The Washington Top-Two Primary showed generally positive results for YDWA-endorsed candidates, with a few surprises. At the state executive level, Governor Gregoire earned the most votes, beating her Republican opponent (or rather "GOP Party" as the ballot redundantly showed) Dino Rossi by over 27,000 votes, despite facing a challenger from her own party who won three times as many votes as Rossi's Good Old Party Party challenger. Long story short, that means more Democratic Voters than Republicans this year, a trend that will hopefully last through November.

Unfortunately, Jim McIntire, John Landenberg, and Peter Goldmark, YDWA-endorsed Dems running for State Treasurer, Attorney General, and Commissioner of Public Lands, respectively, earned fewer votes that their Republican opponents. These oft-neglected positions are vital to ensure a smooth-running state, and these great candidates need our support to win in November!

In congressional races, the incumbents showed the advantage of experience and name recognition, regardless of party. In the heated Eighth District rematch race, Republican Dave Reichert received 73,870 votes to second-time challenger Darcy Burner's 67,797. The vote was split, however, and the three Democrats together earned more votes than then Reichert, the lone Republican.

A glimmer of hope for Washington's future came in the form of the Supreme Court races, in which incumbent Justices Johnson and Fairhurst were reelected. Both had earned our endorsement.

To get involved with any of these campaigns or others, talk to your local YD chapter or the State YDs to get connected and get on your way to keeping our state blue.

Before a crowd of 84,000 supporters in a Denver stadium, with delegates from all over the country - including a few lucky Washington Young Democrats - watching, Barack Obama accepted the nomination of our party, and gave a rousing 50-minute speech that highlighted our plan to change this country for the better and reclaim the American Dream. In a call for unity earlier in the convention, Sen. Hillary Clinton, who earned over 18 million votes in the primary process, spoke of just how vital this election is.

In addition to Barack Obama, who was introduced that night by Al Gore, we heard from vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden, who was announced as Obama's running mate in the days before the convention. The accomplished senator spoke after former president Clinton Wednesday night. On Tuesday, Sen. Hillary Clinton left no doubt that our party is united in support of Obama. Michele Obama spoke on the opening night of the convention, delivering an excellent speech in support of her husband.

If you missed seeing the convention coverage, Obama's speech is available on his web site.

On September 10, 2008, John Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International and author of "The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream," will be joining us for an evening lecture at University of Washington's Kane Hall room 110. The event is being hosted by the World Affairs Council, and would be a great opportunity to hear about John Zogby's view of the new American consensus and hear his evidence of common factors that define an emerging generation of political and civil citizens.

How can we use increasingly sophisticated international polling techniques to better understand geopolitical trends and inform business and foreign policy decisions? In what ways are today’s 18-29 year olds—the “First Global Generation”—transforming America into a more internationalist, environmentally-responsible, and tolerant society? How can political and business leaders adapt to this emerging new American consensus, and harness the trends to shape the country for decades to come? These are just a few of the questions that Zogby's lecture will address.

Zogby International is one of the top polling firms in the country. Zogby has polled for Reuters News Agency, the largest news agency in the world, and from 2000 to 2004 he polled for NBC News. He also holds degrees in history from Le Moyne College and Syracuse University. He has taught history for 25 years. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Trustees of Le Moyne College. He received the distinguished Alumni Award in June 2000, and in 2005, he was awarded Honorary Doctorate Degrees from State University of New York and the Graduate School of Union University. Mr. Zogby is also a Senior Advisor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and serves as the first-ever Senior Fellow of the Catholic University Life Cycle Institute in Washington, D.C.

Cost is $15 for non-students and $10 for students. Please pre-register here, or by calling the Council at (206) 441-5910.

YDWA has targeted races across the state that we will go campaign for, and has set aside dates to be Young Democrats campaign days where we go out for endorsed candidates from around the state. By volunteering with the Young Democrats on these and other local races we really can have an impact in this election. In the past, Young Democrats have been credited with being the force that has won elections, and this year we have the opportunity to do it again.

Thank to those who came out for our first event August 2nd for Tim Probst and Deb Wallace!

August 16th
28th LD for Debi Srail, Troy Kelley, and Tami Green

September 20th
Get Out the Vote for YDWA Endorsed Candidates Statewide

October 4th
36th LD for Reuven Carlyle

October 12th
4th LD for Tim Hattenburg

October 18th
8th CD for Darcy Burner

November 1st
Final Get Out the Vote Push for YDWA Endorsed Candidates Statewide

For the first time this year, we will be doing a combination of doorbelling and phonebanking for volunteers who can't make it to the events! For more information on any event, visit our upcoming events section or email info@ydwa.org.

This primary is important, even if there are only two candidates in each election. This primary will be head to head for each race, so let's make sure that our Democratic Candidates come out on top!

The following YDWA Endorsed Candidates are in primaries with more than two candidates.

Governor: Christine Gregoire
State Treasurer: Jim McIntire*
State Auditor: Brian Sonntag

Supreme Court Position 3: Mary Fairhurst
Supreme Court Position 4: Charles Johnson

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Are you a registered voter? Are you planning to vote for democrats in the upcoming elections? Then pledge to vote!

2008 is the Year of the Young Voter; the year our generation steers America in a new direction. Be a part of the Young Voter Revolution which is sweeping Democrats into power and changing our country forever.

Take a minute and go to www.yda.org/votepledge to show your dedication to electing great democratic candidates!

The King County Young Democrats held their annual summer picnic July 12th at Alki beach.

The picnic was a huge success, with about 40 people eating BBQ, potluck meals, playing in the sand, and discussing politics. Jim McIntire, Representative from the 46th LD and candidate for State Treasurer stop by to enjoy the weather. Judge Mariane Spearman, and relatives of Superior Court candidate Susan Amini also stopped by to enjoy our company.

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Three local Democratic candidates are joining hands next month for a combined fundraiser in Mt. Vernon. State Representative Jeff Morris (40th LD), senatorial candidate and current San Juan County Commissioner Kevin Ranker and Skagit County Commissioner Ken Dahlstedt will hold a joint campaign fundraiser at Morris's home from 5:30 pm to 7 pm on Tuesday, August 5th. All three candidates have endorsed one another and are committed to working together this election season.

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Barack Obama had a busy week, going abroad to Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Germany, France and England. While traveling, Obama was able to see our troops in Iraq, discuss strategy with foreign leaders and work to regain the goodwill toward our country, so much of which has been lost during the seven years of George W. Bush. Below is Obama's speech in Berlin.

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You can help NARAL Pro-Choice mobilize pro-choice voters across the state. They will be calling voters to let them know about the pro-choice candidates running in their district as well as giving them a friendly reminder to mail in their ballot or get to the polls. There are eight dates between August 2nd and August 18th when they will run Phone banks for the primary election. Phone bank shifts are 2 hours long and NARAL will provide scripts, training, and snacks.

Shifts for this event are:
Saturday, August 2 11:00 am-7:00 pm
Sunday, August 3 11:00 am-7:00 pm
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