Washington state Democrats will begin arriving in Vancouver on Friday for a two-day state convention focused on supporting U.S. Sen. Patty Murray in what promises to be a hard-fought reelection campaign — and on electing Democrats up and down the ballot.
More than 900 delegates and guests had registered for the conference as of Tuesday.
The convention will formally nominate Murray and Democratic candidates for Congress at its Saturday session. That’s in contrast to the GOP convention held in Vancouver June 10-12, at which Republican delegates voted not to endorse candidates for federal office or even to conduct a straw poll.
“I think this convention is really about looking at the progress we have made and making sure we can continue moving forward and keep that momentum alive,” said state party spokeswoman Anne Martens.
Most of Friday’s daytime events at the Hilton Vancouver Washington, including meetings of the platform, rules, and executive committees and special interest caucus meetings, will be closed to the public. However, workshops to train candidates in such skills as the use of new media and compliance with campaign disclosure laws will be free to the public with advance registration.
