Ferguson and Reichert will debate twice in September

Gubernatorial candidates Bob Ferguson and Dave Reichert will face off in two, hour-long debates this month.

Ferguson, the Democratic state attorney general and Reichert, a Republican former congressman, will meet Sept. 10 in Seattle and then eight days later in Spokane. These will be the first and possibly only, opportunities for the state’s nearly five million voters to see and hear the candidates discuss their policies side by side ahead of the Nov. 5 election. 

Ferguson, a former member of the King County Council, was first elected attorney general in 2012. He is concluding his third term. Reichert, a former King County sheriff, was elected to Washington’s 8th Congressional District in 2004 and served seven terms.

In the Aug. 6 primary, Ferguson received 44.9% of the vote and Reichert collected 27.5%. There were 28 candidates.

Here is what we know about each upcoming event:

The first debate is 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10 at KING 5 studio in Seattle. It follows the presidential debate. There will be no audience. Sponsors are KING 5 in Seattle, KREM 2 in Spokane, The Seattle Times and El Sol de Yakima.

Watch it on KING 5 and KREM 2. The four media sponsors, along with the Yakima Herald, will stream it live on their respective websites.

Both candidates will make opening and closing statements. Several topics will be addressed. Each candidate will get 75 seconds to answer a primary question on a topic. This will be followed by a period of discussion during which answers to questions will be limited to 45 seconds.

Asking questions will be Jim Brunner of The Seattle Times, Mark Hanrahan of KREM 2 News and Gloria Ibañez of El Sol de Yakima. KING 5 News anchor Joyce Taylor will serve as moderator.

The second debate is 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the Fox Theater in Spokane. Attendance is limited to attendees of the Association of Washington Business policy summit. It is sponsored by the Association of Washington Business and Greater Spokane Inc.

KHQ-TV in Spokane will broadcast live and stream at nonstoplocal.com. KOMO News in Seattle will televise live. The debate will air at a later date on TVW and C-SPAN, organizers said.

Each candidate will have one-minute opening and closing statements. In each round, one candidate will be given 90 seconds to answer a question, their opponent will get one minute to respond and then the first person will have 30 seconds to offer a rebuttal. There also will be an opportunity for Reichert and Ferguson to ask each other one question.

Asking questions will be KHQ news anchors Sean Owsley and Kalae Chock and Austin Jenkins, staff writer for Pluribus News and host of TVW’s “Inside Olympia.”

First published Sept. 3, 2024. Copyright 2024 Washington State Standard. Reprinted with permission. More at: washingtonstatestandard.com.