Live from Yakima: Day Two Begins!

After all of yesterday's activity, I was very glad to get some much needed rest last night and take a break from blogging. But Day Two has begun, and I'm back at my laptop, ready to continue our live coverage.

The Yakima Herald-Republic made the convention their top story in this morning's paper, with the headline "Dems hope to keep riding high" and a huge picture of Governor Christine Gregoire and Senator Maria Cantwell splashed at the top of the front page.

Reporter Leah Beth Ward wrote the story, which apparently isn't online yet. Her reporting largely mirrors my observations about the convention yesterday, beginning with an interesting sub headline:

State convention upbeat as governor leads rally for Cantwell's re-election

Democrats convened their state party convention in Yakima on Friday by vowing to win bigger majorities in the Legislature, make inroads in the U.S. House and hang on to the Senate seat held by Maria Cantwell.

[...]

For the evening, everybody was a Democrat as Pelz, a feisty cheerleader, jabbed at the Republicans. He noted the GOP also met here last weekend in what he called "a vain search for any signs of life."

Introducing Gov. Christine Gregoire, Pelz drew loud cheers by reporting that the state party is about to retire $4.5 million in debt incurred as a result of its legal fight to defend Christine Gregoire's narrow victory in 2004 on the third count over Republican Dino Rossi.

The Congressional Breakfast is just getting underway here at the Yakima Convention Center, and, like last night's gala banquet, it is completely packed. Following the breakfast, delegates will begin signing in for the day and we'll kick off the main proceedings.