What’s with all the criticism? Pollster Stuart Elway and state Sen. Jamie Pedersen think it could be the governor's centrism, which irks both sides.

Voters aren’t too happy with Gov. Bob Ferguson’s first few months as governor. A new Cascade PBS/Elway poll found that the governor has the lowest first-six-month job rating of any Washington governor in more than 30 years.

But it’s not just the governor who got a bad score from voters. The Legislature also got low marks, and the general mood of voters in our state is gloomy.

In this episode, host Sara Bernard and Cascade PBS state politics reporter Laurel Demkovich talk with pollster Stuart Elway about the results of his most recent poll and why voters may be unhappy with Ferguson right now.

Then, Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, talks about his relationship with Ferguson, whom he’s known for decades, and explains why he’s not surprised by Ferguson’s more moderate approach.

Despite multiple requests, Governor Ferguson’s office did not grant us an interview for this series. Read more about Governor Ferguson from reporter Laurel Demkovich here.

--- Credits

Reporter: Laurel Demkovich

Host/Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editor: Ryan Famuliner

Executive producer: Sarah Menzies

Production Manager: Adam Brown

---

Northwest Reports is made possible by listeners like you. If you would like to join the members who help us create this series, go to cascadepbs.org/nwreports. In addition to supporting our journalism, members receive great member benefits, including Cascade PBS Passport, with extended access to an on-demand library of local and PBS favorites.