No one has announced their intentions to run for Governor of Washington once Democrats inevitably nominate Jay Inslee to be the next President of the United States of America in 2020. But an IVR survey commissioned by CN4 consultants and conducted by Chism Strategies shows Attorney General Bob Ferguson well ahead of King County executive Dow Constantine and public lands commissioner Hilary Franz, both of whom have been rumored to be exploring runs.
According to the poll, 24.6 percent of Washingtonians would vote for Ferg if the election were today. Around 6.2 percent would vote for Constantine, and 1.8 percent would vote for Franz. Republican Bill Bryant, however, is leading the pack with 46.3 percent, with 21.1 percent of people saying they were unsure.
People who said they "always or mostly vote for Democrats" support Ferguson at 45 percent, Constantine at 14 percent, Bryant at 7 percent, and Franz at 5 percent. "Undecided" sat at 29 percent.
The IVR survey, which is basically a robocall, contacted "400 likely 2020 Washington primary election voters" two weekends ago. Its margin of error is +/- 4.9 percent.
The poll is essentially meaningless, especially since Gov. Jay Inslee—who hasn't ruled out running for a third term—isn't included. He probably won't run again, but you never know. However, it does tell us that Washingtonians don't really know who Dow Constantine is. (Sorry, Dow! Maybe do more protests?) And they sure as hell don't know who Hillary Franz is.
But all of that is likely to change in a few months as candidates start to announce their intentions. If Franz and Constantine want to become serious contenders, they'll have the steepest hills to climb, hardest rows to hoe, tallest lamps to light, fattest pigs to grease, etc. etc. etc.
