Former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert has filed campaign paperwork to run for Washington governor in 2024.
If Reichert follows through and runs for the open seat, he would instantly become the most prominent Republican in a field that is still taking shape, more than a year before the primary election.
Reichert, 72, registered his campaign with the state Public Disclosure Commission on Friday. He has not yet filed financial disclosure statements or reported any fundraising.
"Dave Reichert is spending time listening to the concerns of families, law enforcement leaders, business owners and elected officials all across our state," his campaign manager Jeff Harvey said in an email. "He will be available for media interviews once he officially announces his run for Governor."
Reichert served seven terms in Congress, representing Washington's 8th Congressional District, which spans the Cascade Mountains, covering King County suburbs as well as rural Kittitas and Chelan counties. He was first elected in 2004, winning the open seat after the retirement of longtime Rep. Jennifer Dunn.
The district was held by Republicans since its creation in 1983 up to Reichert's retirement in 2019. The seat has been held by Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier ever since.
A moderate Republican, Reichert was critical of President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign and during the two years they were both in office. He declined to endorse Trump in 2016 and said that he cast a write-in vote for president that year for Trump's running mate, Mike Pence.
He ultimately voted against the Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, after voting for prior versions. He was a supporter of trade deals, including the Trans Pacific Partnership, which Trump scrapped after taking office.
He also voted mostly against abortion rights on an issue that has only gained prominence since he left office.
Before running for Congress, Reichert was King County sheriff for eight years. A longtime deputy, he was appointed sheriff in 1997 and ran unopposed for reelection in 2001.
Reichert has worked as a lobbyist since leaving Congress, representing Thermo Fisher Scientific, a Bothell-based pharmaceutical and health products company.
Over the years, he has repeatedly hinted at possible runs for governor or U.S. senator, but has never launched a campaign.
Twenty-two people, so far, have filed paperwork with the PDC, the state's campaign finance watchdog, to run for governor in 2024.
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee has announced he is not running.
Leading Democratic candidates include Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz and state Sen. Mark Mullet. The most-prominent Republicans so far are Semi Bird, a military veteran and Richland School Board member, and Raul Garcia, a Yakima doctor who also ran in 2020.
