It seemed strange to some that so soon after the election Jay Inslee was back on the fundraising treadmill. After all, it is widely assumed this was his last campaign, given how fellow Democrats King County Executive Dow Constantine and Attorney General Bob Ferguson are positioning themselves to run for Governor in 2020.
And it wasn’t simply a gratuitous single shot at Donald Trump that Inslee engaged in. No, our “green” governor has not been shy about his need to lead the fight against the Trump administration – even though he has even less impact on federal issues now than when he was in Congress for 15 years – sending out four emails in less than a week, including these last two.
However, a story today about Inslee moving up in the ranks at the Democrat Governors Association (DGA) might provide a clue. Undoubtedly the DGA, which put more than $5 million dollars into electing Inslee in 2012 and 2016 – washing the money through his Our Washington SuperPAC – will need Inslee to show some fundraising chops over the next two years.
According to the Seattle Times, “At the DGA’s meeting in Louisiana on Monday, Inslee was elected vice chair and chair-elect, meaning he will be chair in 2018, the group announced.
So, Inslee is getting started now, with the state’s mandated fundraising freeze going into effect on Saturday. One has to wonder, though, if Jay has cleared it with the Public Disclosure Commission on whether he can raise money for the DGA during the upcoming very-long legislative session freeze, given how much of the DGA’s money has been finding its way back into Washington State?
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