SEATTLE — An exclusive KING 5 News poll suggests incumbent Gov. Jay Inslee will make it through the primary election, although there isn’t a clear Republican frontrunner yet.
In a survey of likely primary voters, 55% said they would vote for Inslee, a Democrat. Another 9% said they would vote for Loren Culp, 8% would vote for Tim Eyman and 6% planned to vote for Joshua Freed, all of whom are Republicans. About 12% of voters are still undecided.
Among Republican voters, the poll suggests Culp, the police chief of Republic, Wash., may have the most favor with 24% of Republicans polled saying they would vote for him. However, Eyman was a close second with 20% of GOP voters picking him. Around 20% of Republicans also said they were still undecided.
In head-to-head match-ups between Inslee and several Republican challengers, the poll suggests Inslee holds a sizable lead. Inslee garnered 61% of the poll against Culp and Fortunato, who won 32%. The governor captured 60% against Freed, who got 31%, and Garcia, who got 32%. Inslee fared the best (62%) when facing off against just Tim Eyman (31%).
Lieutenant Governor
The poll suggests former U.S. Rep. Denny Heck is the frontrunner for the open seat of lieutenant governor. About 34% of likely primary voters said they would vote for Heck, who announced his retirement from the U.S. House in December.
Voters polled were split between Democratic State Sen. Marko Liias and Republican business leader Joseph Brumbles with each receiving 14% favorability. About 10% of polled voters plan to vote for Republican Attorney Ann Davison Sattler.
Attorney General
About 52% of voters polled planned to vote for incumbent Bob Ferguson. Republican Matt Larkin could be Ferguson’s most likely challenger in the general election with 13% of primary voters planning to vote for him.
Another 22% are still undecided.