Washington governor to make Iowa debut

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) will headline a fundraiser in Iowa next month, stoking speculation that he will consider a presidential bid in 2020.

Inslee, a former member of Congress serving his second term as governor, will headline the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Hall of Fame Celebration on June 23 in Altoona.

The Iowa Democratic Party cited Inslee’s progressive record in its announcement. Under Inslee, Washington state “has been a beacon of progress for the nation, expanding access to voting rights, taking steps to reduce gun violence, providing paid sick and the best paid family leave policies in the nation and raising the minimum wage,” the party said.

{mosads}Inslee joins a long list of potential presidential candidates who have headed to Iowa in recent months. Iowa Starting Line, a local political blog that tracks visits from potential candidates, has tallied visits by 15 current and former elected officials, ranging from Reps. John Delaney (D-Md.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) to Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) and Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Inslee, the head of the Democratic Governors Association, is ostensibly going to highlight the party’s gubernatorial candidates in Iowa. Three leading contenders — businessman Fred Hubbell (D), labor leader Cathy Glasson (D) and state Sen. Nate Boulton (D) — are vying for the right to face off against Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) in November.

But the chatter around Inslee’s potential national ambitions began long ago, with rumors he was under consideration to serve in Hillary Clinton’s Cabinet had she won the White House. Inslee, who wrote a book on climate change and alternative energy while he was in Congress, has presented alternative energy projects as a jobs opportunity for rural parts of Washington state, a message he told The Hill could anchor a future run for an unspecified office.

“I’m excited about this message,” Inslee said in an interview last year. “It worked in my race, it’s now worked twice. So I’m very happy to run on this issue.”