WA governor hopeful Reichert was determined to defy all odds

SEATTLE – With less than a week until the election, much attention is on the presidential race. But voters in Washington will also elect a new governor.

Bob Ferguson and Dave Reichert are fighting to succeed Jay Inslee.

For Reichert, it's the culmination of a long career in law enforcement and public service, although he says the attack charges against him are relentless and he doesn't have the money to always fight back.

“It's hard to bring the truth to light, it's hard to bring your word to light,” Reichert said. “We’re outnumbered 80 to one.”

He's also frustrated by attack ads that he says get Congress wrong when it comes to its stance on abortion.

Reichert says he voted for fetal viability at 20 weeks, and that's not far from the law in Washington state, which is 24 weeks.

“I have always recognized, accepted and supported the exceptions in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is endangered.”

At the moment, Dave Reichert is something of a political nomad, running as a Republican but at odds with his own state party. When they refused to support his candidacy at the Republican convention in Spokane, he chose not to seek their endorsement.

“That was such a dishonest and, to me, very disrespectful way of doing business,” Reichert said. “It wasn’t a wild policy. It was, to say the least, underhanded and underhanded politics and that is why I left the party conference. I think people realize that I'm a man of principles and I'll do the right thing when I have to do the right thing.

He's trying to run as a traditional conservative at a time when many in his party are rallying behind Donald Trump's MAGA movement, and Reichert says he won't vote for either Trump or Kamala Harris.

“This means that I am my own person and make decisions based on facts, that I am not affiliated with or beholden to any political party. I’m here as a person who wants to make a difference in Washington state because I care about the people here.”

Not surprisingly, the former King County sheriff says public safety is his top priority, with a focus on recruiting more officers in the state. Recent data shows that the number of law enforcement officers in Washington has fallen to its lowest level on record and the lowest in the country.

Reichert also wants to focus on combating gangs and cartels that bring dangerous drugs into the country and improving the fight against domestic violence and human trafficking.

“I’ve spent my entire career protecting women,” Reichert said. “I grew up in a family with domestic violence. As a child, I protected my mother and two sisters from domestic violence and abuse at home.”

The need to protect the vulnerable led him to a career and life in law enforcement. Ultimately, he became the lead detective and hunted down Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer.

“I collected the bodies of little girls and young women for nine years and never gave up on this case.”

Reichert says the same tenacity that got Ridgeway to court led him to a career in Congress, and now the will to defy the odds and become the first Republican governor in Washington state in more than 40 years.

“It is a strenuous process, but I, like the entire team, have been committed to solving the Ridgway case over the years. That’s just who I am.”

Reichert is also a self-proclaimed exercise addict and has been training and lifting weights for decades. At 74, he looks the same as he did 20 years ago. He says he has the energy and knowledge to serve as governor if voters do something they haven't done since the '80s: elect a Republican.

“I want to strive to show people that government can be a servant. Government should serve the people and I hear that across the state. Everyone feels like we're getting orders from above at Olympia, and they” “I'm tired of it. They want to be part of the solution, they don’t want to be dictated to and they want a government that is honest.”

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