File this under Morning Jolt.
U.S. representative Jim McDermott (D-WA, 7), 79, is expected to announce today that he’s retiring.
The bombshell announcement would come just a month after state representative Brady Walkinshaw (D-43, Capitol Hill) announced he was running [1]against McDermott; McDermott, a lockstep lefty vote who famously and presciently questioned President George W. Bush’s claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, was first elected in 1988. McDermott also scored 15 minutes of fame for leaking ethically damning tapes of then (1997) Republican house speaker Newt Gingrich. (McDermott ended up paying federal court fines for the breach of his own.)
I have not confirmed the news that McDermott is retiring (I have a call in to his office), but one insider, among the many who were gossiping and chattering last night, texted me confidently: “Yes. Gone, outta here. We’ve heard for sure.”[2]
McDermott’s announcement will be welcome news to a list of Democratic hopefuls who’ve been anticipating this moment for years. A crew of candidates will likely join Brady Walkinshaw in a 2016 free-for-all.
Immediately after Walkinshaw’s announcement last month, the room was split between those who thought the 31-year-old freshman state rep was on a fool’s errand (McDermott has been elected 14 times and routinely wins by 80 percent) and those who thought Walkinshaw—young, gay and Cuban American—may have stepped in at exactly the right political moment.
McDermott wasn’t much of a fundraiser, and, not having had a competitive race in nearly 20 years, nor deep support in DC, he could have run into trouble against a hungry go-getter like Walkinshaw. Walkinshaw is expected to announce his initial fundraising stats today, and I hear they’ll be impressive—more than $200,000 in just a month.
But while Walkinshaw may deserve some credit for nudging McDermott, McDermott’s likely announcement will be welcome news to a list of Democratic hopefuls who’ve been anticipating this moment for years. A crew of candidates will likely join Walkinshaw in a 2016 free-for-all for the seat.
Starting as far back as the mid-1990s, it’s been a longstanding Seattle parlour game to speculate on who would be the next U.S. rep from the People’s Republic of WA, D-7. At one time, (when he was in the state legislature) mayor Ed Murray topped the list, but he’s not interested, nor has he been on the list for years.
Former U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan and King County Council member Joe McDermott currently top the list of those expected to run now. (Both Durkan and McDermott are also gay.)
City council member Kshama Sawant, who already has a national following and, many believe, is more interested in elevating her Socialist Alternative party than in Seattle City Council and the specifics of District Three, tops today’s parlour game list.
My favorite McDermott moment is when he got the best of Stephen Colbert[3].
References
- ^ state representative Brady Walkinshaw (D-43, Capitol Hill) announced he was running (www.seattlemet.com)
- ^ texted me confidently: “Yes. Gone, outta here. We’ve heard for sure.” (twitter.com)
- ^ My favorite McDermott moment is when he got the best of Stephen Colbert (www.seattlemet.com)
