SPOKANE — Republican lawmakers in Washington gathered at their state convention this week to spar over endorsements in key races, with party leaders seizing an opportunity to consolidate the frontrunners early in a big election year. It was advertised.
But in Washington’s closely watched gubernatorial race, the plan quickly derailed with a chorus of boos and backbiting. Former Congressman and King County Sheriff Dave Reichardt, the party’s most polled supporter and best-known candidate, called the endorsement process “deceptive and fraudulent.” Denied. That’s dishonest. ”
State Republican Party officials announced Friday that they have disqualified former Richland City Schools Commissioner Semi Byrd from endorsing him for governor because he was “not active” in the party’s candidate selection process. Afterward, chaos erupted at the Spokane Convention Center. .
As a result, the party decided to take its long-awaited gubernatorial endorsement off the table and endorse both Mr. Reichert and Mr. Byrd, they said.
About 1,800 delegates, many of them waving Byrd signs, said authorities cited “new information” that had come to light that Mr. Byrd was arrested in 1993 on federal misdemeanor charges of bank theft by false credit. When I mentioned a Seattle Times report about his conviction, he was immediately outraged. application.
Bird, who was sitting in front of the convention hall when the announcement was made, said, “This isn’t 1960!”
Byrd supporters, a clear majority of delegates, quickly denounced the ruling and voted to reverse the decision, restoring Byrd’s eligibility for an affirmative vote scheduled for Saturday.
“People stood up and said, no, you can’t take people off the ballot. You don’t take away our voices, you don’t replace our presence. We, we… We’re here to make sure their voices are heard and their votes are counted,” Byrd told reporters and supporters.
Mr. Reichert did not appear at Friday’s convention, but quickly announced he was withdrawing from the chaotic Republican endorsement process.
In an interview, he slammed the process as a sideshow and a waste of time.
Mr. Reichardt said Mr. Byrd was stripped of his support “for good reason,” but fearing a backlash, Republican leaders decided to invalidate votes for both candidates.
“In my opinion, it was a broken system and a deceptive system. As a police officer…I can’t stand that kind of crap. I made the decision to remove myself from this chaotic mess. ” he said.
By Friday afternoon, the Reichert Yard signs that had lined up outside the convention center had been removed, leaving only the Byrd sign in place.
Reichert said Byrd and his supporters have been running “a fraudulent spin from day one” and that Byrd has a “long history of activity” that would be considered disqualifying.
In addition to the 1993 conviction, which Byrd said he accepted full responsibility, Reichert’s supporters and other critics say he was arrested in 1996 for failing to turn in a sheriff-issued gun after leaving the law. He has other issues going public, including an arrest for felony theft. executive work. The gun was later recovered and returned, and the charges were dropped.
Byrd denounced the dredging up of his past issues, a predictable development in a high-stakes political election, as character assassination by big-money donors and establishment political consultants.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you,” he said.
Functionally, the expected state party endorsement on Saturday could give Mr. Byrd the financial and logistical support of the party, while Mr. Reichert could see the top two vote-getters regardless of party. He vowed to fight hard in the upcoming August 6 primary election. Heading into the general election in November.
State Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh declined to comment immediately after the endorsement fight. When asked by a reporter for any reaction or analysis on the impact of the convention dispute, he kept walking.
“It’s a great day here in Spokane,” he said.
Friday’s convention also featured speeches by Republican candidates seeking support in various races across the state. Speeches by gubernatorial candidates were scheduled, but they were canceled amid the disqualification dispute.
In another sign of the Republican Party’s direction, many in the instinctively pro-Donald Trump crowd turned to Republican battleground former U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who is running for state public lands commissioner. showed a negative reaction.
Herrera Beutler was greeted with a mix of applause, loud boos and shouts of “RINO”. This was the result of deep-seated anger among many Republicans over her vote to impeach President Trump for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. As a result, she lost her bid for re-election in 2022.
“Simmer it down, boil it down,” she said to a booing convention audience, before launching into a speech about the need to better manage national forests.
Herrera Beutler said in an interview that she has faced tough crowds in the past and has no regrets about her impeachment vote or her work in Congress.
“I think living your life backwards with regrets is a sad way to live your life,” she said.
Late Friday afternoon, Republican delegates from the 4th Congressional District also voted to confirm Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Sunnyside), a conservative businessman and Trump-backed challenger, Jerrod Sessler. Punished.
Newhouse, along with Herrera Beutler, was one of 10 House Republicans who voted with Democrats to impeach Trump over the January 6 attack. He narrowly won reelection in 2022 after facing a number of pro-Trump challengers who split the primary vote.
Delegates to the party’s convention are expected to endorse Byrd on Saturday, but Reichert is open to talks with the party about endorsing Byrd later in the campaign. But in the meantime, he will focus on defeating Attorney General Bob Ferguson, his likely Democratic rival in November.
“What I’m doing is the right thing and the right thing to do is move forward,” he said. “They have my phone number.”
