WASHINGTON After congressional Democrats faced a backlash over their opposition to a Democratic candidate in Houston, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, said Friday that he didnt expect the DGA to break with its policy of staying neutral in gubernatorial primaries.

I dont see a likelihood that we will change our historic pattern of allowing people to make a choice of a Democratic candidate. Its been quite successful, Inslee said at a Friday news conference alongside Democratic Govs. Tom Wolf (Pa.) and Dan Malloy (Conn.). The governors were announcing a $20 million investment in Democratic gubernatorial bids aimed at electing candidates who can help reverse GOP gerrymandering.

We have very competitive primaries with very highly qualified candidates. And we think thats actually a healthy thing, Inslee added.

But the assembled Democratic governors did not categorically rule out publicly opposing or endorsing a candidate in a Democratic primary.

If theres a nuisance candidate and its clearly intended to be a nuisance candidate, thats a different decision than when its a viable primary, Malloy said.