Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to donors: Send me money or I may lose in 2020

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee takes a photo with A&R Solar workers after announcing his candidacy for President of the United States, Friday, March 1, 2019 at A&R Solar in Mount Baker. He has since dropped out of the race for the White House, and is running for reelection as Governor. y. less Washington State Governor Jay Inslee takes a photo with A&R Solar workers after announcing his candidacy for President of the United States, Friday, March 1, 2019 at A&R Solar in Mount Baker. He has since ... more Photo: Genna Martin Photo: Genna Martin Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to donors: Send me money or I may lose in 2020 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, fresh off the presidential trail, is warning small donors that Republicans could derail his 2020 bid for a third term in the statehouse.

A series of Inslee email blasts, timed to the Sept. 30 campaign reporting deadline, warned that Republicans may at this minute be plotting his downfall. Of the three GOP challengers who have announced, however, none has statewide recognition.

"This race is not in the bag, it's not tied up, it's not certain," Inslee wrote.

The Republicans are looking at a favorable map in 2020, the Governor warned. "In fact, there are only three Democratic incumbents they can take out and I'm one of them."

The Republicans have not elected a Washington governor since 1980. Five successive Democrats -- Booth Gardner, Mike Lowry, Gary Locke, Christine Gregoire and Inslee -- have occupied the Governor's mansion for 35 years.

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Whoever runs next year for the Republicans will face the headwinds of President Trump's unpopularity in the Evergreen State. A pair of GOP luminaries, ex-Gov. Dan Evans and ex-U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, have said they will not vote to reelect the 45th President.

Yet, the state Republican Party is loyal to Trump. On Monday, it posted a fundraising appeal: "Show your support for President Trump by donating today and we will send you a free #impeachthis T-shirt."

Inslee has, however, a tradition of delivering sheriff-is-at-the-door warnings. Fear is a broadly deployed weapon of political emails.

The latest email blitz warns about the Republican Governors Assn.: "They have tons of cash on hand to spend and they know that spending it on this race could upend our campaign," wrote Aisling Kerins, who managed Inslee's unsuccessful campaign for the White House.

Chief fundraiser Tracy Newman chimed in: "The Republican Governors Assn. has the means and the focus to put a Republican in the governor's house next year -- a cool $30 million in the bank helps."

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The RGA did spend $11.9 million on the 2012 Washington governor's race. Accurately put, however, the RGA wasted $11.9 million. It ran cookie-cutter ads, featuring actors, and failed to reference any state issues.

The Democrats have the means and focus to fight back. The party's major interests --- trial lawyers, teachers and unions, environmental groups, Native American tribes and the Democratic Governors Association -- have fueled multi-million-dollar front groups. In 2016, they bashed Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Bryant as a tool of Big Oil.

What Inslee has to fear at the moment is history.

Only one Washington governor -- Republican Dan Evans in 1972 -- has ever won three consecutive terms. One other governor, Arthur Langlie, was elected three times but not consecutively.

Inslee has never enjoyed Dan Evans' sky-high popularity ratings.

With the growth of Puget Sound population centers, however, Washington has moved to the left. It has not elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 25 years. The GOP lost the 8th Congressional District in 2018 after holding the seat since it was established in 1982.