Meet Peter Ferguson, running for first cat of Washington state

When it comes to mascots and political parties, we typically think of the donkey for Democrats.

But this year, CATS have stolen the show.

We see photos of Tim Walz holding his cat Honey (an absolute unit), yard signs that say Cats for Kamala … and here in Seattle, a cat who may be more popular than the Democratic candidate for governor.

His name is Peter Ferguson. He's a 7-year-old brown and white cat who lives in northeast Seattle. He spends his days lounging with his family and hunting gnats at dusk. His dad is Bob Ferguson, and he's the state attorney general and Democratic gubernatorial candidate.

This summer, Peter became a low-key Instagram star, surpassing dad Bob Ferguson in followers. (They are now roughly equal.)

Ferguson's 16-year-old twins Jack and Katie were the brains behind Peter’s Instagram account. For years, the twins begged their parents for a cat. When they turned 13, their parents relented.

Bob Ferguson was less enthused about getting a cat. He didn’t feel they could handle another living being at their house given their busy lives. But their mom Colleen sided with the twins – and found a cat online. His name was Peter – for Peter Criss of the band KISS.

His former owners were KISS superfans.

They were fans of someone else, too: Donald Trump – Bob Ferguson’s archnemesis. Ferguson’s office filed 99 lawsuits against Trump when he was president.

On the wall of the house where Peter used to live was a signed Trump picture.

Home with their new kitty, Jack and Katie did what so many cat owners spend their days doing … taking pictures of their fur-baby. “He’s a pretty handsome cat and we take pictures of him being cute,” said Jack Ferguson.

“We just wanted to post pictures of him,” added Katie Ferguson.

One evening at a sushi restaurant – a treat for good grades – the twins talked about making an Instagram account for Peter. Their mom Colleen said, what if they connected it to the campaign? It could be a wholesome way to involve the kids.

Turns out, the timing was prescient.

Peter Ferguson’s account launched just before a clip of JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, maligning “childless cat ladies,” began circulating.

Vance said: "A bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too."

Those words galvanized cat mom nation and launched the dominant meme of the election cycle.

Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris … while holding her fluffy kitty. She signed her social media post “childless cat lady.”

Cats for Kamala signs popped up on lawns across America.

“I would never in my life cross a cat lady,” said Meagan Hatcher-Mays, co-host of Text Me Back, the political podcast that also features pets, Hatcher-Mays. She’s an attorney and pundit based in D.C. She also happens to be from Seattle.

“They are buying custom portraits of their cats on Etsy, so we know they have expendable income,” she said. “Now you've made them angry. You've talked poorly about their son, who is a cat.”

Hatcher-Mays said pets make their politician owners seem more approachable – they humanize them.

Think Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Scottish Terrier. Fala was so popular he has a statue in Washington, D.C.

Richard Nixon had Checkers.

Bill Clinton had a cat named Socks.

“A cat just simply means you're human,” said Cathy Allen, a political consultant in Washington state.

Ferguson is a hard-charging attorney general, hellbent on the issues, and very serious, she said. “A cat brings the heart and soul into any kind of hard government official kind of perspective.”

Ferguson understands that Peter softens his edges.

He mentions Peter in his stump speech and at backyard fundraisers. Neighbors even introduce their cats to him.

“Those cats are usually pretty friendly so I take selfies with them if they’re cooperative,” he said.

It’s like kissing babies, 2024 cat edition. If Ferguson wins the election, Peter won’t join him – at least not immediately. He’ll stay in Seattle – at least until Jack and Katie graduate from high school.