Bob Ferguson, Raul Garcia lead in early Washington governor poll
Washington 2024 gubernatorial race front-runners Raul Garcia and Bob Ferguson. (Courtesy of the candidates)
State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, and Yakima physician Raul Garcia, a Republican, are the current front-runners in the 2024 race for governor, according to a new poll released today by the Northwest Progressive Institute.
But a third of respondents, as of this week, remain unsure, according to the poll, which was conducted on June 7 and 8.
Ferguson, who has raised $2.4 million for his campaign according to the state Public Disclosure Commission, leads with 25%. Garcia, who has raised $44,000 so far, has 17% support.
Third in the poll was Richland School Board member Semi Bird, a Republican, with 10%, followed by Democrats Hilary Franz, the state Public Lands Commissioner, with 9%, and state Sen. Mark Mullet, with 7%.
In Washington, the top two finishers in the Aug. 6, 2024, gubernatorial primary will face off in the November general election, regardless of political party.
According to the Northwest Progressive Institute, both Ferguson and Garcia have strong backing from voters in their respective parties. But independent voters are more split, with 20% backing Ferguson, 17% backing Garcia, and 40% saying they are unsure. The rest of the independents were divided among Bird (9%), Franz (8%) and Mullet (6%).
Ferguson, state Attorney General since 2012, has successfully challenged a number of actions by the Trump administration. Garcia, the medical director at Astria Toppenish Hospital, ran for governor in 2020 as a Republican, but came in fifth in that primary. That year Loren Culp emerged from a crowded field of Republicans with 17% of the primary vote to challenge Gov. Jay Inslee in the general election.
The poll of 773 likely Washington state 2024 general-election voters was conducted by Public Policy Polling, over landline and text, and has a margin of error of 3.5%. The poll asked respondents to choose from the five candidates who have raised more than $50,000 in campaign contributions. Seventeen people have filed PDC paperwork to campaign for governor.
Inslee, who won re-election in 2020 with 56% of the vote, announced earlier this year that he will not run for a fourth term.