Inslee scores first million-dollar ad buy of 2020 presidential election

Money and TV ads are following Washington Governor Jay Inslee on the campaign trail in Iowa.

KUOW political reporter Austin Jenkins told Morning Edition host Angela King that Inslee’s trip on Tuesday is his first big foray in an early presidential caucus state.

Austin Jenkins: This is really his first opportunity now officially as a candidate to interact with voters. Over the weekend he was doing a lot of TV appearances but this is what it's all about: Going to cold Iowa early in the year -- a year early in this case -- and really talking to these voters who don't know who he is.

What is interesting about that -- and this has just been announced this morning -- is the super PAC that has been set up to support his endeavor. It's called Act Now for Climate. It has announced this morning that it's going to spend about a million dollars over the coming weeks on ads on behalf of Jay Inslee, beginning in Iowa today, the Hill reporting this morning that this is the first million-dollar ad buy of the 2020 presidential nominating process.

Angela King: He just recently announced he's raised $1 million just from his campaign efforts thus far.

Austin Jenkins: Correct and it's good news for him because he's coming into this race much less well-known. There was a Des Moines Register poll several months ago that showed him as just barely a blip.

He can only get to so many places, he can only talk to so many voters especially in a one-day trip. To be on TV, have his face and his name out there — the independent entity doing this is very helpful to him.

Angela King: Let's get back to Olympia right now. The Democrats control both houses. Are they dealing the governor any wins he can brag about while he is on the campaign trail?

Austin Jenkins: Absolutely.

Even as he was announcing his campaign for president on Friday the state Senate was passing his clean electricity bill. He's got this package of climate-related bills. They're all moving along.

There's clearly a kind of momentum for them because Democrats have new and larger majorities this year in the state Legislature. The governor has changed his strategy of moving away from the idea of pricing carbon to what he calls his scattershot or buckshot approach.

But yes absolutely he is looking for wins on climate.