“I think our country needs a Democratic Party to produce a nominee who’s going to really be committed to climate change and defeating climate change and creating a clean energy economic message and clean energy jobs," Gov. Jay Inslee said. | Elaine Thompson/AP Photo Elections Inslee: I’m not ruling out a 2020 run

CHICAGO — Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday said he’s headed to Iowa for the second time this year and is “not ruling out” a 2020 presidential run.

The two-term Washington state governor, visiting Chicago on Monday, told POLITICO he’ll headline an Oct. 14 event in Johnson County, Iowa, with Rep. David Loebsack and take part in two GOTV events between Iowa City and Des Moines. In June, Inslee headlined an Iowa Democratic Party Hall of Fame dinner.


“We’ll have a good candidate in 2020. I’m not ruling out a run,” Inslee told POLITICO in an interview. “I think our country needs a Democratic Party to produce a nominee who’s going to really be committed to climate change and defeating climate change and creating a clean energy economic message and clean energy jobs. I think we’ll need a candidate who will do that. Right now I’m trying to help everybody in 2018.”

Inslee, also the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, holds up climate change as his marquee issue.

While in Chicago, Inslee testified at a hearing involving the Trump administration’s effort to relax coal-fired power plant emission standards. He also met with potential donors and attended an event to benefit gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker.

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Looking at the midterm elections, Inslee said the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court selection process has already grown into a contentious issue in gubernatorial races, particularly in Michigan, Iowa, New Hampshire and Oregon. He also predicted fallout from the Kavanaugh hearings would drive more women to the polls across the country.

“I just feel that walking down the street. People are outraged at their efforts to ram through this candidate who just from his own predilection is a threat to women’s rights on the Supreme Court,” Inslee said. “I think it will have some impact on women and we’re going to see more women voting who cannot condone that type of behavior … That’s an added reason, emotional commitment to go vote.”

Inslee also said Democrats are seeing positive polling in governor’s races in unexpected places — states like South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma and Georgia “where we frankly didn’t anticipate having competitive races and we feel very promising about them,” he said.

“There’s really a reason to be bullish on Democratic races across the country,” Inslee said. “What is brewing is a massive rejection of the Trump anxiety and chaos.”

