Sue Lani Madsen: Roanoke Conference energizes state’s conservative politics

It was good to be back in Ocean Shores, Washington, last weekend for the annual Roanoke Conference, a gathering of conservative political nerds, politicians and pundits. Besides enjoying the Pacific Ocean views, there is always enough material for months of columns.

A broad theme of transparency recurred throughout the various panels and breakout sessions on education, abortion, conservation and the environment, gun rights, communication, rank choice voting and the war in Ukraine.

The event is not affiliated with the Washington state Republican Party but operates under its own leadership of younger conservatives. It was established in 2009 to create a “retreat-like atmosphere in which the up-and-coming generation of people passionate and interested in public policy and politics” can hang out casually and make the kinds of connections essential to building red-leaning coalitions within a blue state.

Judging by the sold-out attendance (for the first time ), Republicans are ready to rebound from a disappointing 2022 election and already talking about finding electable candidates.

Most voters don’t realize that while factions within a party may recruit a candidate, there is no formal screening process by the parties. Anyone can file any party preference, and so they do, which is one reason Washington ballots for statewide office feature a cast of dozens of long shots and creative party names.

The long primary season is a challenge for a Republican Party that hasn’t elected a governor since 1980 or a U.S. senator since 1994. It allows powerful Democratic incumbents to spend millions of dollars defining likely opponents as extreme and even dangerous for the months between candidate filing in May and the primary in August. Major funding for challengers tends to be held back until after the primary. Former U.S. Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley was a recruited candidate with a compelling story of service to veterans. On a panel on election challenges, she described the frustration of having to hold onto funds for the general while the Murray campaign hit her hard and negative in June.

According to an Axios report, “The Senate race between Patty Murray and Republican Tiffany Smiley is now the most expensive congressional race in Washington history,” with a total of over $32 million spent by or on behalf of Murray and $24 million supporting Smiley.

For those eager candidates thinking of filing for statewide office in 2024, Smiley has some advice on getting started: “I’m sorry, but if you can’t raise $20 million, you don’t have a chance.” Or as the old saying goes, money is the mother’s milk of politics.

Then there’s the question of screening candidates not only for electability and fundraising ability but for basic truthfulness. A simple resume check might have prevented the embarrassment to the Democratic Party when then-candidate and now newly elected Rep. Clyde Shaver, D-Oak Harbor, was outed by his father as lying about his veteran status and a law license he didn’t have. Or the embarrassment to Republicans of the even more flagrantly fabricated background of Rep. George Santos in New York.

House Bill 1671, co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Volz, R-Spokane, with the tongue-in-cheek proposed title “Securing Honesty and Valor of Elected Representatives and Senators,” is being filed this session to address such situations. Verifying if someone graduated from college, accurately listed their military service record, actually owned a business or has a professional license seems like reasonable expectations from the official Voters Pamphlet. Meanwhile, nobody is responsible for checking its accuracy. Reader beware.

Which brings the trust-building problem back to the parties. The Republican Party officially stays neutral until after the August primary, although some counties broke tradition in 2022 with early endorsements of Smiley. Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, cautiously agreed early vetting and endorsement may be helpful to creating momentum for candidates, but emphasized “we need to be transparent and fair with a system that’s published early and clearly.”

There is no shortage of potential Republican candidates for statewide office in 2024. “Everyone in there is running for governor,” said one cynical politician, gesturing at an after-party in a hotel ballroom.

Two things need to happen for one of them to be successful. The first is to be brutally honest about the odds of winning and only get in it to win it. A contested primary is a good thing, it gives voters choices, but they don’t need as many flavors as an ice cream shop in Ocean Shores to choose from in August.

The second is for the optimistic spirit of last weekend’s gathering to spread across the electorate in the next major general election. Building a big tent party means rising above the “my candidate or nobody” attitude that has derailed past statewide runs after a tough primary. If the attendance at Roanoke 2023 is any indication, 2024 might be the year.

Contact Sue Lani Madsen at rulingpen@gmail.com.

Editor’s note: This column has been updated to correct when Washington last elected a Republican governor and U.S. senator.