Opinion: Who’s running for Washington attorney general?

In her weekly column, Nancy Churchill assesses the race for Washington’s attorney general

Nancy Churchill
Dangerous Rhetoric

With incumbent A.G. Bob Ferguson’s decision to run for governor, voters in Washington have an opportunity this year to elect a new attorney general for the first time in 12 years. Three candidates are running for the position.

Democrat Nick Brown is a former U.S. Attorney and has also represented Gov. Jay Insee. Democrat state Senator Manka Dhingra, a radical progressive, is the powerful chair of the Senate Law and Justice Committee. Republican Pete Serrano is the mayor of Pasco and is a former environmental lawyer for the U.S. Department of Energy at Hanford. Serrano also helped found the Silent Majority Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization centered on protecting America’s Constitution.

According to the Political Disclosure Commission, Nick Brown is leading the fundraising for the race with nearly $1.2 million raised. Senator Dhingra has raised nearly $900 thousand. Republican Pete Serrano has raised just over $162 thousand.

As usual with Washington’s jungle primary, the top two vote-getters in the August primary will proceed to the general election. If Republican voters want to have a candidate to vote for in the general election, they will need to help to get out the vote by discussing this race with their friends and neighbors. A donation to the Serrano for AG campaign would also be a very good investment right now, as primary ballots will drop on July 19.

Meet the candidates

The three candidates recently participated in a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters, and listening to the recording is a great way for you to familiarize yourself with these candidates. It’s always helpful to listen to the way that candidates handle questions, especially if you’re not familiar with them.

According to a story by Laurel Demkovich in the Washington State Standard, “All three candidates have experience as attorneys and working with or for the government.” However, that’s where the similarities stop.

“From October 2021 until last year, Brown served as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington. Before that, he was a partner at Pacifica Law Group, where he is still working part-time. He also served as general counsel to Gov. Jay Inslee from 2013 to 2017.” Some pundits have described Brown as “Ferguson 2.0.”

“Dhingra is a senior deputy prosecuting attorney for King County. She has been a state senator representing Redmond since 2017. She currently chairs the Senate Law and Justice Committee and has pushed legislation on firearm restrictions, abortion protections and police accountability.”

Senator Dhingra has used her position as chair on the Law and Justice Committee to block common-sense reforms to the police pursuit problem, by refusing to allow hearings on proposed solutions, even when other Democrats realized that changes were needed. While Brown is not an appealing candidate for conservative voters, Dhingra is considered a far more radically progressive candidate than Brown.

“Serrano is in his second term on the Pasco City Council and serves as mayor. He’s also the former leader of the Franklin County Republican Party. Before that, he was an environmental lawyer for the U.S. Department of Energy at Hanford. In 2021, he helped found the Silent Majority Foundation.” The Silent Majority Foundation has been instrumental in working to defend the Second Amendment and free speech.

Regarding the Second Amendment

During the forum, in answering a question about gun safety, Serrano “said people need the ability to protect themselves and added that the state should continue to prosecute those who obtain guns illegally.”

I think conservative and independent voters will likely agree that having an attorney general who understands and supports the U.S. Constitution would be a big improvement over any radically progressive or Marxist-leaning Democratic candidate.

Brown and Dhingra both want stricter “gun safety” laws which is another way to say they don’t recognize or support your Second Amendment rights.

Regarding public safety

While all the candidates agree public safety is important, each candidate has different priorities.

“Dhingra said her most important criminal justice priorities would be addressing gender-based crimes, such as trafficking or domestic violence.” But Dhingra also stated that her priorities would be different for a potential Trump administration over a potential Biden administration. Dhingra mentioned the need to protect reproductive rights, which are already protected by Washington state law, so the issue of reproductive rights is a bit of a red herring.

“Brown said he wants to see more policies that address the root causes of crime and public safety concerns, like increasing housing and investing more in the state’s education system and early learning.” While improving housing and education are good goals, Brown ignores the problems caused by excess immigration and illegal drugs.

“Serrano said addressing the state’s fentanyl crisis is a priority for him and criticized the Legislature for its recent drug policies, which he characterized as too lenient. He said he wants to ensure that there are felony penalties for distributing illegal drugs.”

“Serrano also emphasized he wants to make sure that police have the power to keep communities safe. ‘They can’t do their job without the backbone of the attorney general’s office,’ he said.”

Vote for law and order, vote for serrano

If you’re a voter who is concerned about the drift away from constitutionally based justice towards a two-tiered system of justice that prosecutes people based on ideological beliefs or political party affiliation, then it’s vital that you spread the word about Pete Serrano for Attorney General and help to get out the vote during the primary voting period starting July 19.

Nancy Churchill is a writer and educator in rural eastern Washington state, and the state committeewoman for the Ferry County Republican Party. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is available on thinkspot, Rumble and Substack.