SEATTLE — Jay Inslee has been considering a presidential run for months. He dodged reporters’ questions about it today. Sources tell KIRO-7 the announcement will come Friday.
When we saw Inslee on KIRO-7 Sunday, he dropped a big hint when he responded to a question from CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan, the moderator of "Face the Nation."
“Are you expecting (to announce his decision) this week?” she asked.
“It could be as soon as that. And what we are seeing right now, and I've - I've been pleased by what I've been hearing across the country, that people do want a president that will act on a real emergency which is climate change," Inslee responded.
Later he told NBC that he has made up his mind.
Inslee has pointed to huge and deadly wildfires, to the summer smoke that has shrouded cities like Seattle and to weather extremes like the recent snowstorms that have struck here and nationwide.
He told us in an interview last month that American voters are ready for a president who will make fighting climate change the nation's top priority.
“People I do believe are ready, there is actually a poll in the primary state of Iowa saying this is the second most important thing people are looking for in a candidate because people have had a great awakening about the perils of this and the promise of clean energy,” Inslee responded.
Anticipating Inslee's announcement, we spoke recently with political strategist Frank Greer. He's worked on six previous residential campaigns-- including Barack Obama and both Bill and Hillary Clinton.
“He basically will be able to set himself apart I think because he understands the issue (climate change) better than anyone else.”
It's an issue Inslee was pushing even before he served in Congress in the 90s and early 2000s
“And then he's been a leading voice on the danger posed by climate change and the solutions that are positive,” Greer said.
On Friday, Inslee plans to enter an already crowded field of better-known Democrats.
But Inslee would be the only governor in the race so far, and voters are often attracted to someone with executive experience.
“Usually every other president has come from being a governor or from the governorship because they know how to run things and the have a record of having accomplished something at the state level,” said Greer.
Multiple sources tell KIRO-7 Inslee will make his announcement Friday morning in Seattle.
They expect the venue and his speech will focus on his signature issue, climate change.
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