Washington State Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad won the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) second open vice chair position Friday after members voted to redo the election amid significant inner turmoil over David Hogg’s role within the party.
Conrad won the spot with almost 56 percent of the vote over DNC member Kalyn Free in a runoff election that took place from Wednesday to Friday. Kansas Democratic Party Chair Jeanna Repass had initially been eliminated from contention for the seat in the first round of voting after no candidate received a majority of DNC members’ votes.
Conrad finished the first round ahead of Free and Repass, reportedly with 44 percent of the vote to Free’s 37 percent and Repass’s 20 percent.
Free’s complaint in February over the way that the DNC’s vice chair election was run started the process that resulted in Hogg losing his position as vice chair.
Conrad joins Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D), who was first elected vice chair in the winter and won the redo election Saturday to reclaim his post, filling out the DNC’s last two vice chair roles.
The Washington state Democrat, a South Asian millennial, said in a statement that she’s honored to serve as vice chair, underscoring her commitment to provide more opportunities for young people to get involved and to ensure Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) have a seat at the table.
“This was the longest election in DNC history, and every vote cast reflected our shared belief in building a stronger, more inclusive Democratic Party,” she said.
DNC Chair Ken Martin called Conrad a “trailblazer” who understands the importance of hard work to ensure Democrats win up and down the ballot. He said Conrad helped Washington be the only state in the country to buck a red wave across the ballot.
“She is also the first AAPI chair in the contiguous 48 states and is deeply committed to the DNC’s mission of organizing everywhere, year round,” he said. “As a former state party chair and [Association of State Democratic Committees] president myself, I look forward to working with her to continue bolstering our state party infrastructure and strengthening and broadening our Democratic coalition.”
Free, a DNC member since 2019 from Oklahoma, argued in her complaint that the February election that selected Hogg and Kenyatta as vice chairs was improperly conducted and gave the male candidates an unfair advantage. The DNC Credentials Committee recommended redoing the election last month, and the full membership of the DNC voted overwhelmingly to hold another election last week.
The controversy concerning the election was procedural, but it came at a time when Hogg, who rose to prominence as a gun control activist, was in the midst of a firestorm over his group, Leaders We Deserve, pushing to primary certain longtime House Democratic incumbents. His moves caused significant backlash among DNC leadership and contributed to a wider conversation of generational change within the party.
After the DNC voted to hold the vice chair election again, Hogg announced he wouldn’t seek his vice chair position a second time, wanting to allow the party to “focus on what really matters.” He said building the strongest party possible will be his “number one mission.”
Kenyatta won support from almost all voting members as he was unopposed in his election, which took place Thursday to Saturday. The position was specifically for male candidates, and Kenyatta was the only male candidate eligible to run again.
Female candidates were eligible for the second election, which ran from Sunday to Tuesday. Both the DNC and Republican National Committee have rules requiring some amount of gender balance in its leadership positions.
Updated at 6:32 p.m. EDT
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