send constitutional amendments directly to the voters (i.e. such as sending a constitutional amendment to allow a state income tax).
While Democrats were unsuccessful at getting a supermajority, they were able to gain one seat in each chamber, which means they will have a 60% majority in both chambers. This is important because authorizing the issuance of bonds, which is a customary part of infrastructure packages like transportation projects and capital budget spending, relies on this heightened 60% threshold that is set in the Washington State Constitution. This means Democrats in the Legislature will not need Republican votes to pass the capital and transportation budgets, which have typically been bipartisan.
There were some bright spots in the election results for agriculture. In the 10th Legislative District (Island County and parts of Skagit and Snohomish counties), Sen. Ron Muzzall (R-Oak Harbor), a farmer and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Re-sources and Parks Committee, defeated Democratic challenger Janet St. Clair in late breaking ballots. This seat was seen as one of the most likely to flip and the most expensive legislative race this campaign cycle.
Republicans in the Senate and House were able to successfully defend all three seats in the newly drawn 14th Legislative District in the Yakima area.
Historically, this district has been a stronghold for the Republican Party. However, a federal judge recently rewrote the boundaries to make it a majority Latino district. The new lines made this district more competitive for Democrats, and Democrats spent heavily trying to flip all three seats. Long-time Sen. Curtis King (R-Yakima) had to move into the new district to run again because of redistricting. Sen. King is the lead for the Senate Republican Caucus on labor and transportation issues and a champion for agriculture.
In the 45th Legislative District, Rep. Larry Springer, a moderate Democrat who has worked well with agriculture, was able to fend off a serious challenge by the left and was re-elected. Rep. Springer (D-Kirkland) is the deputy majority leader for the House Democrat Caucus and the liaison for his caucus for the business community.