CHICAGO — Washington Democrats left the Democratic National Convention fired up about Vice President Kamala Harris’ chances to defeat former President Donald Trump this fall — but still worried about what the next two months may bring.
The late swap of President Joe Biden for Harris and her vice-presidential pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, electrified Democrats who only a month ago had faced the teeth-grinding prospect of a convention trying to prop up Biden’s plummeting poll numbers.
“It’s like we had a vestigial organ in the Democratic Party that wasn’t being used … the organ of joy that was sitting there dormant,” said Gov. Jay Inslee, who was attending his final convention as governor. He called the boost from the Harris-Walz ticket “the largest increase of serotonin in American history.”
Sporting Beyoncé-inspired white cowboy hats with flashing lights, Washington delegates cheered and joined in chants of “USA! USA!” and “Joy! Joy!” on the final night of the convention as Harris accepted her party’s nomination with a speech that sought to appeal to Republicans and independents and frame the Democratic ticket as the only patriotic choice.
“I was there with four other Black women, and all of us just really became moved watching this large group of people in a major political party nominate a woman that looks like us for the highest office in the land,” said Sophia Danenberg, a delegate and Democratic National Committee member from Whidbey Island.
Despite a newfound optimism, national and state Democrats warned throughout the week against the kind of complacency that led to Trump’s shocking upset victory in 2016.
U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, speaking to state delegates at their Thursday breakfast, said they can’t assume “that Kamala is going to just float on in there because I think a lot of us thought that about Hillary Clinton.”
Shasti Conrad, the chair of the state Democratic Party, compared the mood this year to the optimism of the Obama era, with one important difference. “I think what has changed is we sort of lost our innocence. We know how bad it can be,” she said.
The Democratic convention’s appeal to patriotism included speeches from Republicans and Harris’ promise to stand up to autocrats and maintain the world’s “most lethal” military.
“It’s a complete shift from even two, three years ago,” said state Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-West Seattle, who was among the Washington delegates in Chicago. “Democrats are rightfully taking back the narrative on freedom and redefining what it means to be an American.”
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said the Harris-Walz ticket appeals to the party’s base of voters who would never back Trump but might sit out if not inspired.
“I have always said if we can get our young people, if we can get our Black and brown people mobilized, if we can build that coalition that won us the Obama presidency — and then won in 2020 — that was what we needed,” Jayapal said.
Just a month ago, Republicans were riding high after their own convention in Milwaukee, with Washington delegates confident about the contrast between Trump’s iconic fist pump and shout of “fight, fight” after narrowly surviving an assassination attempt with a frail Biden.
At that GOP convention, Washington was represented by grassroots conservative activists — but no prominent elected officials or major candidates except state Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh, who is a state representative from Aberdeen.
By contrast, in Chicago, Washington’s 100-plus Democratic delegate contingent included several members of Congress (though U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell did not attend), statewide elected officials and state legislators, among others.
It was a reminder of the Democrats’ almost total hold on political power in Washington state. They’re well positioned to keep most if not all statewide elected positions, including a four-decade winning streak in governor’s races. And they’re also within striking distance of taking a supermajority in the Legislature.
The biggest worry for Democrats at a state level are the slate of GOP-backed initiatives headed for the ballot. The initiatives take aim at Washington’s new capital gains tax targeted at the wealthiest and a payroll tax funding a new long-term care benefit and would repeal the landmark Climate Commitment Act, which limits carbon emissions and has raised billions of dollars through a system of pollution permit auctions.
Inslee said he’d been talking with donors and other allies in Chicago and is determined to defend the climate law he championed.
“The only thing that initiative would guarantee is more pollution,” Inslee said. “There’s nothing in there guaranteeing lower gas prices.”
Opponents of the climate law, including Redmond hedge fund manager Brian Heywood, who largely bankrolled Initiative 2117 to repeal it, have lambasted Inslee’s claims that the law would not substantially boost energy prices — only to see Washington’s gasoline and other costs surge.
Republicans and some media commentators criticized the Democratic convention and Harris for going comparatively light on details of her agenda, though she pledged Thursday night to end the nation’s housing crisis, restore federal abortion-rights protections and sign a bipartisan border security plan killed by Republicans earlier this year at Trump’s behest.
Washington delegates said they’re already pretty clear on the kinds of policies Harris would pursue — pointing to accomplishments of the current Biden-Harris administration.
Lillian Hawkins, a delegate from Shoreline, said she’s grateful for the administration’s student loan forgiveness program that wiped out $87,000 in debt, allowing her to buy her mother’s house.
“It provided me a pathway to be a homeowner, to thrive, to have some type of wealth and to take the burden off my mother,” said Hawkins.
Hawkins, whose mother is white and father was Black, said Harris is also inspiring because of her heritage as an Indian American and Black woman.
“The fact that she is in the position she is in now and looks like so many of us, it’s a hope for the future, for our daughters, for the younger generation,” Hawkins said.
Harris has seen a bump in polling since getting into the presidential race. But she has yet to debate Trump, or sit for major media interviews. And she has not yet faced what’s likely to be a massive blitz of negative ads attacking her record on crime and border security.
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, said Democrats must ensure every vote gets out for the ticket, pointing to the state’s own hyper-close primary for public lands commissioner, in which Democrat Dave Upthegrove wound up ahead of Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson by 51 votes out of 1.9 million cast.
“It does underscore how important every vote is,” he said.
Democrats have the momentum now, Larsen said, but the presidential race is going to shift “again and again” in the coming months.
“It is like fighting Dracula, who comes back to life in every sequel,” he said.
