Click map for a discussion of the 2012 redistricting.
Darcy Burner needs your help! At Daily Kos, we often lament that "Democrats" are elected who are so far to the right that they are scarcely recognizable as such. Why don't more progressive candidates run? Why don't they face off against these fake Democrats in the primary?!
If you've had those thoughts, here is just the race for you! The State of Washington has an open seat in the 1st Congressional District, shown on the map above in light blue. This district, redrawn after the 2010 election as a swing district, is now more rural and conservative than formerly. Washington has an open "Top Two" primary system (except in the presidential election). All candidates run in a single non-partisan primary, where each of them gets 16 characters on the ballot to describe her or his "party preference" -- they need not be endorsed by a party to say it is their "preference". Voters, regardless of their own party affiliation, may all vote in this primary. The top two vote-getters in the primary, even if they are nominally affiliated with the same party, are the candidates for the general election in November.
Because this is an open seat, lots of candidates are running this year, including, at one time, at least six Democrats and three Republicans. There is one Republican who is the clear frontrunner, but there are three women running as Democrats who are polling quite close to one another. The progressive candidate is Darcy Burner. The other two are to her right, and are quite well-off and self- or family-financed. Darcy Burner does not have their enormous financial resources, yet she has still been narrowly ahead.
Meanwhile, the Republican can coast for a while and conserve his money as the Democrats fight it out. Darcy needs to pull ahead in the primary and win one of the top two spots, and then go immediately into a general election campaign. She will need help to do all this. If you have ever said, or thought, Where are the true progressives that I can support without reservation?, now is the time to lend your support to Darcy Burner. Primary voting by mail has already been in progress for a week, and the votes will be counted on August 7. The race is tight.
Further, Darcy Burner's honesty about her views and her advocacy of progressive positions have been risky for her in this race. Remember when she came to NN12 and gave that inspiring talk in which she encouraged women who had exercised their right to an abortion to stand up without shame or fear, and everyone else to stand in support of them? That got twisted into this kind of garbage back in Washington. Yet, she does not hesitate to express openly what she believes in, nor does she try to tailor her message to this more conservative district. She clearly states her positions at her website and here at Daily Kos. If that is the kind of candidate you support, then now is the time to get some skin in the game!
But wait! Our dear Community Quilt ladies would like to sweeten the deal for you. More on that below the fold!
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