The group, which has a long history of representing the now-shriveled reasonable wing of the Washington State Republican Party, is backing Dave Reichert for Governor, Jaime Herrera Beutler for Commissioner of Public Lands, Raul Garcia for U.S. Senate, and Chad Magendanz for Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Author Archives: Joel Connelly
Joel Connelly is a Northwest Progressive Institute contributor who has reported on multiple presidential campaigns and from many national political conventions. During his career at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, he interviewed Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and George H.W. Bush. He has covered Canada from Trudeau to Trudeau, written about the fiscal meltdown of the nuclear energy obsessed WPPSS consortium (pronounced "Whoops") and public lands battles dating back to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
Jettisoned by Trump, Ronna McDaniel tried a pivot into media, only to discover accountability exists outside of Donald’s cult
The Trumpification of the Republican Party has proven a character test for its officeholders and candidates. History is unlikely to look kindly on those who carried water for the first Oval Office occupant to refuse to participate in the peaceful transfer of power to his legitimately elected successor.
Chaotic House Republican majority shrivels again as Johnson faces motion to vacate
U.S. House Republicans are grappling with internal strife as Representatives Mike Gallagher and Ken Buck resign, while Speaker Mike Johnson will have to contend with an effort to oust him from Marjorie Taylor Greene when the chamber reconvenes in April.
Contest for WA-06 heats up as Emily Randall, Hilary Franz unveil prominent new endorsers
State Senator Emily Randall and the state’s Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, both Democrats, are lining up support for a seat that does not often come open.
Despite having withdrawn, Nikki Haley still garnered over 20% of the early vote in Washington’s Republican presidential primary
A sizeable chunk of the the electorate found ways to register dissatisfaction with their 2024 choices, particularly on the GOP side, with Trump’s nearly-decade long takeover of the Republican Party.
Cult above country: Mitch McConnell again bends the knee to Donald Trump
Despite the January 6th insurrection, despite Trump’s invitation to Russia to do whatever it wants to America’s allies, despite the court judgments affirming that he is a fraudster and liar, Mitch McConnell is endorsing Donald Trump. Again.
President Biden throws down the gauntlet in impassioned 2024 State of the Union speech
In his annual address to Congress, the President sought to draw a strong contrast with his predecessor and 2024 general election opponent while making the case for reproductive freedom, climate action, gun responsibility, economic justice, and support for Ukraine. He also announced new relief measures for Palestinians suffering in Gaza.
Mid-Atlantic momentum: Democrats win big in a pair of February 13th special elections
The victories were built with a swing of suburban votes, in Long Island’s Nassau County and in the Philadelphia suburb of Bucks County.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers announces she won’t seek reelection to Congress this year
McMorris Rodgers made no mention of her future plans, nor reasons for her retirement other than to say it came after “prayers and reflection.”
Joe Biden romps to victory in Nevada’s Democratic presidential primary while Donald Trump ignores results of Republican primary
Democrats were satisfied with the results of Nevada’s “First in the West” 2024 presidential primary, while Republicans ignored the results on their side of the state-run primary and plan to use caucuses to allocate their delegates.
Nancy Bell Evans: 1933–2024
The former First Lady of Washington State went far beyond renovating a mansion, embracing a woman’s right to make her own reproductive health decisions, and pursuing an array of interests and good works.
Writer E. Jean Carroll wins a huge judgment against Donald Trump for defamation
A nine-member Manhattan jury deliberated just three hours before attaching a price tag to defamatory remarks Trump made about a woman who accused him of sexual assault in the dressing room of a pricey New York department store.
Mass media examines Trump’s vulnerabilities in the wake of New Hampshire’s 2024 primary
The vote Tuesday showed cult-like Trump support from the hard right and evangelicals. But there is a ceiling to his support, and no particular wish to add on new floors.
Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley blast each other in CNN-hosted debate while Fox fetes Trump
Trump’s remaining rivals trashed each other, traded talking points, and took issue with frontrunner Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen 2020 election, during a ferocious debate staged in Des Moines five days before Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses.