Inslee eyes national climate fight, has struggled at home

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee kicked off his presidential campaign with a call for making the fight against climate change the nation's top priority.

But his track record at home has been mixed. Proposals such as cap-and-trade and a fee on carbon pollution never gained traction in the Legislature. The carbon tax failed twice at the ballot box.

The former Democratic congressman blames the setbacks on oil companies that spent tens of millions of dollars against the most recent ballot measure and Republicans who controlled the Senate for the first five years of his tenure.

Inslee received national attention in 2017 for helping to launch the U.S.