MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Hello Democrats and happy Friday!

The big news this week has been everything around Presidential candidate selection – and so I wanted to share a quick update on what we’ve seen thus far and its implications:

• The Good: Despite not appearing on the ballot, President Biden managed to achieve a decisive victory via write-in votes in the New Hampshire Primary, suggesting there is strong momentum behind his re-election campaign heading into 2024! 
• The Bad: Donald Trump clinched victories in both Iowa and New Hampshire – which means there’s a very narrow unlikely pathway at best for Amb. Nikki Haley, his only remaining competitor.  
• The Ugly: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the Republican field and endorsed Donald Trump. Barring big surprises, a Trump 2024 candidacy is all but assured. While a DeSantis candidacy would have also been disastrous, Trump’s ascendance means many of the loudest voices in the room will be spouting his particularly toxic, hateful brand of MAGA bluster. We must be ready to fight back with everything we’ve got!

It’s looking like another Biden-Trump matchup this November and we must do everything we can to ensure the White House remains in Democratic hands. And the good news is we know how to win! We did it in 2020 and we absolutely must do it again in 2024. The future of our country depends on Democratic victory and we need to work tirelessly and invest every last resource at our disposal to ensure we carry the day this November! 

Areas for Hope: Trump’s total votes in both Iowa and NH were much lower than what he received in 2016 and 2020. Also exit polls from both states, show that there are strong contingents of Never-Trumpers in the Republican Party who are more likely to support Biden than Trump in a head-to-head match up. 

Working for Washington

With January coming to a close, the WA legislative session is in full swing and we are rooting for our powerful Democratic majorities to pass terrific policy! 

This Seattle Times article did a good job of summarizing issues worth watching – and the legislature’s website also offers great tools for tracking bills in progress.

We’ll send more detailed reports on policy victories coming out of Olympia as the session progresses but in the meantime please join me in cheering on our excellent Democratic legislators and keeping our fingers crossed for meaningful, powerful progress on behalf of the people of Washington State! 

Bellingham State Committee Meeting

We’re thrilled to welcome Democratic leaders from across Washington State to our January State Committee Meeting – held in Bellingham this coming weekend! 

It’s always a pleasure to come together with great Democrats and work together to build a better stronger Party. 

I look forward to seeing many of you in the next 48 hours – let’s get energized as we kick off 2024, it’s going to be a BIG year for Democrats!

Save the Date! Grassroots Happy Hour on 2/15 in Olympia!

Democrats are off to a running start in 2024 – but we need your support and investment to launch and scale a massive Coordinated Campaign to help every candidate on the ballot win this November!

We need everyone to get engaged now if we want our best chance at victory – and I wanted to personally invite you to an exciting event we’re building next month to fuel our statewide efforts.

Please join us at Octapas Cafe in Olympia on Thursday, February 15th for a special happy hour with Democratic legislators, Democratic Party leaders, and top Party partners, to discuss the exciting legislative session and all our hard work to support Democrats in 2024!

You can RSVP online here – and please direct all question and sponsorship inquiries to joebarden@wa-democrats.org.

We hope you can make it!

Democrats in the News

WA Legislature considers establishing a new state housing agency

Forty-seven Democrats are pushing a bill through the Washington House to study the creation of a new state agency — a housing department. 

AG Ferguson: Johnson & Johnson to pay nearly $150M over its role fueling opioid epidemic

To avoid trial in Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit, opioid manufacturer and raw material supplier Johnson & Johnson will pay $149.5 million to Washington state over its role fueling the opioid epidemic.

Biden wins the New Hampshire primary after Democrats write him on the ballot

President Biden won the New Hampshire Democratic primary on Tuesday

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Keep in touch, stay engaged, and as always, thank you for all you do!

With gratitude,

Chair Shasti Conrad
Washington State Democratic Party

The work we do today wins elections tomorrow. If you’re ready to elect Democrats in every race and every place in Washington state, invest in our efforts and make a contribution now. 

Want to support our work year round? Join Blue Washington, our monthly giving program! It is the most effective way to help candidates, volunteers, organizers, activists, and staff because it gives us the certainty we need to scale up our program with confidence. Your monthly investment ensures we can defend our strong legislative majorities, flip key congressional seats from red to blue, and fight for progressive values. Help us lead the way to victories at all levels of government today!

Washington State Democrats
PO Box 4027
Seattle, WA 98194
United States