AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Washington state's primaries

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AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Washington state's primaries

2024-08-02 19:57 Last Updated At：20:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — Five months after holding its presidential primaries, Washington state is looking further down the ticket and selecting candidates to compete for federal and state offices in November.

A handful of retirements — most notably those of third-term Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, Democratic Rep. Derek Kilmer and Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers — have injected some excitement into primaries for this left-leaning state.

The governor's race has drawn a crowded field, with 28 candidates, including the state's current attorney general, Bob Ferguson. That figure doesn’t include two additional Democratic candidates also named Bob Ferguson, both recruited by a conservative activist, who withdrew from the ballot shortly after filing. The short-lived gag hasn’t seemed to take the wind out of Attorney General Ferguson’s sails, as he’s raised more than $8.6 million — more than double the next-best funded candidate.

The state’s eight other executive offices are also up this year. Three of them do not include incumbents. Ferguson is leaving the attorney general’s office to seek the governorship, while Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz is running for U.S. House and Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who faced accusations of creating a hostile workplace and calls to resign during his current term, is not running for reelection.

Kilmer represents the state’s 6th Congressional District, which includes the entire Olympia Peninsula and the city of Tacoma. It’s been represented by a Democrat since 1965. Franz, a Democrat, has raised about $1.4 million, with fellow Democrat and state Sen. Emily Randall running second in the money race with around $1 million.

Both could find themselves on the ballot in November, as Washington has a top-two primary system in which all candidates appear on the same ballot regardless of party and the top two finishers advance to the general election.

McMorris Rodgers’ seat, which covers the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, has drawn almost one-dozen candidates. Many have elected experience, including Spokane County treasurer and former state Sen. Michael Baumgartner, the race’s top fundraiser, and state Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber. McMorris Rodgers hasn’t endorsed anyone in the race.

In the southwestern corner, the state’s 3rd Congressional District is likely to be a key race in November. Democratic incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez pulled off an upset in the 2022 midterms, flipping the district. She has vastly outraised her primary challengers, and with her path to November looking fairly straightforward, her seat will be a prime target for Republicans come fall.

Here’s a look at what to expect on Tuesday:

The Washington state primary will be held Tuesday. Polls close at 11 p.m. ET.

The Associated Press will provide coverage for 62 contested races, including all-party primaries for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state executive offices, state Supreme Court and both state legislative chambers.

Any registered voter in Washington may participate in the primary election.

Besides conducting all-party primaries, Washington conducts its elections entirely by mail. All registered voters are sent an absentee ballot, and as long as the ballots are postmarked by election day, they can be counted.

Like other all-mail states, Washington tends to count its vote relatively slowly. In state races, slow vote-counting could delay a call for one or both spots on the November ballot if it’s not clear which candidates will prevail once all votes are tabulated.

For statewide races, the key counties to watch are the populous counties of King, which includes Seattle, and its northern and southern neighbors, Pierce and Snohomish.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

As of July 19, there were 4,831,157 registered voters in Washington. Washington does not register voters by party.

In the 2024 presidential primaries, turnout was 35% of just under 4.9 million registered voters.

Absentee ballots began going out on July 19. As of July 31, more than 608,000 ballots had been cast in the all-party primaries.

In the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, the AP first reported results at 11:02 p.m. ET, or two minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 11:30 p.m. ET with about 71% of total votes counted.

As of Tuesday, there will be 91 days until the November general election.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Two ex-fire chiefs in New York City arrested in corruption scandal

2024-09-17 06:16 Last Updated At：06:22

NEW YORK (AP) — Two former New York City Fire Department chiefs were arrested Monday on charges that they solicited tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to guarantee that the department's fire-safety division gave preferential treatment to some individuals and companies.

Anthony Saccavino, 59, of Manhattan and Brian Cordasco, 49, of Staten Island were arrested on bribery, corruption and false statements charges alleging that they solicited and accepted the bribe payments from at least 2021 through 2023.

They each were freed on $250,000 bail after entering not guilty pleas before a federal judge. Outside the courthouse, neither commented.

The arrests came as multiple ongoing federal investigations swirl around Mayor Eric Adams and his top deputies, including one inquiry that appears at least partly focused on whether the administration sped up fire safety inspections at the Turkish consulate in exchange for illegal contributions.

Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Damian Williams declined to say whether the case against the former fire chiefs was related to “any other investigation we may or may not be doing.” But he put people on notice that his office is continuing to pursue any corruption.

“We are determined to address it from root to branch, and our work is far from done,” he said at a news conference.

Cordasco and Saccavino were former chiefs of the city Fire Department's Bureau of Fire Prevention, which is responsible for regulating the installation of fire safety and suppression systems throughout New York City and ensuring fire safety regulations are obeyed.

Outside the courthouse, attorney Joseph Caldarera called his client, Saccavino, “an American hero,” a 9/11 first responder who had been with the department since 1995. Prosecutors, he said, "got the wrong guy.”

“He vehemently denies all of the allegations against him today,” the lawyer said. “Is this connected to City Hall? Is this connected to Eric Adams? I'm sure that's the next big question. At this time we don't know and we don't have an answer to that question.”

Attorney Frank Rothman, representing Cordasco, told reporters that his client “has been a dedicated firefighter for two decades, serving fearlessly and faithfully.”

He added: “This is indeed a sad and troubling day, but I'm glad he's on his way home.”

While the indictment makes no reference to projects linked to the Turkish government, it does refer to a “City Hall List” allegedly used by the fire department to “track inquiries and requests from City Hall stakeholders” and give priority to those projects. Adams, a Democrat, has previously denied the existence of the priority list.

In a lawsuit filed last year, a former fire chief said the list had grown substantially under Adams, becoming “a mechanism to press the FDNY to permit politically connected developers to cut the inspection line.”

Williams said at Monday's news conference that Cordasco and Saccavino allegedly used the list to "excuse or cover up the way in which they were pressuring other folks to expedite the matters they were being bribed to expedite.”

According to a news release, Saccavino and Cardasco solicited and accepted bribes from a retired firefighter who ran an unsanctioned “expediting” business that promised customers that he could fast-track their plan reviews and inspection dates in exchange for a fee. Williams said the retired firefighter has pleaded guilty to charges in the case.

The trio managed to collect over $190,000 in payments in a scheme they launched after the coronavirus pandemic created a backlog of work for the fire department's fire-safety division, Williams said.

Even as Cordasco allegedly participated in a bribery scheme, he was raising concern internally about the ethics of granting priority to other projects, according to emails obtained last year by The Associated Press and other outlets.

Following a request by City Hall to expedite an inspection at Hudson Yards, a Manhattan mega-development, Cordasco wrote to other chiefs that it was “extremely unfair to the applicants who had been waiting at least eight weeks for their inspections.”

In a statement, Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said the department will “fully cooperate” with the investigation, adding each of his employees has sworn an oath to honest and ethical behavior and that "anything less will not be tolerated.”

Over the weekend, the top legal adviser to Adams abruptly resigned. That came days after the head of the New York Police Department resigned after federal investigators seized his phone.

Associated Press Writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.