After a hard-fought and high-dollar contest between the Democrats in the race, Republican Pete Serrano and Democrat Nick Brown appeared to be advancing Tuesday in the contest to become the state’s next attorney general.
Brown and Serrano opened a wide lead ahead of Manka Dhingra, a Democratic state senator from Redmond and a former senior deputy King County prosecutor.
Serrano, the mayor of Pasco and the director and general counsel of a legal foundation that has challenged COVID-19 vaccine mandates and certain state gun laws, led with 42% in Tuesday night’s count. Brown, a former U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, had garnered 36%.
Washington’s top-two primary means the candidates with the two highest vote totals, regardless of party, advance to the general election. The early results suggest Democrats split the vote between Brown and Dhingra, who trailed with 22%.
The winner in November will succeed Bob Ferguson, who is running for governor as he winds down his third term as attorney general, and will enter a job perceived as a stepping-stone to higher office. (Former Gov. Christine Gregoire served as attorney general, and former Attorney General Rob McKenna lost a bid for governor to Jay Inslee in 2012.)
“Thank you for your support. We just started tonight,” Serrano said Tuesday night before cheering supporters in Pierce County. “We will come back and we will dismantle everything Bob Ferguson has done.”
“I’m so excited about being the next attorney general,” Brown declared to his supporters at a campaign watch party in downtown Seattle.
Whoever wins the general election will ascend to an office that has broad power to bring lawsuits to enforce civil rights and consumer protection laws. The attorney general can also take high-level and direct actions to address crime, but can’t bring criminal charges unless the office gets a referral from a local prosecutor or the governor.
While Brown and Serrano agree on the severity of the fentanyl crisis, the two candidates diverge strongly on gun issues, with Brown advocating for stronger regulations amid a rise in gun violence and with Serrano fighting recent gun legislation in court.
Brown has touted his experience running the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Washington, his work as legal counsel to Inslee and his service in the U.S. Army as a military lawyer.
Serrano told the crowd Tuesday he would work with the Legislature to make Washington safe and make sure prosecutors can prosecute crimes.
Brown, meanwhile, highlighted differences in his career with Serrano, and said he’s advocated for safer gun control laws and protecting abortion while Serrano “has done the opposite.”
In King County, Brown had a strong lead, with about 48% of the vote, followed by Dhingra with 27% and Serrano at 25%.
In Snohomish County, Serrano led with 41%, followed by Brown at 36% and Dhingra at 23%.
In Pierce County, Serrano led with 46% of the vote, followed by Brown at 32% and Dhingra at 22%.
The Brown and Dhingra campaigns brought in far more money than Serrano’s, with Brown raising about $1.5 million and Dhingra about $1.3 million. Dhingra poured $250,000 of her own money into the campaign in late July — more than Serrano has raised altogether, about $225,000 as of Tuesday.
Dhingra, who emphasized her experience as a local prosecutor, had come under criticism for saying in campaign materials that she was still working at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, then amending her materials to say she was on leave, when the office said she hadn’t worked there since 2021.
At a campaign watch party in Redmond, Dhingra said she was “optimistic that we still have lots more ballots that have to be counted.”
“This is a moment to celebrate, to cheer, to breathe,” she said.
