2 other Bob Fergusons withdraw from WA governor’s race

The state’s longtime attorney general is now the lone Bob Ferguson in the race for governor after two people with the same name withdrew from the race Monday.

Washington’s candidate filing week ended in chaos — and more than a few jokes on social media — when the field of candidates for governor increased by two more Bob Fergusons.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the Democratic front-runner in the race, on Monday urged the two others to withdraw from the race by Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline or else risk felony charges.

Flanked by supporters at Kerry Park on Queen Anne on Monday morning, Ferguson said his campaign had sent cease-and-desist letters to the other Bob Fergusons.

State statute says that it is a felony for a person to file for an election with a surname similar to a person who has already filed for the same office “and whose political reputation is widely known, with intent to confuse and mislead the electors by capitalizing on the public reputation of the candidate who had previously filed.”

By Monday evening, both other Bobs had formally withdrawn, according to the Secretary of State’s candidate filing website.

A statement posted on the website Neighbors for Bob Ferguson PAC, attributed to Robert Ferguson, an Army veteran in Graham, said the candidate was “faced with harassment and legal action if I did not withdraw from the race.”

“I was publicly labeled a ‘threat to democracy’ by another candidate and his supporters,” the undated statement said. “In a typical hypocritical fashion, this other candidate’s actions are the true threat to democracy. I believe this shows that the other candidate fears he has not effectively done enough to stand out, or that he thinks voters are not competent enough to think for themselves.”

The statement went on to say it was unfair to his family and supporters to deal with “bullish behavior by someone that is too afraid to stand toe-to-toe with me.”

That campaign said via email that the statement was posted about midday on Monday.

Ferguson — the attorney general — said that he didn’t want the other two Bobs to be prosecuted and that he held “no ill will” toward them. He said he suspected they did not know the “legal implications” of their actions at the time they filed for election. But if they didn’t withdraw, he said, his campaign would ask local prosecutors to step in.

“If they do not do the right thing, and they are surely aware of the legal implications, we will have no choice but to take more serious steps and ask local prosecutors to do the right thing and pursue further action,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson said that his campaign would ask the secretary of state to include his and the other Fergusons’ occupations on the ballot, that the other Fergusons be referred to as “Robert,” and that it include their middle initial or middle name.

He also said the campaign would request for the Fergusons to be listed together on the ballot. The other two Fergusons had been slated to appear second and third on the ballot, with the attorney general in slot number 13. Altogether there were 30 candidates who filed to run for governor.

Candidates had until 5 p.m. Monday to withdraw.

Conservative activist Glen Morgan, who recruited the other Bobs to run for governor, told The Seattle Times on Friday that the Bobs had wanted to “clear their name.”

Washington’s primary is Aug. 6.

Claire Withycombe: 206-464-2578 or cwithycombe@seattletimes.com ; Claire Withycombe is a Seattle Times staff reporter covering state government.