Larsen is Democratic Party Nominee; Dem Challengers Will Continue Campaign

At its quarterly meeting Jan. 30, the WA State Democratic Party nominated incumbent Rep. Rick Larsen as the Democratic Party candidate for the 2nd CD. All other Democratic congressional incumbents in Washington were also nominated.

In January, two Democratic challengers announced they were running for the 2nd Congressional District seat, as well as at least one Republican. The Democrats are Larry Kalb and Dianna McGuiness, both of Bellingham.

The Whatcom Democrats endorsement process, as well as a resolution adopted in November 2009, supports a level playing field for all legitimate democratic candidates to compete for the support of the voters and party activists prior to the Primary Election. This holds true to the values we all share as Democrats.
Our endorsement and certification  rules allow for legitimate Democratic candidates to access the Whatcom Democrats’ non-consumable resources prior to endorsement.

This means that while Rick Larsen is the nominee of the Democratic Party, the Whatcom Democrats may certify other Democrats for Whatcom Dems resources. We have no authority over access to State Party resources, including the voter database - Votebuilder. But in general, the State Party’s nomination has little effect on the Whatcom County’s endorsement process.

We can, if the membership so chooses, endorse one or more candidates, or no candidate in this race. Under our endorsement rules, this would mean from that point forward, all other candidates would not receive Whatcom Democrats resources, and the endorsee would appear on our campaign communications as the endorsed candidate(s) in the race, and benefit from our GOTV efforts. Our rules allow for endorsement only after the filing deadline which is early June.

See the text of these policies HERE.