Jay Inslee 2020 presidential campaign

Inslee announcing his candidacy

On March 1, 2019, Inslee announced his presidential campaign bid at a solar panel provider's warehouse on Mount Baker in Seattle.[13]

On March 11, 2019, Inslee toured homes destroyed by the November 2018 Woolsey Fire, mocking President Donald Trump for suggesting that California could prevent wildfires by raking its forests.[14]

On December 6, 2018, Inslee's Vision PAC reported $112,500 in donations from about two dozen contributors.[10] On February 1, 2019, Vision PAC reported $243,000 in donations from about thirty contributors.[15] A super-PAC called Act Now on Climate was launched on February 21, 2019, in anticipation of Inslee's presidential campaign.[12]

According to Inslee's website, "Jay Inslee will not knowingly accept any contributions from the PACs, executives, or front groups of fossil fuel companies."[16]

At the end of the second quarter, his campaign announced he had raised a total of $5.3 million since the campaign's launch on March 1, with an average donation of just below $32. He had also attracted 85,000 individual donors, as of the end of June.[17]

Inslee speaking to the California Democratic Party State Convention in June 2019

As of May 24, 2019, Inslee secured a place in the Democratic Presidential Debates by reaching the threshold of financial contributions from 65,000 individual donors and 1% support in DNC-approved polls needed for inclusion. He was the thirteenth candidate to "double qualify".[18] Inslee subsequently requested that one such debate focus on climate change. In addition to rejecting the proposal, the Democratic National Committee reminded him that attempts to organize a debate privately would violate the exclusivity contract for candidates. This move was protested by Inslee and 53 members of the DNC.[19][20]

On August 21, 2019, during an interview on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, Inslee announced that he would drop out of the race.[21] The next day he announced he would be seeking reelection for a third term as Governor of Washington in the 2020 gubernatorial election.[22]

Inslee made climate change the primary issue of his campaign, saying that it poses a "clear and present danger" to the country and comparing it to a terrorist threat.[23] He strongly desired to transfer the United States away from the use of fossil fuels and towards the use of renewable energy.[24]

On May 3, 2019, Inslee unveiled his "100% Clean Energy for America Plan", proposing zero-emission, renewable, and 100% clean energy nationwide by 2035.[25] This plan was later adopted by Elizabeth Warren.[26]

On May 16, 2019, Inslee unveiled his "An Evergreen Economy for America plan", with proposals involving investing roughly $9 trillion into jobs, clean energy, and modern infrastructure, in order to create 8 million jobs over the next ten years in the context of a clean energy economy.[27] This plan included raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hour by 2024, pegged to median hourly wage thereafter, as well as introducing national paid sick leave.[28]

Inslee's education plan involved climate change, using the Department of Education to make new investments in STEM to help address the nation's technology concerns. Inslee also called for the retrofitting and upgrade of every U.S. school building within ten years, both to improve overall education infrastructure, and to prepare for the effects of climate change. He also pushed for large investments in mental health programs, universal preschool through age four, and free or reduced college tuition, reflecting the principles of the College Grant Program he implemented in Washington state. He also pushed for more equal access to education for disadvantaged populations, such as undocumented immigrants, DREAMers, and incarcerated persons.[29]