SEATTLE — King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, a longtime Republican, says he's now a Democrat.
Satterberg confirmed the switch in an interview with The Seattle Times on Tuesday. He's been elected to three terms as a Republican, and he was the chief of staff to late King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng — also a moderate Republican — for nearly two decades before that.
But Satterberg is facing his first contested re-election campaign against Democratic public defender Daron Morris, and Satterberg says he didn't want anyone confusing him for a supporter of President Donald Trump.
He told the newspaper that his views are much more closely aligned with the Democratic Party than the Republican Party, noting that he supports abortion rights and believes drug addiction should be treated as a public health issue.
The position is officially nonpartisan.
