SEATTLE — Today, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Democratic Party candidate for Governor of Washington, released the following statement on President Joe Biden’s announcement that he is dropping his re-election campaign:
Like many Washingtonians, I am grateful that President Joe Biden has decided to suspend his campaign for re-election. After many weeks of discussion and speculation, Democrats can now return to focusing on the imperative of defeating the Donald Trump / JD Vance Republican ticket. I know President Biden feels this way as well, and while the decision was clearly difficult for him and his family, it was the right decision to make– for America, and for his legacy as an outstanding President.
I am excited that Democrats can now rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris, who can unify our party and country. Vice President Harris was Attorney General of California when I was first elected Washington’s Attorney General. She is smart, hardworking, and tough. She’ll never back down to powerful interests – and she genuinely cares about people. She is a prosecutor who has put away criminals. She’s exactly the fighter we need to take on a convicted felon in November and win, and I am proud to offer her my endorsement and support.
In his first four years, Donald Trump did real damage to our country and values. A second term, backed by a Supreme Court taking unprecedented steps to empower him, will be even worse. This is why I am determined to do whatever is in my power to defeat him, to protect our freedoms and defend our democracy.
We owe President Biden, a good man and patriot, our deepest thanks for defeating Trump in 2020. He has been a strong and principled leader, ushering America through the challenge of pandemic recovery, enacting transformational investments in American manufacturing and infrastructure jobs, and leaving us in a stronger position domestically and on the world stage. He preserved and protected our democracy at a critical moment in our nation’s history and restored civility to the White House.
The stakes for our country are extraordinarily high. We have a lot of work to do, but I am confident we will prevail in November because a majority of Washingtonians and Americans of all political stripes are ready to cast their ballots – in record numbers – to defend our democracy and protect our freedoms.
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