Tonight, King County Democrats will consider who to endorse among the six Democratic candidates vying for the seat in the 1st Congressional District.
As Publicola noted last week, the county party’s executive board recommends endorsing only Suzan DelBene and Darcy Burner.
But “Seattle’s News Elixir” detailed Monday that a third hopeful, Laura Ruderman, is going to push for one too, which could certainly make attending tonight’s proceedings more interesting than sitting at home watching college basketball.
Far less drama broke out Saturday when Snohomish County Democrats gathered to consider endorsements in the race.
Their decision: Endorse ‘em all.
That means DelBene, Burner, Ruderman, Roger Goodman, Darshan Rauniyar and Steve Hobbs can all campaign as an endorsed candidate of the Snohomish County Democratic Party.
Bill Phillips, chairman of the county party, explained an endorsement is simply intended to let voters know which of the people running are viewed as qualified Democratic candidates.
It is not intended to tell voters which Democratic candidate is the preferred choice of the county party, he said. That would amount to a nomination which won’t be happening in this race, he said.
If you’re wondering how this transpired, the answer is Hobbs.
As precinct committee officers and party members began discussing the race, Hobbs made a motion to endorse everyone. It passed 34-33. Had it not passed, participants would likely have voted on an endorsement for each candidates separately.
Why did he do it? Hobbs said he didn’t see any reason for the county party not to give its seal of approval to everyone at this stage.
“We’re all Democrats,” he said.
One other note on the race: The six Democratic candidates and Larry Ishmael, an Independent, sat together for a forum on labor-related issues in Everett last week. You can watch it on TVW tonight at 7 or view the webcast here.
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