The following remarks were delivered to the Whatcom County Lincoln Day Dinner on March 23, 2024, in Ferndale, Washington.

I struggled with what to talk to you about tonight. 

Well, that’s not true. I didn't struggle with what to talk to you about – I struggled with whether I was brave enough to say what I wanted to say. 

When I'm invited to speak to groups, I don't want to offend anyone or be too controversial. So, I reached out to a few of your fellow party members to ask whether any topics were off limits or wouldn't go over well with the crowd. 

I got some good advice. 

Then I decided to ignore that good advice entirely.

Too much is at stake to be polite. 

As we sit here tonight, we are in the final battle of a war. 

A war that has pit sanity against insanity. 

Pragmatism against idealism. 

A war that has sacrificed the public good, in favor of a twisted idea of progress.

It's a war that began long before I moved here 15 years ago. It started silently and it was mostly waged in the shadows.

Most of us didn't even realize that a war was being fought. We were too caught up in our own lives and our own problems. Besides, things didn't seem so bad, so long as we weren't on the front lines in Seattle.

The battles were small at first, and so were the casualties.  

Then, before we knew it, that war was on our doorsteps – and it was raging out of control.

We thought it would never reach us. And we were wrong. 

Because too many of us sat on the sidelines, one side is no doubt winning the way decisively.

They have won battle after battle after battle. They have spent the past 10 years forcing their way of life and their values and their idea of progress on everyone in their path – with little resistance. 

Until now. 

We are in the final battle.

And they never anticipated that so many people would suddenly join the fight. 

No matter how much damage has been done leading up to this point, everything comes down to this moment. 

This battle will decide whether we have enough fight in us. This battle will determine whether we have what it takes to win, or whether we surrender this state we love to the very ideology that has all but destroyed it. 

In many ways, Bob Ferguson is the final battle.

I believe a Ferguson governorship would be the point of no return. 

It’s not just about Bob Ferguson. It’s about what he represents: complete one-party control of our lives. 

Which is why I have committed to using every ounce of influence I’ve built up and every opportunity at my disposal to make people understand just how dangerous he is – and just how important it is for those of us who understand that, to put petty disagreements and purity tests aside and focus on the difficult task ahead.

To the extent that I have personally strayed from that mission, I apologize. 

You may know that I have endorsed Dave Reichert and am actively campaigning on his behalf. 

But the truth is that I have no loyalty to Dave Reichert. 

I have no loyalty to the Republican Party. 

I have loyalty to my family.

I have loyalty to my husband.

I have loyalty to my neighbors and my friends. 

I have loyalty to this state that I call home.

I have loyalty to our country and to the Constitution. 

And therefore, my loyalty lies with whoever I believe is most likely to be voted into a position to protect those things.

My endorsement of Dave Reichert is nothing more than an assessment of probabilities. 

It’s that simple.

But to be clear, Republicans are blessed to have two candidates willing to lead the side of sanity into this final battle. Two men who have spent their entire lives in service to others. And who willingly put themselves under a grueling spotlight that not a single one of us in this room – myself included – could endure without some of our flaws being illuminated. 

For Dave, that spotlight has led to questions about his commitment to the cause of conservatism. 

For Semi, the spotlight has led to questions about mistakes from his past. 

But let me say clearly: there is not one person in the race for governor who I would not go to battle with against Bob Ferguson. 

For the time being, I will proudly stand side-by-side with Dave and take whatever arrows come my way. I've been called a RINO and even a socialist. A wolf in sheep's clothing. A member of the establishment. Someone who quit her high-paying job in news to tell the truth, a member of the establishment? Give me a break.

Too many people have lost sight of the bigger picture. The bigger battle.

And I am not innocent in this. While I spend most of my time pointing out the policy and personal failures of Bob Ferguson, I have also used up energy dismissing Semi Bird's campaign as not realistic. As a distraction. 

That ends today. 

And if it is Semi Bird who advances in the race for governor, I will stand side-by-side with him if he'll have me. Just as I hope every person in this room would stand side-by-side with Dave.

In fact, if Republicans split the vote in the primary and Democratic State Senator Mark Mullet advances instead, I will knock on doors for him until my legs give out beneath me. 

There's a quote associated with the Apollo 13 mission: "Failure is not an option."

That sounds nice, but failure is an option. Not only is it an option, it’s a distinct possibility. To act otherwise would be foolish.

It's not easy to overturn 40 years of precedent. And it's damn sure not easy if you don't have a united front.  

Not only do all of you in this room need to be united, but you need to bring in people who have never been on your side before. Independents and moderate Democrats.

How do we expect to do that if we're not even on the same page?

The machine that you're up against is immense. It has almost endless funds, a media ecosystem that skews in its favor, and a base that spends more time getting out the vote than complaining about how we vote. And they are more power hungry and determined to win than ever before. 

Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad wrote this a few months ago: "With supermajorities, we can clean up the state constitution. My goal for 2026." 

If there is something more damaging than one-party rule, it’s one-party rule that even a veto can’t rein in. 

And they won't stop there. 

I have every belief that if Bob Ferguson wins in November, and if Democrats strengthen their majorities, they will seek to remove the people's right of referendum and initiative. 

This past year while Let's Go Washington collected signatures in an unprecedented effort to overturn key Democratic policies, the state party used a tip line to encourage harassment, intimidation, and vilification of citizens engaged in the lawful initiative process. 

While that was happening, Democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said nothing about it publicly. Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins said she was "saddened" that so many citizens would dare use their rights under the Constitution to push back against bad policies. 

Initiatives and referendums are the last remaining check people in this state have on Democratic control. We would be foolish not to believe that they will work to get rid of it.

All of that said, let me be very clear.

It might not sound like it, but I have never been more optimistic about an election year in all my time in Washington. 

Truly. 

There is a perfect storm of scenarios that are aligning ahead of November. 

The success of the Let's Go Washington initiatives prove that people across this state and across the political spectrum are waking up. They are starting to understand just how bad one-party rule has been.

Three popular initiatives are heading to the ballot. One to repeal the carbon tax, another to make the long-term care tax optional, and a third to repeal the unconstitutional tax on capital gains. 

At the same time, Democrats were forced to pass three other Republican-backed initiatives into law – which only serves to add credibility to the overall effort. 

Restoring reasonable police pursuits, strengthening parental rights, and codifying "no state income tax" into law will all take effect on June 5.

On top of all that, this legislative session was disastrous for Democrats, despite complete control in the House and Senate. Some of their key priorities failed to gain traction thanks to immense pushback from the public. 

That includes rent control, paying striking workers, and various bills that would have made life easier for violent criminals. 

So, let’s recap: 800,000 voters signed onto initiatives to push back against Democratic policies. Democrats had a horrible session, which was capped off by having to vote three initiatives into law. And now, they're so focused on keeping the other initiatives from passing that they must divide up their war chest and their political capital to do it. 

All of it, leaving a perfect opportunity for Republicans to win the governor's mansion for the first time in 40 years and restore divided government to Washington.

Not for yourselves, not for your party, but for the good of the state. 

To that end, there's one more point I want to make tonight. 

I'm a student of history, and I particularly enjoy reading about President Grant. While history hasn't looked back at his presidency very fondly, there is a lot about him that I respect. 

One is that he didn't seek out power. People believed in him enough to give it to him. 

The second is that he was gracious in victory. 

So, if the day comes and the battle I spoke of is won, we have one important – albeit difficult task – and that is to be gracious in victory. 

To realize that those who let ideology get the best of them and took us down a dark path are still our fellow citizens. Our fellow Washingtonians. For the state to move forward and for us to repair what has been broken, we can't forget that.

General Grant wrote of the Confederacy's defeat:

"I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse."

He was talking, of course, about slavery.

President Grant believed so much in being gracious in victory, that even when the enemy – an enemy that fought for something he detested so much – even when he defeated them, he realized at the end of the day that they would still be his fellow Americans. And that the only way to move the country forward was to treat them as such.

We cannot see our fellow Washingtonians as the enemy, disagree as we may. If we don't find a way to be gracious in victory and focus on moving everyone in this state forward, then we will be standing here 20 years from now, even worse off than we are today. 

So go, fight for what and who you believe in. Even if we’re fighting for different people. But do not let those fights distract from the real battle ahead. The only battle that matters. 

And do not lose sight of what it is that we're fighting for – a government for the People.

We're fighting for this state and every single soul in it. 

And that is the only cause that matters. 

Thank you.