Gov. ‘The Little Guy’ lacks guts to debate Rep. Jim Walsh

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 10, 2026

I understand why Gov. Bob Ferguson would lash out at Washington Republican Party Chairman Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen.

The Grays Harbor County lawmaker has made it his job to call out Ferguson and the ruling Democrats as the state continues to bleed through a hopelessly bloated budget while passing a series of historic tax increases and gimmicks to “balance the books.”

“The Little Guy,” as Walsh has called Ferguson on many occasions, must have let the mixture of truth and taunts get to him.

“Jim, you’re a big talker, but we all know you won’t have the guts to actually take me on,” Ferguson posted on social media following a Seattle Red outlining Walsh’s potential 2028 run for governor.

In other words, the Little Guy was Big Mad.

Questioning an opponent’s internal fortitude is one thing. Backing up those words with meaningful action is another.

And the Little Guy does not want the smoke, apparently. Because Walsh responded with a fair offer to debate the matters at hand in an open, uncontrolled setting.

“Bob: November 2028 is 29 months away. In the meantime, I challenge you to a series of monthly debates, each focused on a single public policy topic relevant to Washington state,” Walsh wrote on social media. “One hour. Once a month, through November 2028. No notes. No staff. A different Washington-based journalist can moderate each debate. The journalist picks the single topic. No advanced notice to either of us. Not just a one-and-run event. A steady, regular debate series about fixing what’s broken in our state. Let’s give the people of Washington the chance to hear how two very different people approach issues that affect their lives. Do you have the guts to accept?”

Ferguson’s response? Silence.

It’s easier to question the courage of others than to exhibit the quality personally.

As has been reported, Ferguson is not a leader who is willing to face scrutiny — especially any kind he can’t have a measure of control over.

He hides from the press corps. He demands a sort of fealty from other state offices, requiring his office’s approval of news releases in an unprecedented turn to micro-managing from the governor’s office, one that has slowed productivity and elicited complaints from state workers.

Ferguson wants to hide from a narrative of his own creation: out-of-control spending and a far-left contingent of lawmakers who have powered the Democrats’ ride off the budgetary rails for years.

In his inaugural address, after three terms for Gov. Jay Inslee, Ferguson outright stated there was a need for reform in state government. But he caved almost immediately to the whims of tax-first, ask-questions-later Democrats who have led the state into such precarious waters.

Ferguson has backed an illegal income tax, put his name on the largest tax increase in state history and still almost certainly faces a deficit of billions of dollars heading into the next legislative session.

It’s a rare tough spot in a Democrat-friendly state for Ferguson, who is increasingly being asked to address concerns that have included a dressing down from former Democrat Gov. Christine Gregoire.

“No, I really don’t,” Gregoire recently said when asked if state Democrat leaders understand how their policies affect employers and economic growth.

She added: “How many people from either of the Democratic caucuses have come from a business past? If you haven’t come from it, you don’t know it, you don’t understand it.”

Gov. Ferguson has a mess to account for.

He doesn’t want to do that.

So he thought taking a distant jab at Walsh on social media could provide a welcome distraction.

Instead, with Walsh’s quick offer for a series of debates and silence from Ferguson, the governor has been exposed for a lack of the very quality he mocked Walsh for.

The governor’s budget record is indefensible.

And Ferguson simply doesn’t have the guts to debate Walsh.

Chad Taylor is publisher and co-owner of The Chronicle headquartered in Centralia. He can be reached at chad@chronline.com.