17th LD Dems to nominate state senate candidate tonight

Democratic precinct committee officers in the 17th legislative district will be selecting a nominee between David Carrier and Martin Hash ("Be a conservative in what you do!") tonight at their monthly meeting for who's better qualified to take on serial web entrepreneur Don Benton.

The Olympian has a story explaining a very similar process up in Thurston County. Although PCOs will decide on a nominee, that selection will not appear on the ballot. This is all flotsam and jetsam from the top-two primary, and The Olympian does a good job explaining the intricacies.

If you notice, you'll see that Carrier's web site states unabashedly that he's running as a Democrat in 30 point type. Hash's site? Not so much. I long ago tossed my PDC regulations guide into a drum circle fire, but I'm almost sure that you need to state the party in which you're seeking nomination.

Update: Apparently the vote will occur at next month's 17th LD meeting. As so often happens at these things, some arcana of by-laws disrupts the process. Local party organizations (at least on the Democratic side) have tended to not issue endorsements in contested primaries, and have by-laws to that effect. My understanding is that the 17th LD Democrats need to change the by-laws first, then do their nominating vote.