The Washington delegates to the national Democratic Convention will meet over Zoom at 6 p.m. Thursday to decide whether they want to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee.
To win the nomination, a candidate must secure a majority of delegates. The national party has said it plans to hold a virtual vote on Aug. 1, more than two weeks before their Chicago convention.
Only Washington national delegates, including the two uncommitted delegates and select Democrats, will be on the call, according to state party officials. They will have the option to endorse a candidate but are not obligated to do so in this meeting, said Stephen Reed, director of communications, in an email.
“But we’ve been speaking with our delegates and what we’re seeing is that the overwhelming majority of them are energized to vote for VP Kamala Harris,” wrote Hannah Kurowski, Washington state Democratic Party communications advisor.
An AP survey found that Harris already has enough support from Democratic delegates across the nation to become the party’s nominee. Washington is sending 111 delegates to the national convention.
Washington State Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad and other leaders have endorsed Harris. Conrad expressed her support on the state party’s social media and wrote in a statement, “As the leader and steward of the Washington State Democratic Party, I have listened to the overwhelming consensus of Democrats in Washington state who are excited to support Vice President Harris as our standard bearer.”
“Overall, we’re hearing nothing but support and excitement,” Conrad said. “Here in Washington, we have our governor, both of our senators, nine out of 10 congressional members have all endorsed, basically all of our statewide Democrats have endorsed Vice President Harris.”
