Though Congressman Jay Inslee has been the lone Democrat in next year’s Washington State governor’s race, according to Seattle liberal blog Publicola he could have company.

Though Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon (D) is currently running for re-election in a very tight race with Republican challenger Mike Hope, he may already be looking ahead to run for higher office. From the Publicola post:

An attendee at a fundraiser for Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon this week (Democrat Reardon is running for reelection) says Reardon said he is considering jumping into the governor’s race early next year. …

Reardon would not confirm or deny the rumor, telling PubliCola he’s “flattered that my name keeps coming up, but all I’m thinking about right now is continuing the work we’re doing to bring jobs to Snohomish County.”

Still engaged in a campaign against Hope, could the two-term county executive be fondling the lever on his ejection seat during a tough race for re-election? The fight to win his own office may be more challenging than he anticipated. Hope earned almost 48% in the primary compared to the Republican challenger facing Reardon in 2007 who finished with a paltry 30% of the vote.

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[photo credit: WSDOT]