MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Hello Democrats and happy Friday of Election Week!
While we’re still watching final results come in here in Washington State, I want to take a moment to celebrate what a tremendous week this has been for Democrats across the U.S. We fought back and won against the toxic influence of Republicans and achieved historic victories nationwide thanks to hard work and perseverance!
- In Ohio – voters fought back against last year’s catastrophic Dobbs decision by overwhelmingly voting to codify the right to choose in their state constitution.
- In Virginia – Democrats won back control of the House of Delegates and held onto their narrow majority in the State Senate – a firm referendum on the rightward shift seen since their tremendous victories in 2020. Now Glenn Youngkin has to govern with a Democratic State Legislature!
- In New Jersey, Republicans came out of the gate thinking they had an opportunity to gain ground and Democrats beat them at every single juncture, expanding strong legislative majorities and perhaps most notably, flipping the deep red 30th District, which Donald Trump won by 35% in 2020.
- In PA – Voters in Philadelphia elected Democrat Cherelle Parker to the Mayor’s office, the first black woman to ever hold the role.
- In RI – Gabe Amo won his race for Congress, becoming the first African American elected to the House from Rhode Island. Gabe is a fellow Obama alum, former colleague, and dear friend!
- In MS – the Governor’s race may not have panned out as we hoped, but voters did elect Fabian Nelson to the legislature. He will be the first openly gay man to serve in Jackson and surely not the last (now LA is the only state that has never elected an openly gay legislator – we’ll work tirelessly to ensure they get with the program soon)!
- And in VA – Danica Roem, who made history as the first trans legislator elected in the United States when she won office in 2017, won her race to be the nation’s second trans state Senator, following in the path Sarah McBroom paved in Delaware in 2020.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg – the Democratic enthusiasm we’re seeing in Washington State and across the country is truly off the charts and I’ve never been prouder to be a Democrat than I am today.
I also wanted to deliver a resounding thank you to 6th CD Congressman Derek Kilmer, who announced yesterday he will not be running for re-election in 2024, for his years of tremendous service to the people of Washington State and to our Party.
We wish Congressman Kilmer all the best in his next chapter – we will miss him tremendously, and you can be sure we will work tirelessly to ensure our eventual Democratic nominee wins in CD 6!
Hello Democrats and happy Friday!
Can you believe we are just 4 days out from Election Day? That means we have just over 100 hours left to do everything in our power to get out the Democratic vote statewide.
ELECTION RESULTS UPDATE
Now that we’re a few days past the General Election, it’s a great time to assess where we stand in many of the most critical races statewide.
We’ll cover the highlights – but remember you can always check on the details via the Secretary of State’s website here: https://results.vote.wa.gov/
At this point in the game, we don’t expect any more major ballot drops, which means most of the results here should hold. With that being said, more votes will be counted in the days to come and we will be back in touch with further updates and analysis once final results are certified later this month.
As of now, we’re looking at a total voter turnout of 31.3% and projecting final turnout closer to 40% or a bit higher. This puts us roughly on pace with where we were in 2019 and 2021, meaning voter engagement has held steady cycle to cycle.
In terms of actual results, we haven’t seen a ton of change since election night. That said, we did want to provide a quick summary of notable races:
- In Spokane – Lisa Brown and Betsy Wilkerson still hold strong leads of 51.3% and 52.8% in their races for Mayor and City Council president! Kitty Klitzke and Paul Dillon have commanding leads of 59.4% and 53.3% respectively too, suggesting likely paths to victory. Lindsey Shaw is still down substantially and looks unlikely to carry the day.
- In Pierce County – Jamie Smith still faces an uphill battle, holding 44.8% of the vote, but it’s not over until it’s over and we are working hard to make sure every vote is counted! We’re so excited that Jamika Scott and Olgy Diaz (former WA Dems staff) have secured victory on the Tacoma City Council!
- In Snohomish County – Susanna Johnson appears poised for victory over her MAGA opponent in the Sheriff’s race, with 51.5% of total votes
- In SW Washington – Most of our targeted Democratic candidates are coming up ahead in school board and other municipal elections, with Democratic stalwart Don Orange bringing in a particularly strong 68.8% in his race for re-election for Port of Vancouver. Democratic enthusiasm is alive and well in Clark County and we are ready to utilize every ounce of momentum in next year’s contest for CD 3!
- And In Central WA – the fight for Yakima City Council is looking like a tough one for Dulce Gutierrez who is currently down substantially, but in Sunnyside we have two bright spots with Keren Vazquez and Julie Hart both ahead by over 100 votes. While this may not sound like much, races in this city frequently come down to margins in the single digits – these are huge victories for our Democrats!
At the end of the day we’re proud to say that most of our Democratic candidates are holding fast. We’ll keep you apprised of any major changes, but we think we have a solid picture of where races are landing across Washington.
Once more – I want to say a massive thank you to every single person who helped get out the vote leading up to election day. Whether you helped friends and family complete and turn in their ballots, made calls in support of terrific candidates, or pounded the pavement and knocked on doors to ensure every vote was counted, your work made a huge difference and we couldn’t have achieved what we did without you!
WORKING FOR WASHINGTON
I was so excited to join the Spokane County Democrats for Election Night this past Tuesday – they sure know how to put on a Party! I was so inspired to see hundreds of Democrats show up and bring the excitement and energy for soon-to-be mayor (I hope we can drop the “soon-to-be” ASAP) Lisa Brown and so many other great Democrats!
I’ll be taking a short break from most statewide travel for the remainder of the year – to rest and recharge in advance of what is sure to be a packed 2024. But I look forward to visiting Democrats everywhere in Washington next year. Chances are, I’ll be at a meeting near you in the coming months, so keep an eye on your local party’s calendar!
DEMOCRATS IN THE NEWS
Abortion Rights Fuel Big Democratic Wins, and Hopes for 2024
Election results from Tuesday showed that Democrats, independents and even some moderate Republicans can coalesce around the issue.
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear reelected to second term in Kentucky, overcoming state’s GOP dominance
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear won reelection to a second term Tuesday, notching another significant statewide victory in an increasingly red state that could serve as a model for other Democrats on how to thrive politically heading into next year’s defining presidential election.
3 winners and 1 loser from Election Day 2023
Democrats had a good night. So did abortion rights. Glenn Youngkin, not so much.
Keep in touch, stay engaged, and as always, thank you for all you do!
With gratitude,
Chair Shasti Conrad Washington State Democratic Party
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