The Washington State Democratic Party launched a statewide “get out the vote tour” on Friday morning, planning to make stops in 15 cities in five days, right up until the final hours of voting Tuesday night.
“Look, there will be elections this year in our state that will come down to one vote per precinct,” said Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a guest speaker at the launch event.
Volunteers and state party staffers plan to spend the weekend making phone calls and knocking on doors of voters who have not yet mailed in their ballots.
“We’re just gauging who they’re planning on voting for,” said Allegra Kahn who has been volunteering with the State Party since June.
“We’re excited,” said State Democratic Chair Tina Podlodowski. “We have an army literally of tens of thousands of people now across the state of Washington.”
Podlodowski has her eye on the congressional districts in the state currently held by Republicans,
particularly the 8th district, an open seat since Congressman Dave Reichert is retiring. Republican Dino Rossi is facing three Democratic front-runners in the primary Jason Rittereiser, Kim Schrier and Shannon Hader.
In the 5th district in Eastern Washington, Republican incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers is facing a challenge from Democrat Lisa Brown.
Then, there's a total of 123 seats up for election in the state legislature. With a razor Democratic majority in Olympia, Washington Democrats are trying to expand their lead.
“This is the first year that Democrats are running in every single legislative district in the state of Washington,” said Chair Podlodowski.
She said the enthusiasm and grassroots support stands out compared to past election cycles.
“People want to see change happen at the federal level,” said Podlodowski. “I think they want to see more change happen as a result of Democrats being in charge during the past legislative session.
Turnout in the state heading into the weekend stands at around 17 percent, according to Friday evening’s numbers from the Secretary of State. Primary turnout during the presidential election year of 2016 reached around 35 percent. Podlodowski expects turnout this year to reach 38 to 40 percent.
“We're not seeing the big blue wave in the turnout numbers as ballots are coming in. It's a very standard election year,” said Washington State Republican Party Chairman Caleb Heimlich. “Our operation is focused on the mechanics, not the theatrics of getting out the vote.”
Chairman Heimlich said his team has been holding "Super Saturday" canvassing events, with plans to focus this weekend in the region's swing districts.
“This is the year we do have to defy history,” said Heimlich. “Traditionally the party with the presidency in the White House does lose seats.”
Washington Republicans will try to defend their congressional seats and they're aiming to flip one seat in the state senate and house which would essentially bring things to a tie.
Currently, Democrats hold a 50-48 majority in the Washington House and a one-seat lead in the Senate. Tuesday will be the first test of which side has an edge heading into the fall.
“History shows that 95 percent of candidates that win the primary win in November, so we want to see our candidates for state house and state senate ahead, because that's a good sign,” said Heimlich.
Washington will get its first look at results on Tuesday night after 8 p.m. when drop box locations close. If you’re mailing in your ballot, it must be postmarked by election day. You have until 8 p.m. sharp to drop it off to a drop box location.
