Gov. Jay Inslee is sounding more and more like a presidential candidate. An official announcement is expected in the coming days, but Inslee has already been making his case to the national media. KNKX Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick talked with Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins about the prospect of Inslee running for president.
Inslee was in Washington, D.C., over the weekend for national Democratic Governors Association meetings. “He was sounding closer and closer to the announcement,” Jenkins said. “We’re expecting an announcement this week.”
That was reinforced in Inslee’s interview on the CBS television program “Face The Nation.”
“What we’re seeing right now, and I’ve been pleased by what I’ve been hearing across the country, that people do want a president that will act on a real emergency, which is climate change,” the governor said in the interview Sunday.
Inslee also told MSNBC that he believes the moment is right, Jenkins noted, so all indications point to an announcement very soon.
When the announcement comes, Inslee will be the first sitting governor to enter the race. “We’ll be watching to see how much money he can raise,” Jenkins said, stressing that fundraising in early days of the campaign is key.
Jenkins also said he and others will monitor his travel schedule and who he hires to run the campaign.
“He’s clearly running behind the pack,” Jenkins said. “But he thinks he, perhaps, has a path here.”
Jenkins stressed that Inslee’s signature issue is climate change. And although he’s counting on that to set him apart from other candidates, he’ll also face renewed scrutiny amid this elevated political effort.
Listen to the full conversation above.
