Jay Inslee
SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) -- U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, who represents Washington State's 1st Congressional District, reportedly will launch his bid for governor next week.
According to The Seattle Times, Inslee, a Democrat, will make an official announcement Monday morning.
Inslee was elected to the state Legislature in 1988 and went on to represent the state's 4th Congressional District from 1992 to 1994 and the 1st District since 1999.
Since 2005, Inslee has served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In 2007, he was appointed to the 15-member Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
According to his House webpage, then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in July 2009 asked Inslee to "play a key role" in negotiating a solution to Medicare reimbursement inequities. The compromise, Inslee noted, became part of the federal health care reform legislation that the House passed later that year.
This isn't the first time Inslee has run for governor.
In 1996, he lost the Democratic primary to Gary Locke, who served as governor from 1997 to 2005. Locke is currently the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Inslee could end up facing Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna for the Governor's Office.
McKenna, who launched his campaign earlier this month, has spoke of charting a "new direction" for the state, focusing on job creation, bettering public schools and reforming state government so that it lives within its means.
Inslee earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Washington and his law degree from Williamette University. He and his wife, Trudi, have three grown children.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by e-mail at jessica@legalnewsline.com.