WA Gov. Inslee responds to election results: ‘Their leadership will be crucial’

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington Governor Jay Inslee gave a statement cheering the results of local elections, and promised Washington will remain defiant as the Trump administration prepares to move back into the Oval Office.

"We are well positioned to defend Washingtonians from the egregious conduct of this new President. We have the personnel in place, we have the statues in place, and I’m confident we will do as much as humanly possible to protect Washingtonians going forward," said Inslee during a media availability on Wednesday.

Donald Trump won a landslide victory Tuesday night, carrying most of the swing states to win the U.S. presidential election.

"I know that there are a lot of people who are worried about their personal futures and their families’ futures in light of some of the notorious statements by Donald Trump. I know they’re worried about that today. And I’m glad that our state has already adopted multiple measures to protect our state citizens," said the governor.

As expected, Washington was a blue wall, which even extended to many of the local races. According to AP projections, Bob Ferguson won the race for Washington governor, Nick Brown won the race for attorney general, Steve Hobbs won Secretary of State, and nearly all the incumbent Democrat congress members kept their seats — with some races like the 3rd congressional district remaining neck-and-neck.

"Washingtonians appeared, for the first time since Franklin Roosevelt was president, to have chosen all Democrats in our statewide elected official positions. This is an extraordinary statement of confidence and the direction of the state of Washington," said Inslee. "I think the fact that we now apparently have elected all Democrats to statewide positions is an affirmation that our state is gearing in the right direction according to large majorities of the state of Washington."

Wednesday, after the dust had settled from election day, Inslee issued the following statement:

"I would like to congratulate all of our state elected leaders. For the first time in generations, voters picked a full slate of Democrats to lead our nine statewide elected offices. Their leadership will be more crucial than ever during the next four years, and we couldn’t ask for a better team to protect Washington values. Bob Ferguson is a sharp public servant who will be an excellent governor. Nick Brown will be a dynamic attorney general. Washingtonians have only seen a preview of Nick’s potential as a fighter for justice.

"Last night, Washingtonians sent an unequivocal message that they want action on pollution and climate change. Washingtonians also made clear they want to preserve the equity of our tax system with the capital gains tax on the super wealthy. When they or a loved one need long-term care, they want the WA Cares Act to be there for them.

"I want to thank Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for their service to our country. Many are understandably worried about the outcome of the presidential election, but Washingtonians know we’ve been here before. Washington has strong statutes that protect our values, and when Trump messed with our state we sued him 97 times – only losing two cases on the merits while he was in office. Our state and others formed enduring alliances for progress during Trump’s first term in office, and we will continue to push the needle of progress for a more perfect union."

For local measures, the governor said he is continuing to monitor the results of Initiative 2066 that would ensure access to natural gas.

"There is concern about that initiative," said Inslee. "Questions have been raised whether this was a defective initiative. It really was not fair to voters because it did not adequately describe the hat it really was. And I think there is a very good chance that the court will find that it was defective by violating the single subject rule and therefore will not be actually going into effect. But we’ll see."

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