Who is Dave Reichert?

With the retirement of Jay Inslee, Washington’s incumbent governor of eleven years, we have what is shaping up to be a rather, well, boring gubernatorial election. While the rural areas of Washington lean right, Seattle is so densely populated and leans so far Democratic that the entire state usually elects Democrats as senators, governors, and presidents. 

During the primary election for governor (the election that decides which two candidates face off in the general election), Bob Ferguson, the attorney general for Washington, a Democrat, and Dave Reichert, a Republican and former congressman and police officer, cleaned up, with Ferguson receiving 884,268 votes and Reichert receiving 541,533. And while it’s nearly certain that our attorney general will win, given his over-300,000-vote lead, it’s worth learning about Dave Reichert and his stances on policy. 

After all, we live in a left-leaning part of Washington, so the potential of being trapped in a bubble is high. Also, Reichert was a congressman for Washington’s 8th district, meaning that many Lakeside families fell under his jurisdiction - and may have even voted for him. In other words, Reichert represents a portion of our community that is not often discussed, and given our current ultra-polarized state, it’s important to learn about views that may contradict our own.

In the early 1970s, Reichert began his career as a police officer, joining the King County Sheriff’s Office. The case that landed him in the news involved a serial killer; he managed to finally close it in the 2000s by catching the man, but not before establishing strong connections with the community, even ending up a pallbearer at a victim’s funeral. 

His newfound popularity carried him to the U.S. House, where he represented the eighth congressional district, which includes Bellevue, Kirkland, and Sammamish - places many Lakesiders hail from. During that time, he often voted like many typical Republicans but did occasionally deviate from the GOP, because, after all, he did represent a moderate district.

After the election of Trump, Reichert, interestingly enough, retired from Congress, likely because of his issues with Trump’s stances on healthcare and immigration. It was expected that Reichert was retiring from politics, but just when we thought his career was over, he launched a surprise bid for governor.

Now 74, Reichert is doing his best to highlight his policing career on his website, appealing to the scores of Washingtonians frustrated by crime. His plan includes being harder on juvenile crime - a strategy that will be especially detrimental to youth of color. However, he also appears committed to reducing rates of recidivism (committing another crime and returning to jail after being released), though his strategy is rather vague: “Identify & fully fund alternative programs showing results in lowering recidivism.”

Additionally, he wants to address the cost of living, another worry for many Americans, with gas and grocery prices being sky-high. His plan seems to center around lowering gas prices and reverting back to non-renewable energy - since renewable energy can increase costs.

His website does not offer plans for issues such as gun control or abortion; overall, his most specific plans all involve the economy and crime - which, admittedly, he has the most experience in.

To most Washingtonians, he has his drawbacks, but it is also worth noting that he would create some benefits as well. And while his winning is unlikely, he has created a mold that many Republicans, disillusioned with Trump-ism and desiring a return to old-school Republicanism, might follow, possibly leading to more and more states with mixed, less polarized governments - and maybe even a country as a whole that is more willing to listen to the “other side.”