Washington Democratic leader gets second chance at key post with national party
Washington state Democratic Party chair Shasti Conrad (left) and Democratic U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington (right) at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 19, 2024. (Shasti Conrad/WA Dems)
Washington state Democratic Party chair Shasti Conrad is getting another shot at a leadership post with the Democratic National Committee and a voice in retooling the political strategy for the national party.
Conrad is one of three women vying for a vice chair position in a do-over of the Feb. 1 election won by Malcolm Kenyatta.
In that bid, Conrad made the case to voting delegates that the formula that brought Democrats success in Washington last year — a sweep of nine statewide executive posts, gains in their majorities in the Legislature and defeat of three conservative-backed ballot measures — is one the party can use to win back control of Congress and the White House.
Her message hasn't changed heading into balloting this weekend.
'We've won elections year after year. Today, through recruitment efforts and organizing, we're gaining ground in red communities,' she says in a one-minute video sent to the roughly 400 people who will vote.
If elected, she vowed to 'focus on winning elections, constituency organizing, and changing lives for the better.'
In February, Kenyatta and David Hogg were elected as vice chairs. But those contests were invalidated after a complaint that contended the party failed to follow its own rules on gender parity in officer elections.
DNC members decided this week to rerun elections for those seats. Only candidates who made it to the final round of voting in February and are eligible for each seat under party rules, can compete.
The new elections are being conducted separately, with ballots cast virtually.
Hogg, a 25-year-old gun-control activist and the party's first Gen Z vice chair, isn't running to keep his seat. He's faced backlash from fellow Democrats for his plans to support challengers to incumbent Democrats with his group, Leaders We Deserve. His critics contend that party officers need to be neutral in primaries.
Hogg's exit left Kenyatta as the only eligible candidate in the first election because the position must be filled by a male under the DNC rules. Voting began Thursday and ends Saturday for the spot held by Hogg.
Conrad, Kalyn Free, a national committee member from Oklahoma, and Jeanna Repass, chair of the Kansas Democratic Party, are competing to be second vice chair. A candidate of any gender can hold this seat. For this position, voting begins at 7 a.m. Sunday and runs through 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Free filed the complaint that set the new elections in motion.
Conrad led the King County Democrats for four years before being elected chair of the state Democratic Party in 2023 and re-elected in January. She is the first South Asian woman to lead a state party.
She enjoys strong ties to DNC Chair Ken Martin, who appointed her in March to be an associate chair for the national party. In this role, she said she's strived to spotlight issues of importance to Asian Americans and to work with influencers on ways to better engage younger voters.
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