Election Day Summary
Our King County GOP team has dedicated our efforts this election season to supporting candidates and informing voters. Our game plan has been to unite and empower the conservative voter base in King County while also making inroads into the urban populations to bring new voters onboard. We are happy to see the results of the August primary showing our hard work pay off.
Early Endorsement
Our effort to provide candidates with pre-primary endorsements (including non-partisan races) paid off with an increase in party visibility in the King County voters pamphlets. Led by Candidate Endorsement Committee Chair Rachel Johnston, our team worked diligently to vet and process endorsement applications on a monthly basis to accommodate all applicants.
Non-Partisan Voters Guide
We continue to get excellent feedback on our choice to publish a Non-Partisan Voters Guide for the first time in recent history. We featured both endorsed candidates as well as “Best Choice” candidates that aligned sufficiently with our party platform. We saw nearly 3000 new visitors to our website from voters seeking guidance on ballot choices.
LD Postcards
We mailed several thousand postcards out to King County households promoting our voting recommendations, party platform, and link to the Voters Guide. Postcards listed customized voting recommendations for each of our 17 Legislative Districts (LDs). The new postcard format made it easier for PCOs to deliver to their walk lists, using a stamp to reach addresses that were previously inaccessible.
Media Outreach
KCGOP Chair, Jolie Lansdowne, made appearances on The Ari Hoffman Show and The Morning Ride with Phil Vandervort, both on 570 KVI, to bring our Voters Guide to their conservative audiences. Last week, Jolie reached out to a new audience with her appearance on the Seattle-based Week in Review on KUOW with Bill Radke.
Seattle Candidates Forum
Our first candidates forum focused on City of Seattle races. Our moderator, former candidate Beth Daranciang, helped us bring candidates face to face with voters for an informative night. During a typical campaign season, candidates are invited to a variety of forums they can choose to attend. These events are usually hosted by special interest groups that tend to have a progressive agenda with questions geared to fit their views. We hope to establish this as a regular function to bring more conservative questions into the dialogue.
Candidate Support
Behind the scenes our team has been supporting campaigns with help making websites, getting walk lists, promoting fund raisers, as well as priceless moral support. We hope to build on the momentum we’ve created and continue to recruit and retain excellent candidates.
PRIMARY RESULTS
We are thrilled to see many of our endorsed candidates make it through the primary. Now is a good time to donate to campaigns. Click to donate at candidate websites:
Chad Magendanz, State Senator LD 5
Dennis Ellis, State Rep LD 48
John Whitney, State Rep LD 41
Rachael Savage, Seattle City Council Pos. 8
Cobi Clark, Auburn City Council Pos. 6
Susan Hughes, Lake Washington School District, No. 3
We’d like to recognize our endorsed candidates that are not moving forward and thank them for their hard work: Darryl Jones, Derek Chartrand, and Lea Ellis.
Many of our Best Choices are moving through to the general as well:
Geoff Bowie, City of Black Diamond Mayor
Kay Asai, Redmond City Council Pos. 4
Brodie Smith, Enumclaw City Council, Pos. 5
Chinmay Nagarkar, Issaquah School District No. 2
JoAnn Tolentino, Northshore School District No. 4
Lynda Schram, Northshore School District No. 5
Mark Bowers, Public Hospital District No. 4 (Pos. 2)
These are just a few of our choice candidates going through to the general election.
Thank you to all the support staff, volunteers, and donors that made this possible. We would also like to appreciate our LD teams that supported candidates by donating, doorbelling, and making public appearances to support candidates.
Written By: Victoria Palmer Region 8 (CD: 7) E-Board