SEATTLE, Wash., May 13, 2024—Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, joined by former King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, held a press conference in Seattle, Monday, May 13, addressing the two other “Bob Fergusons” that filed for the Governor race last week and threatened legal action if they do not drop out of the race by 5 p.m. today.
Article Update 5:05 p.m., May 13, 2024: The other two candidates named “Bob Ferguson” have withdrawn from the gubernatorial race as of 4:55 p.m. on Monday after Ag Bob Ferguson’s campaign threaten legal action against them in a presser.
Last Friday, just prior to the filing deadline, and four days after Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed for Governor, two additional candidates named “Bob Ferguson” filed for Governor as Democrats. This was also on the same day that President Joe Biden was in Seattle for a fundraiser.
Dan Satterberg, former King County Prosecuting Attorney from 2007 through 2022 (also during the time Ferguson served on the King County Council) joined Ferguson at the podium Monday to share his remarks.
“I put a suit and tie on today because I’m really offended at what’s happened. I’ve known of this Bob Ferguson for 20 years, as a [King County] council member, as Attorney General. He worked very hard to develop a reputation for public integrity and accomplishment,” said Satterberg. “And yet if something doesn’t happen today Washington voters will have a one out of three chance to vote for the real Bob Ferguson. We all kind of laughed at it, it was a prank, it was a meme. But it’s not funny and it’s also a crime.”
The crime in question is a violation of statute RCW 29A.84.320 dealing with duplicate, nonexistent and non-true names which has been a state of Washington law for the last 80 years — originally passing in 1943. The penalty for violating this state law is a class B felony resulting in a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. It is unclear what specifically about the law was violated.
Both Satterberg and Ferguson called upon the other Bob Fergusons to withdraw their name from candidacy by the end of the day Monday. If the Fergusons refuse, Satterberg noted, they will be forced to call upon law enforcement (most likely Thurston County where the Secretary of State is located), and the Thurston County Prosecutor to uphold the law.
Lastly, Satterberg called upon both parties, Republican and Democrat alike, in Washington state to denounce the conduct.
“These are fake candidates. The idea was to dilute support for the real candidate it’s not okay and it’s wrong and it’s a crime,” said Satterberg. “We can’t let this go. We can’t just normalize this and say that’s okay, but it isn’t. It’s a vandalism to the ballot and against the integrity of the election and a theft of the real Bob Ferguson and his name.”
If AG Ferguson were to pursue legal action, the legal process could take months. Malicious intent by the candidates would also need to be proven in order to win. It is unknown if his campaign will contest the Primary Election results if he were to lose the race.
Attorney General Ferguson was attending his daughter’s track meet on Friday when he first heard the news that two other Bob Ferguson’s were filing for gubernatorial candidacy at the eleventh hour of the filing deadline.
Ferguson blamed “anti-democracy Republicans” for the prank who he said, “orchestrated a deceptive and illegal scheme to deceive voters and illegally influence the election.”
Ferguson singled out investigative citizen journalist Glen Morgan for “publicly [taking] credit for the attack on the electoral process.” He accused Morgan of recruiting two other men, sharing the name Bob Ferguson, to file for Governor as Democrats. However, Ferguson discovered over the weekend that one of these gentlemen has almost completely voted Republican in the presidential primaries.
He also called out Republican gubernatorial opponent Dave Reichert for his silence on the matter adding that the Republican party, in general, is in a “very sad state.”
Glen Morgan was recently awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award by the Washington State Republican Party. He has been in staunch opposition to Ferguson’s campaign on his show and social media, often comparing Ferguson’s ideals to George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel 1984.
Morgan has been successful in exposing numerous Public Disclosure Campaign Finance and Ethics violations since 2016 and has won over 74 lawsuits. This includes lawsuits filed by the Washington State Attorney General resulting in 21 judgements based on Morgan’s reporting.
Morgan publicly acknowledged that he raised the money for the two other Ferguson’s filing fees and even told the press he attempted to convince more Bob Ferguson’s statewide to join.
Prior to Monday’s presser by the AG Ferguson Campaign, on Saturday, May 11, Morgan threatened to counter-sue Ferguson if he decides to pursue legal action.
“Lest there be any doubt or ambiguity, I promise aggressive and extensive legal action against any individuals or organizations involved in current efforts to subvert the 2024 elections in our state – including our fumbling AG Ferguson, former Governor Christine Gregoire, their Billionaire Donor friends, or anyone else in their orbit who attempts to destroy the democratic voting process in Washington State through election interference, voter intimidation, bribery, threats of violence, acts of sponsored violence, or other corrupt tactics they are planning to intimidate me or the candidates I am helping run for political office,” Morgan took to Facebook to write. “Their corruption, connections, and resources do not place them above the law or accountability for their actions.”
One of the Bob Ferguson’s who filed, Robert Arthur Ferguson, lives in Yakima, while the other, Robert Benjamin Ferguson, is located in Graham. Both filed late Friday, literally within minutes of each other and using the same UPS office in Olympia. Both Ferguson’s also have the same campaign manager—Glen Morgan.
Both AG Ferguson and Satterberg repeated Monday that they believe these two other “Bob” Fergusons were “duped” into filing by Morgan, most likely unaware that it was against the law.
“Their goal is clear: to mislead voters and split my supporters three ways to depress my vote total and keep me from moving into the top two in the general election,” said Ferguson. “I want to be very clear. This is not an attack on me, this is an attack on our election system. It’s an attack on our democracy. It’s an attack on the people of the state of Washington to have a clear choice and to know who they’re voting for.”
Ferguson’s campaign delivered cease and desist letters to the homes of both of these individuals on Sunday, May 12, urging them both to withdraw by the deadline of 5 p.m., Monday, May 13. If they do not withdraw by Monday evening’s deadline they could face criminal prosecution.
The Attorney General said that he would prefer the two individuals withdraw rather than be prosecuted adding that he holds “no ill will” towards them at Monday’s conference.
Ferguson’s campaign also sent a letter to Secretary of State Steve Hobbs’ office on Monday to take specific steps to minimize voter confusion in the case the other Ferguson’s refuse to withdraw. The Secretary of State’s office has a Tuesday deadline to present the upcoming ballot as it would appear to the public.
In that letter Ferguson’s campaign requested the SOS to include the candidate’s occupations next to the three Bob Fergusons, which is a way called out in current state law to minimize confusion. Ferguson’s campaign also requested that the SOS list the candidates as Robert Ferguson, and not Bob, with their middle initials. Lastly, Ferguson’s campaign is requesting that the two other Bob Fergusons appear after his name on the ballot.
“Instances of people filing for office with names similar to well-known officeholders go back nearly a century in Washington and other states,” said Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. “That is nothing new. We know how to address such issues as elections officials. Voters deserve good-faith candidates who are running on the strength of their ideas to make Washington a better place to live and work, not people who pay a filing fee just to manipulate elections. Washington’s long history of free and fair elections must be protected and preserved in every year and campaign cycle.”
Currently, the Attorney General would appear 13th on the ballot while the other Bob Fergusons would appear second and third, respectively. Statistically he said that most voters don’t get through the first few names without making a decision, especially on a list of about 30 candidates.
“I hope these two people do the right thing and I hope Dave Reichert can find it within himself to have the most level of decency and fair play,” said Ferguson. “I understand we have our political differences, but I believed, at a certain level, he was a certain type of man – but he has revealed himself to be very different and it’s sad.”
There is no evidence to support that Republican gubernatorial candidates Dave Reichert nor Semi Bird had anything to do with registering the two other candidates named Bob Ferguson to run for Washington state governor.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Mullet released the following statement on X regarding the Three-Bobs: “The two Bobs should withdraw before the 5:00pm deadline today. We don’t need anything to confuse voters on the ballot. This is an illegal sideshow that does nothing to improve our electoral process.”
Editor’s Notes: Article updated at 5:05 p.m., May 13, 2024 to reflect the withdrawal of the two candidates named “Bob Ferguson.”
Author: Kienan Briscoe
One Response
will the real boob fergason please just go away. and take his tuna fish with him. im retired on a pension. i have heart issues. i have to eat a lot of tuna fish. i didnt get a check from him. but i know he sent a lot of checks to people on welfare.