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Unless something changes dramatically with the trend of ballots added across Washington state on Wednesday, former U.S. Attorney Nick Brown will be Washington’s next attorney general.
The 47-year-old Democrat was leading Republican candidate Pete Serrano, 43, who is the mayor of Pasco, by more than 319,000 votes Tuesday night.
There are more than 790,000 ballots yet to be tallied, and Serrano had not yet conceded the race by midday Wednesday.
“I’m proud of the campaign I ran and grateful for all the Washingtonians I’ve met along the way. Thank you for your support. Several hundred thousand votes remain to be counted. Let’s see what today holds,” Serrano texted The Center Square late Wednesday morning.
Current state Attorney General Bob Ferguson did not seek reelection, as the Democrat made a successful bid to become the next governor of the state.
Ferguson is leading Republican challenger Dave Reichert by more than 330,000 votes; a wide enough margin to call the contest for Ferguson.
Brown was initially an Army lawyer and was deployed to Iraq in 2005. He later worked as an assistant U.S. attorney, and then joined the office of Gov. Jay Inslee as general counsel. In 2021 Brown was named U.S. attorney for Western Washington after being nominated by President Joe Biden.
Brown’s campaign website notes that “he stood up to Donald Trump and his hateful Muslim ban and oversaw the governor’s work to end the death penalty in our state.”
Serrano built his campaign around the protection of constitutional rights, and addressing crime and public safety.
Serrano’s campaign website notes, “Pete commits to working closely with communities, law enforcement, and policymakers to address the rising crime rates and ensure responsible firearm ownership. His vision includes upholding the constitution while fostering a safe environment for Washingtonians."
The Washington attorney general represents state agencies in court and defends residents' rights.
During Ferguson’s tenure as attorney general, a great deal of time and effort was focused on former President Donald Trump during Trump's first term. Tuesday night, Trump was reelected to serve as the nation's 47th president.
As reported by Democracy Docket, Ferguson’s office “was the first attorney general office to file a lawsuit against the Trump travel ban and he went on to sue the Trump administration almost 100 times, winning almost all of those lawsuits.”
The Democratic Attorneys General Association emailed a statement congratulating Brown.
DAGA “congratulates Washington Attorney General-elect Nick Brown on his historic win, defeating GOP extremist Pete Serrano. Brown’s win is historic as he becomes the first Black statewide elected official in Washington state. He will build upon Governor-elect Bob Ferguson’s legacy of advocating for gun violence prevention, upholding the values of democracy, and defending the civil and fundamental rights and freedoms of all Washingtonians.”
The Center Square reached out to Brown’s campaign for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.