SEATTLE (AP) - Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has endorsed Ingrid Anderson, a progressive candidate challenging state Sen. Mark Mullet for his seat in November.
Anderson narrowly beat Mullet in the top-two primary results in August. Mullet assumed office in 2012.
Inslee said he endorsed Anderson, a Democrat, in part due to her positions on climate change.
“I’ve been clear about the urgent need to adopt cleaner fuels and build a clean energy economy here in Washington State,” said Inslee in his endorsement statement. “Ingrid shares this sense of urgency, as a matter of public health and environmental protection. We need her voice - and her vote - to take overdue action to protect our health and climate.”
Inslee has prioritized environmental policies throughout his tenure as governor. Mullet said that he has supported many of those bills, including sponsoring a House version of a law that eventually passed.
Still, Inslee’s office earlier this year considered publicly calling out Mullet and four other Democratic state senators by name for not supporting two proposals sought by the governor, including a clean-fuels standard, The Seattle Times reported.
Four years ago, Mullet narrowly kept his seat by beating a Republican challenger by less than one percent of the vote. The district has since shifted, with voters electing Democrats to what had been the district’s two Republican-held House seats in 2018.
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