Ferguson leads in fundraising in Washington governor's race

In the race to become Washington's next governor, Democratic Attorney General Bob Ferguson has outraised his closest competitor, Republican Dave Reichert, four times over.

Why it matters: For the first time since 2012, Washington has no incumbent governor running for re-election. But Ferguson's $4.4 million fundraising lead is making the race look less than wide open.

Zoom in: As of this week, Ferguson has raised about $5.6 million for his gubernatorial campaign, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission.

• Reichert, the former congressman and past King County sheriff, has amassed about $1.2 million in contributions.
• State Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah) has raised about $1 million, while Republican Semi Bird has raised roughly $290,000.

Zoom out: Other statewide races aren't looking quite so lopsided in terms of fundraising.

• Democrat Nick Brown, the former U.S. attorney for Western Washington, has raised about $565,000 toward his campaign for attorney general, while state Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) has raised about $538,000.
• A Republican candidate, Pete Serrano, announced his candidacy for attorney general this week and hasn't reported any fundraising yet.

Between the lines: Ferguson and Dhingra are both subject to a fundraising freeze for the next two months while the state Legislature is in session.

• That gives Brown and Reichert additional time to rack up donations — although Reichert's fundraising is unlikely to catch up to Ferguson's in that time frame.

What they're saying: Reichert's campaign didn't respond to a request for comment from Axios on Tuesday.

• Christian Sinderman, a political consultant whose firm is working for both Dhingra and Ferguson's campaigns, told Axios that outside money from independent PACs could play a big role in this year's governor's contest.
• "We're preparing for a competitive, close race," Sinderman said.