MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Happy Friday, Washington Democrats!
Programming Note
The Message from the Chair will be on hiatus next week. We will return to our regular weekly schedule on Friday, March 13!
Working for Washington
This last weekend, I was in Cheney at Eastern Washington University where DNC Chair Ken Martin joined us virtually to discuss how we’re bringing more of our Washington to the other Washington’s efforts to elect Democrats. Part of that means organizing everywhere to build Democratic power and participation. We had a great crowd of students and Democratic activists from the region to share their wisdom. I am so proud to help the DNC bring the winning strategies and tactics that have propelled WA Dems to success by focusing on authentic candidates and popular policies that improve peoples’ lives.
On Tuesday, I joined KING5 and KIRO7 to give reactions to Trump’s State of the Union which as we expected, was filled with lies and papered over the corruption and chaos he has spread throughout our nation. You can watch those interviews here and here.
I also joined Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu for a Know Your Rights training for the Democratic National Committee’s AAPI Caucus. It was a great opportunity to educate voters and activists about the rights every single one of us possess to protest peacefully and to live our lives without interference from the government.
Democrats Fight Back
U.S. Senator Patty Murray didn’t hold back against Trump on Tuesday. She hosted her own address before the State of the Union, speaking for nearly 20 minutes and declaring “Right now, under President Trump, the state of our union is diminished.” You can watch her speech here. U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Emily Randall, Adam Smith, Rick Larsen, and Marilyn Strickland all boycotted the State of the Union while U.S. Representative Kim Schrier invited a doctor from her district to highlight the administration’s destructive health policies while U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell invited Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to criticize Trump’s efforts to disrupt our elections systems.
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, in an interview with CNN, called out Trump’s outright racism and his “anti-Black” words, policies, and actions. The whole interview is worth a watch. Thank you, Congresswoman Strickland for standing up for Washington families and everyone who has been victimized by this President.
U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal joined many other Democratic congressmembers to host a People’s State of the Union. She focused on protecting our most vulnerable and calling out the rapacious greed of the Epstein class who are driving up prices on rent, healthcare, and groceries while enjoying record-breaking tax cuts from Trump’s lackeys in the House Republican caucus. You can watch a clip of her remarks here.
The DNC’s Blue Print also did a fact check of Trump’s lies during the State of the Union. You can read it here. Blue Print is a great resource for organizing and messaging. I encourage everyone to sign up or read past editions of it here.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) led by Washington’s own U.S. Representative Suzan DelBene has named 12 challengers to its initial “Red to Blue” list. Many of these seats are in districts carried by Trump and will receive extra resources and strategic guidance to ensure we flip these seats and take back the U.S. House of Representatives.
Local elections matter. We saw that firsthand in Tukwila this week, as the City Council there voted unanimously to adopt a temporary ban on new correctional and detention centers in the city as a response to ICE seeking to expand its footprint in our state.
In Republicans behaving badly news: potentially tens of thousands of sign-ins to oppose the Millionaires Tax working its way through the legislature were fraudulent. How do we know? Because people like State Senator Victoria Hunt (a sponsor of the legislation in the State Senate) and labor leaders who have actively campaigned for the legislation had their names registered in opposition in the dead of night. The Attorney General’s office is reviewing this complaint while the state legislature continues to do the good work of enacting fixes to our broken 100-year old tax code.
- Rally, Protest, and Gather
- Anytime – Sign up to receive ICE Mobilization Alerts for communities in Washington state. Sign up here.
- Sunday, March 8 – Pramila Jayapal’s Special Edition Resistance Lab: Boycott the Billionaires, 11AM-1:30PM, virtual. Register here.
- Sunday, March 8 – Seattle Women’s March and Rally, 11AM, Cal Anderson Park in Seattle. Sign up here.
- Saturday, March 14 – Democrats of Pacific County’s 98th Annual Crab Feed, 3PM-9PM. South Bend, WA. Purchase tickets here.
- Saturday, March 28 – No Kings Rally. Sign up for updates on times and locations.
- Send us details on rallies and protests in your communities
- Email details to press@wa-democrats.org
- Donate
- If you would like to see less Washington D.C. and more Washington state in your community, please DONATE to The Real Washington Fund – our rapid response account to counter MAGA’s chaos with real organizing, real solutions, and real results. We can’t do the work of holding Republicans accountable without your support.
- Follow us on social media
DEMOCRATS IN THE NEWS
In Washington state, Democrats consider breaking a taboo: Taxing the rich,
The New York Times
Epstein files are missing records about woman who made claim against Trump,
The Seattle Times
How the 2026 Washington state legislative session is going,
CascadePBS
Trump says he will increase his new global tariffs to 15%,
BBC
Washington Democratic leaders unveil state budget plans amid escalating costs,
The Spokesman-Review
‘Everyone was expecting this’: State officials react to tariff decision as questions linger,
The Spokesman-Review
‘It’s way beyond Ukraine’: Seattle rally precedes Russian invasion anniversary,
The Seattle Times
Sen. Cantwell, WA elections officials slam Trump-backed voter ID bill,
The Seattle Times
‘Breath of relief,’ WA business owner says on SCOTUS ruling on Trump tariffs,
Fox13
WHAT I’M WATCHING
The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis, Citrini Research
What started as a thought experiment about the downstream impacts of artificial intelligence has become a horror story under the guise of an investor newsletter. Investors took note, leading to a Wall Street Journal article describing its impact. I encourage everyone to read the whole thing for a look at the potential future facing our nation. Whichever political party (and I’m working to make sure it’s the Democratic Party) can put forward a practical and innovative response to the coming A.I. disruptions in our economy and society, will be successful at the ballot box.
Thanks for all you do,
Chair Shasti Conrad
Washington State Democratic Party
In 2024, Washington Democrats led the nation with sweeping electoral victories. Now, we’re fighting to elect a supermajority in Olympia, protect our swing seats in the House, and stand up to MAGA extremism across the country.
WA Dems empowers grassroots organizing and elects Democrats up and down the ballot. Your support fuels our fight to stop Trump and defend our democracy.
We sincerely thank you for your help and support.
Washington State Democrats PO Box 4027 Seattle, WA 98194 United States