"Top Two Primary" Nominee, There Can Be Only One

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With the new rules of the "Top Two Primary", political party's have to hold nominating conventions to select their candidates. Washington Democrats at the State Legislative District level held conventions a while back, but the word hasn't really gotten around very well.

The 40th Legislative District Democrats has sent out a new press release to let everyone know who their candidate is.

For Immediate Release (TIME SENSITIVE):

Contacts:
Tom Pasma (Mount Vernon), 40th Legislative District Chair – (360) 766-5300
Roni Beall (Bellingham), 40th Legislative District Vice-Chair – (510) 435-4747

40th Legislative District Democrats encourage local voters to support Kevin Ranker for Senate

There is confusion about which candidate the Democratic Party is supporting this year in the Senate race to fill the 40th Legislative District seat currently held by Senator Harriet Spanel.

The clear and simple answer is Kevin Ranker. He is not only our sole nominee, but is also our sole endorsee. Given the new "Top Two Primary", 40th Legislative District Democrats went through a required nomination process and a rigorous and inclusive, open, endorsement process last spring soon after Senator Harriet Spanel announced her pending retirement. After hearing presentations and questioning five democratic candidates, the Democratic Precinct Committee Officers from 40th District from Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan Counties voted 54% for Kevin Ranker to be the Democratic Party's sole official nominee on their first ballot. The other four candidates split the remaining votes 20%, 16%, 10%, and 0.

Next a broader "endorsement" process took place. All active members of the 40th Legislative District Democrats were invited to attend forums and endorsement meetings in their respective parts of the district to hear all five candidates speak and answer questions. This process allowed for the possibility that each candidate might be "endorsed". The membership was advised that they could endorse as many candidates as they wished to, and that every candidate who received votes by more than 50% of those present would receive the party's endorsement. Once again the results were clear. Kevin Ranker received a decisive 74% of the vote. No other candidate received greater than 48%. Accordingly, Kevin Ranker received the sole endorsement of the 40th Legislative District.

It is noteworthy that Mr. Ranker won the party nomination despite there being more than twice as many Whatcom and Skagit PCOs at the nominating convention as there were PCOs from the San Juan Islands; and that he won the sole party endorsement despite the fact that the membership had the option to endorse two or more candidates.

40th Legislative District Democrats encourage voters to support Kevin Ranker for Senate. With 15 years experience as a community development expert, director of conservation organizations, and as a San Juan County Council member, Kevin Ranker will protect what's best about our region, while working to get results on the issues that matter to our communities and impact our quality of life. Washington Conservation Voters, Washington Education Association, SEIU 925, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, many other organizations and hundreds of individuals have also endorsed Kevin Ranker.

40th Legislative District Democrats nominated and endorsed Kevin Ranker for Senate because when Kevin speaks, we understand his depth of knowledge and commitment to our issues, and we have come to know that he is uniquely qualified to hit the ground running. Voters need to know that Kevin Ranker is our clear choice. Learn more about Kevin's background, position on issues, and his other endorsements by visiting his website: KevinRanker.com.

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