Super Unpopular Governor To Propose All Cuts Budget And His Party Should Abandon Him For It

Tuesday marked the official start to what will certainly be a long, bloody battle over the state’s budget. In the space of a few hours, the State legislature’s lone socialist hard launched a proposal for a new, $2 billion payroll tax on the state’s largest corporations and the Governor finally admitted — what advocates had long feared — that he is writing a cuts-only budget. 

Tuesday’s dueling proposals cleanly set up lawmakers with the age-old question of whether to balance the budget by taxing the rich or slashing programs Washingtonians depend on. Last year, Democrats talked a big game about doing the former, but ultimately succumbed to the pressure of corporate lobbyists and their power-tripping new Governor, approving a “mixed bag” revenue package along with billions in cuts. But if Democrat lawmakers up for re-election read the tea leaves, they may find it in their best interest to tax the wealthy instead of burden working people.

In a Tuesday news conference, Ferguson told reporters that he plans to release a budget next month, balancing it solely with cuts without any additional revenue. That means no new sales taxes, property taxes —- he even vowed to veto those if the legislature passed them. 

But it also means he’s not writing in any of the many progressive options such as a B&O tax hike, a statewide payroll tax, or the wealth tax. He told reporters that many of these revenue streams won’t generate money fast enough to fill the multi-billion dollar shortfall the State faces in 2026.

But that’s not stopping progressive lawmakers from proposing new revenue options. 

Just before Ferguson’s press conference, advocates gathered on the steps on the Capitol Building to officially announce their campaign to win a statewide payroll tax that will generate $2 billion to fill the devastating cuts from President Donald Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill. The bill is almost identical to one that Sen. Rebecca Saldaña introduced the last session that died in committee. 

It's still unclear how much juice the payroll tax will have, but Sen. Noel Frame is still hellbent on getting her wealth tax across the finish line. In the final hours of the previous session, the Senate passed Frame’s wealth tax, which would levy 0.5% tax on intangible assets that would generate about $2 billion. It's in the House’s hands now. 

And as the Washington State Standard reported, the Senate Democrats are also considering a flat income tax of 9.9% on adjusted gross income above $1 million. Such a tax would generate an estimated $3 billion from the wealthiest 20,000 households in the state. 

Ferguson successfully squashed the big flashy progressive revenue proposals of last year by publicly scolding the progressive Democrats and threatening vetoes. But he didn’t exactly escape that session with rave reviews.

According to a poll from Cascade PBS/Elway, Ferguson earned the lowest first-six-months job rating of any governor since Democratic Gov. Mike Lowry in 1993. And he's pissing off the wrong people. From January to April 2025, positive opinions among Democrats about Ferguson governor fell from 65% to 47%, according to a DHM Research poll. His favorability rose from 15% to 35% among Republicans in the same window. 

By comparison, taxing the rich is a very popular idea! Polling from last year shows that 66% of Washingtonians support a wealth tax. Among Democrats the idea is even more popular with a whopping 86% approval rate.

Lawmakers should heed the warning of the polling. If they want to win favor with Democrats for their re-election bid, they should break with Ferguson and corporate interests. And as seen from New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamandi’s success, they should break with them loudly.