WA Dem’s leader announces bid for DNC vice chair: ‘We’re clearly doing something right’
In the 2024 general election, the U.S. political pendulum lurched to the right while Washington state stayed solidly blue. Now, the leader of the state’s Democratic Party hopes to share that recipe for success at the national level.
Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, recently announced that she’s running for one of three vice-chair at-large positions with the Democratic National Committee, the governing body of the national party. The election to choose fresh DNC leadership is Feb. 1.
Conrad told McClatchy that the West Coast sometimes gets dismissed as being a blue paradise. The way she sees it, though, these are still hard-fought victories.
“We’re clearly doing something right, because we are winning — and I just wish that sometimes we would get looked at as like, ‘What’s the model here?’” Conrad said. “And also, I have capacity to try to help.”
Other candidates for DNC vice chair include Joe Barbuto, head of the Wyoming Democratic Party, and political activist and Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg.
The Washington Democrats were thrilled with their statewide performance in November, McClatchy previously reported. The state “went the least red” in terms of the U.S. presidential race, but statewide returns leaned a bit more blue compared with previous years, Conrad said.
The Democrats won all statewide seats, she said, and all the party’s congressional incumbents prevailed, too.
“For the fifth cycle straight, we expanded our legislative majorities and flipped two seats in the state Legislature,” she said. “I think overall, we have a ton to be very proud of. And we really did sort of buck a national trend that saw every other state go more Republican, more red.”
In Conrad’s view, the state Democratic Party is strong, with lots of organizing happening on the ground. She said she’s one of about 10 leaders who chair their state party as a full-time job.
The Washington Democrats didn’t shy away from delivering on their policies and ideals, Conrad said. She pointed to voters’ rejection of three Republican-backed initiatives as evidence of support for Democrats’ stances on climate change, the state’s capital gains tax and long-term care.
She thinks that Washington Democrats have also found success by encouraging authenticity among candidates.
“I am someone who believes that you need to let people be themselves, and that there’s room in this party,” she said.
What went wrong for Democrats nationally?
Republicans will enjoy majorities in both chambers of the U.S. Congress, and President-elect Donald Trump is moving back into the White House.
Democrats’ 2024 performance has spurred plenty of think pieces and party introspection. In Conrad’s view, the Dems messed up by muddling the message.
Trump capitalized on a general sense that the system isn’t working for everyday Americans, she said. It was a powerful pitch, and he was able to “mirror the moment” by harnessing folks’ rage.
The global headwinds blew anti-incumbent, she said, but the Democratic Party also missed the mark on economic issues.
People want to feel like they’re on a winning team, Conrad continued.
“We as Democrats so often get lost in incrementalism,” she said. “It’s a hard case to be made when it’s like, ‘OK, I know things are not great, but it could be worse.’”
Conrad has seen her fair share of theories about what went wrong. Looking ahead, she doesn’t want the Democratic Party to shirk popular progressive policies that make a difference in people’s lives.
No, the party should not attempt to be more like Trump or the Republicans, she said. Nor should it try to find a “Joe Rogan of the left,” she added, referencing the controversial pro-Trump podcaster.
“These are bad takes,” she said with a laugh. “These are not the right lessons to be picking up.”
Conrad noted that one DNC member told Politico it’s “white guy winter,” a term used to describe a return to supporting more white male candidates: “We have to admit that we lost in those places, but the answer is not to abandon the people who did show up for us and did help — and did win — in key places.”
On the heels of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ loss, Conrad fears that the party will question whether a woman of color can lead.
“Because for me, the answer is: Absolutely we can — and we should be,” said Conrad, who is of South Asian descent and the first woman of color to helm the state party.
Personal significance
Conrad’s political fight is partly fueled by her personal story. She told McClatchy that her ailing mother had to keep working because she needed health care for a kidney transplant.
Then, two-and-a-half years ago, Conrad’s mom died because she didn’t receive the transplant. She was a month away from retirement.
“To this day … I am haunted by the reality that if we had universal health care where it wasn’t tied to employment, she would have been able to probably retire a year or two earlier, focus on her health, and we would have gotten more years together,” Conrad said, her throat catching with emotion.
Conrad wants the Democratic Party to deliver for people like her mom. She couldn’t just sit on the sidelines in this DNC race.
The Washington Democrat said her track record illustrates that she’s qualified for vice chair, citing her work on four presidential campaigns and her 2016 bid for a state Senate appointment.
Conrad thinks that her identity as a woman, person of color and Millennial makes her the exact kind of candidate the DNC needs. It’s important to tell the story of what went right in 2024 for Washington state, she said.
“I think that there are lessons to be learned at the national level,” she said. “I have something to say, and I want to amplify and uplift that. And I think I can win.”
This story was originally published December 24, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
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