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The CHS Primary: A look at the Bernie vs. Warren vs. Mayor Pete vs. Joe vs. Amy vs. etc. race for Washington

(Image: @TaxAmazonMvt)

Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg have raised funds downtown. Sen. Elizabeth Warren boasted a 15,000 person rally at Seattle Center over the summer and has another planned this weekend. And Sen. Amy Klobuchar was met with a packed coffeeshop in the U-District.

So when Sen. Bernie Sanders decided to spend his first 2020 trip to Washington a little farther south in Tacoma, it was a bit surprising given Seattle’s place as a progressive bastion supportive of his Democratic Socialism.

“We picked the venue because of its proximity to Washington’s working class communities,” state field director Shaun Scott said. “And also its closeness to residents of displacement who have moved to South King County and Pierce County because of exorbitant housing costs.”

Monday’s Tacoma Dome rally ended up with 17,000 in attendance, making it one of the biggest events of the cycle, and included several of Seattle’s most recognizable elected officials. Council member Kshama Sawant, for example, brought her anti big-business brand to the event.

“Big business tried to buy the election last year but they failed and the people won again,” Sawant said, referring to Amazon’s controversial spending in her reelection bid last year, according to Geekwire. “Now our Tax Amazon movement has tremendous momentum to tax big business to fund social housing.”

The Sanders rally sets off a few week race to the finish lines as the Washington primary was moved up by the state Legislature to March 10 and ballots are mailed to voters this week. Because of this, Washington has seen an influx of attention from national campaigns, with several hiring staff in the Evergreen state.

Sanders has seven paid staffers here and 200 overachieving volunteers, known as “victory captains,” according to Scott. Meanwhile, Warren, who is slated to host a rally at the Seattle Center Armory on Saturday, has about 40 staff members spread across the state.

Warren’s campaign, after disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, says it’s gearing up for the long haul.

“We’re basically trying to talk to as many people as humanly possible,” said Maria Leininger, Warren’s state director. “This campaign will be won and lost on the ground.”

Leninger sees Warren’s four-hour selfie line after her August rally as a sign of the enthusiasm surrounding her candidacy in the state. Her campaign has had grassroots, volunteer-led events in all of Washington’s 39 counties.

Take the CHS Primary Survey here | You can view latest results here

Sanders’ Tacoma rally marked something of a kickoff for the final stage of the primary campaign, with a volunteer get out the vote event on Tuesday at the campaign’s office. Scott, coming off a loss in the race to represent District 4 on the Seattle City Council, said he is hosting three canvasses a week.

He says the top issue he hears about on the doors is about defeating President Donald Trump and is trying to assuage concerns that Sanders is too radical to win a general election.

“We’re making our case that we’re the best candidate to do so because we’re an energetic campaign that will boost youth turnout and turnout among people of color,” Scott said.

Operating without much attention in the state has been the campaign of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, which hired staff last month with plans to open offices in all of Washington’s 10 congressional districts.

Just this past weekend, the Bloomberg campaign opened offices in Everett and Yakima, bringing his total to five offices in the state.

“We aren’t leaving any vote on the table,” Bloomberg’s Washington state director Grant Lahmann said in a press release. Lahmann is taking leave from his job as King County Council member Joe McDermott’s chief of staff to work for the campaign.

Buttigieg, who had strong finishes in the first two states, stopped in Seattle for a brunch fundraiser over the weekend, but has limited his local public appearances. If campaign contributions are any indicator, Sanders, Warren, and Buttigieg were bunched at the front of the pack at the end of 2019, according to a Seattle Times analysis of Federal Election Commission data.

In the 2016 caucus, Sanders won over 70% of the state’s delegates against Hillary Clinton, who narrowly won a non-binding primary a couple months later.

The question going into March 10 is whether Washington will go the way of 2016’s caucus or primary. That is, will voters favor the radical approach or the establishment?

 

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23 Comments
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Anonymous Non-Binary Flower
Anonymous Non-Binary Flower
4 years ago

As a former CH resident who was pushed out due to costs – Sanders all the way. <3 <3 <3

southsound22@hotmail.com
4 years ago

Yeah! Nothing lowers cost like Socialism!!

Anonymous Non-Binary Flower
Anonymous Non-Binary Flower
4 years ago

OK boomer

Bernie 2020
Bernie 2020
4 years ago

Hell yeah!

Feel the Bern baby!

joanna
4 years ago

Your poll preference is too laborious and includes too many who are no longer in the race top 2 or 3 and bottom 2 or 3 might be doable–or just top choice–.

joanna
4 years ago

I am not sure why you highlighted Sawant’s participation and never mentioned Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s introduction of Sanders. Certainly she is the bigger name representing more people. Sawant is fine, as was Mosqueda.

Obvious Man
Obvious Man
4 years ago
Reply to  joanna

Because she’s D3 and this is a Cap Hill blog?

joanna
4 years ago
Reply to  Obvious Man

Jayapal represents Capitol Hill as well, and Mosqueda is at-large. I am not saying that Sawant should not have been mentioned, but it seemed odd to leave out the other two who are also representing the voters of Capitol Hill. Capitol Hill is in Jayapal’s district. The campaign for the 7th District Congressional seat was well-covered at the time that she was elected.

tigerlily
tigerlily
4 years ago

Elizabeth Warren has a fantastic team on the ground here in WA state. Proud to be supporting such a fantastic candidate. We’re pulling for you, Elizabeth!

James
James
4 years ago
Reply to  tigerlily

She’s an imperialist.

No thanks.

GreenJeans
GreenJeans
4 years ago
Reply to  James

She’s *a woman*.

Fixed it for you James. Just say what you mean next time.

tigerlily
tigerlily
4 years ago
Reply to  James

thanks for your totally unsolicited and ill-informed opinion!

James
James
4 years ago
Reply to  tigerlily

lol 2016 tactics won’t work on me.

Warren is an ex-republican, pro-ICE, and pro war.

I would love a woman in the white house but it won’t be a war hawk like her.

tigerlily
tigerlily
4 years ago
Reply to  James

who hurt you? just wonderin

James
James
4 years ago
Reply to  James

Warren hurts me with being pro-ICE and pro WAR.

RWK
RWK
4 years ago

As much as I admire and respect Bernie Sanders, I agree with those pundits who say that the Democrats will be giving the election to Trump if they nominate Bernie.

Black Seattlites for Bernie
Black Seattlites for Bernie
4 years ago
Reply to  RWK

The opposite is true.

You need populism to defeat a populist. Bernie has tangible and real popularity and ability to bring more working class republicans and moderates to vote him over Trump. Bottom line.

CapHillGay
CapHillGay
4 years ago
Reply to  RWK

If you think we’re going to defeat Donald Trump, and his very cult-like, energized base of far-right supporters, with a lukewarm, corporate bought centrist who stands for nothing, then I hope you’re looking forward to another 4 years of Trump.

Sanders has a major lead across the board in the polls, by far the most support amongst, people of color, young people, LGBT, and working class Americans. No other candidate comes close. You’re not going to win the presidency without that.

D Del Rio
D Del Rio
4 years ago
Reply to  CapHillGay

I think just the opposite. He might be popular here on the left coast, but outside our liberal bubble, there is the rest of the country that is very different than us. This includes Democrats. I hope you prove me wrong!!!

CapHillGay
CapHillGay
4 years ago
Reply to  CapHillGay

@D Del Rio

You need to look at the polls in Nevada, South Carolina, and the exit poll results in Iowa and New Hampshire, your statement is completely false. The ‘Bernie isn’t electable ‘ or ‘doesn’t have appeal’ is a complete fabrication the media keeps running, poll results show he has the broadest appeal out of *any* Democratic candidate. The moderates like Pete, Amy, etc. only excel with white, upper-middle class, and older voters.

Anti-itnA
Anti-itnA
4 years ago
Reply to  RWK

In a related vein, Bloomberg is on record saying that he will spend his billions to defeat Trump. At a debate, someone should ask him if he will continue to spend his billions on the person who gets nominated, no matter who it is.

Anti-itnA
Anti-itnA
4 years ago

Whoever the Democrats decide on as the nominee, they will need to support her or him 1,000%. Trump’s campaigners will use every dirty trick, every lie, every manipulation of all the kinds of media, voter suppression, every legal and quasi-legal tactic to win.
The Democratic Party nominee can’t be an idiot like the last time. Whoever it is will need to act like the perfect angel, never using any kind of underhanded tactics in their campaign at all, because, if they do, it will assuredly bite them in the a$$, like that lady who called half of the voters “deplorables.”
The Democrats can’t just *say* they’re better, the have to *be* better.

Anti-itnA
Anti-itnA
4 years ago

Of course, the input of primary voters and caucus members is potentially mooted by the choice made by the superdelegates.
To show they actually believe in democracy, the DNP could, right now, get rid of superdelegates.