Reichert makes a late play on abortion
Reichert makes a late play on abortion
Plus Inslee pounds pavement for the CCA, and recommended reading on school funding and wealth taxes
Facing an avalanche of independent advertising on his anti-abortion voting record, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert has rolled out an interesting 11th-hour tactic: A sort-of pro-choice ad featuring his sister.
Here’s the spot:
Reichert doesn’t exactly embrace abortion rights here, or even stake out much of a position at all in the ad’s vague message, although he’s said in the past that he wouldn’t attack reproductive rights as governor. The thrust is more that he was supportive of his sister’s choice to have an abortion back in the day.
Abortion rights was always going to be a vulnerability for the former Congressman and King County Sheriff because, despite his support for his sister, his voting record in the U.S. House provided ample fodder for a negative campaign in a blue state. Evergreen Values, a PAC fueled mostly with dark money from the Democratic Governors Association, has overwhelmingly delivered that campaign. The PAC disclosed nearly $1 million in additional spending this week, bringing its total spend against Reichert to more than $7M.
Reichert’s tactic can be viewed as a 2024 version of Republican Dino Rossi’s attempt to finesse this issue when he ran for governor 20 years ago. Rossi acknowledged that he was personally opposed to abortion, but conceded that abortion rights had been upheld by Washington voters twice and were protected by Roe v. Wade nationally. That almost worked for him back in the day but looks less effective in light of the Big Supremes’ decision to toss Roe v. Wade two years ago, which turned the issue into a potent political weapon here.
As we’ve noted before, Reichert and his allies are being brutally outspent by Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson and allied groups, which is making it difficult for him to advance any message.
The new ad ran during Tuesday evening’s broadcast of NBC’s “The Voice”1. Viewers also saw multiple showings of Evergreen Values’ spot and ads from Ferguson’s campaign that paint Reichert as a toady to Donald Trump.
Four recent public polls show Reichert trailing Ferguson by double digits.
PQ
Inslee’s closing campaign
If you perused Gov. Jay Inlsee’s calendar for early October, as we often do here at The Observer, you might be forgiven for concluding that he was running for a fourth term instead of gliding toward whatever his next act turns out to be.
His official schedule is chockablock with “personal time” events, which are code for politics rather than governance. He’s campaigning hard against Initiative 2117, which would repeal the Climate Commitment Act.
That’s to be expected, the cap-and-trade system for major carbon emitters and the billions of dollars it pours into clean energy and green transportation is the landmark achievement of Inslee’s tenure as governor on the signature issue of his political career—climate change. It would be a bitter pill indeed to have it yanked away in the closing weeks of his governorship.
Inslee’s schedule includes regular blocks of time with his fundraising consultant, Tracy Newman, which means he’s shaking down big donors for No on 2117, which has raised an eye-popping $16 million to fight the ballot measure. He also spent the last two weeks helping to launch the final field campaign against the initiative.
Inslee headlined events in Bellingham, Everett, Olympia, Vancouver, Spokane, and Yakima. There was a definite craft beer theme in those events, which included stops at Aslan Brewing in Bellingham, Loowit Brewing in Vancouver, and Whistle Punk Brewing in Spokane. We’re told this was coincidental, but the campaign also rolled out a list of 52 beer-makers around the state as part of its coalition to defend the CCA. The beer cognoscenti will find the list interesting. Some notable marques are missing from the collection of logos, perhaps because Big Beer has bought up many of the larger craft breweries in recent years.
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Recommended reading
New polling measures voter’s thoughts on public education, WA wealth tax
Dahlia Bazzaz with The Seattle Times unpacks the results of a new poll of about 700 likely Washington voters that shows 65% of respondents want more money for public schools. The poll specifically asked about Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal’s request for $3 billion in additional spending. Very few survey respondents want the burden to fall on the taxpayer entirely. About 12% said they support adding or raising taxes, with 44% supporting cuts to other parts of the budget and another 44% supporting a combination of cuts and taxes.2
It seems Reykdal’s $3B request has garnered some attention from politicians and education stakeholders. Broad support from the electorate could sway lawmakers to think big when it comes to financing public education in the 2025 session. Our preliminary reporting shows that until there is clarity on what revenue sources will still be there after the election, particularly when it comes to the outcome of the capital gains tax repeal, budget writers are hesitant to commit to any big financing plans for education.
SK
Washington voters support a wealth tax
Alex Halverson with The Seattle Times shares the results of another statewide poll of voters that showed broad support for a wealth tax for Washington’s richest. More than 65% of respondents said they would support a tax on residents with a net worth eclipsing $250 million—which would target a relative handful of ultra-rich people such as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer; Valve Software co-founder Gabe Newell; and MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The problem with heavy taxes on folks in the private jet bracket is their ability to hop on the jet and move their official residency out of state. Bezos did exactly that when he decamped to Florida, saving himself $600 million in capital gains taxes. Gates, Ballmer, and Newell are all registered to vote here, which indicates they didn’t make that move to avoid the capital gains tax. Scott does not appear to be registered to vote here.3
In 2023, Senate Bill 5486 proposed leveraging a 1% tax on residents with assets above $250M, but the bill died in the Senate Ways & Means Committee and got a brief introduction at the start of the 2024 session. The composition of the Legislature next year could be more favorable to the idea.
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A view for your midweek
Fauci joins her human brother in watching their dad take out the garbage. Want to see your pet in this space? Drop us a photo and some caption material.
The Woman Who Lets Paul Live With Her is a gifted singer and a fan of singing competitions. Also, we are totally here for the cultural ascendance of Snoop Dogg.
Cuts to other parts of the budget would be a tough sell in Olympia. Education already eats up more of the state’s cash, and you’d have to find a majority of lawmakers willing to roll back spending they already approved in recent years.
Scott is giving money away to charity at a breathtaking rate, which might have incurred significant exposure to the capital gains tax and prompted a move to a friendlier state. Also, maybe the remaining school-age kids are in Florida?