King County Democrats choose nominees to fill vacancies created by Karen Keiser's retirement, Patty Kuderer's statewide

With Democratic State Senators Karen Keiser and Patty Kuderer heading for the exits, the King County Democratic Central Committee (KCDCC) yesterday convened two special nominating caucuses in the 33rd and 48th Legislative Districts to fulfill the party’s constitutional obligation to nominate three candidates to fill each vacancy.

Anticipating that Keiser and Kuderer will each be succeeded by one of their two House seatmates, the caucuses also drew up lists of names to fill the House vacancies that would be created by moves across the rotunda. In total, four groups of three nominees were chosen. Each list will now be submitted to the King County Council once the KCDCC’s executive board has finished ratifying the results of the special nominating caucuses. KCDCC leadership has set a deadline of 9 PM tonight to complete ratification.

(Ratification is a formality; party rules require the central committee’s executive board to abide by the results of the special nominating caucuses. In a Democratic special nominating caucus to fill a legislative vacancy, the voters are the elected and appointed precinct committee officers serving in that legislative district.)

Over the years, we’ve covered a lot of special nominating caucuses here on The Cascadia Advocate. They are profoundly important, because their results influence the composition of the Washington State Legislature. Often, the appointees are retained by the voters and go on to serve the people of their districts for many years.

https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2024/12/king-county-democrats-choose-nominees-to-fill-vacancies-created-by-karen-keisers-retirement-patty-kuderers-statewide-victory.html