Spokane, Washington — Because of “deceptive and dishonest events,” former U.S. Representative and King County Sheriff Dave Reichert is taking his name out of the running for governor through the Republican convention process.
“In the past 24 hours, it has become clear that some in the Washington State Republican Party are in such disarray that they’re considering making no endorsement for governor,” Reichert said in a planned statement. “This, after they continually changed rules, broke rules, and twisted the process to accomplish their desired outcome.”
Delegates from the Republican Party meet at the State Convention to set the party’s platform, choose leadership, and choose national delegates and presidential candidates.
The delegates at the State Convention will now have to back candidates for governor, U.S. Senate, Congress, and other state posts, according to the website for the convention. Candidates who get backed by the Washington State Republican Party and our partner organizations get “the full support, resources, and infrastructure of the party.”
From April 18–20, the State Convention takes place.
Reichert said that he had several chances to speak, but they all came and went while the members talked about what to do about the endorsement process after problems with candidate Semi Bird were found.
After learning that Bird had pleaded guilty to a minor crime more than 30 years ago, delegates talked about taking him out of the running. Something he didn’t say during the election process.
Bird was charged with bank theft in 1991 for lying on a credit application. He put in an application using his father’s social security number and ID. He was given two years of probation, $25,000 in fines, and had to pay the money back.
Bird said the crime was true and that it was “embarrassing.”
Jim Walsh, the chair of the state GOP, said that Bird could have been disqualified because he “was not forthcoming to the candidate committee disclosing information that could be damaging to the party.”
Bird says that he was only told to list any criminal convictions from the last 15 years. However, the charge against him was for a misdemeanor that happened more than 30 years ago.
According to Reichert, the process turned into a yelling and screaming fight in the conference. He also said that it was no longer “fair,” “impartial,” or “honest.”
Around the end, Reichert said he had to decide if he still wanted to be a part of the process that had “turned into chaos.”
Bob Ferguson, the attorney general and a Democrat running for governor, said, “chaotic is an understatement.”
A little bit of it has been watched by me. “But one thing is for sure: I think Dave Reichert will be their candidate in November, no matter who they support. He’s against abortion, marriage equality, and repealing Obamacare dozens of times,” Ferguson said. “I just think that his values are very different from those of most people in Washington, D.C.” “I can’t wait to fight him in November.”
“As we’ve been saying for months, the 2024 WAGOP State Convention is a real convention,” Walsh said in a statement. “Not planned and random. This is what the members have to say. They’re in charge. They decide what to do. The rules are changed. And they decide what to do. Some people really enjoy how rough and tumble politics can be. Some people don’t. We want to win in November.”
Reichert said he’s still trying to get the support of Republicans across the state, even though he’s not trying to get a vote through the convention process.
Reichert first said he would run for governor as a Republican in June 2023.
Reichert is best known for finding out who killed the Black Hills people. He was in charge of the investigation that led to Gary Ridgway’s arrest and sentence.
Reichert then ran for Congress and won several times, which has been hard for Republicans in western Washington seats.
The Republican candidate is one of many well-known people running for governor in 2024. This is because Gov. Jay Inslee said last year that he would not run for a fourth term. Democratic candidates and state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and state Sen. Mark Mullet are two of the most well-known names on the list.
