WASHINGTON—Kalyn Free, an Oklahoma Democrat and Choctaw tribal citizen, will move on to a runoff for a vice chair seat of the Democratic National Committee following Tuesday’s vote, where no candidate earned a majority.
With 410 votes cast, Free received 36.59% of the total, trailing Washington state Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad, who garnered 43.63%. Kansas Democratic Party Chair Jeanna Repass received 19.78%.
Because the DNC’s Rules of Procedure require candidates to secure a majority of votes to be elected, a run-off has been scheduled between Free and Conrad. Voting will begin on Wednesday and take place in one-hour windows each day
The runoff follows Free’s successful challenge to the DNC to invalidate the February election due to violations of the party’s voting procedures and gender parity rules. As a result, re-elections were held for two vice chair positions, one of which was retained by the incumbent, Malcolm Kenyatta. The other incumbent, David Hogg, withdrew his bid, leaving Free, Conrad, and Repass to compete for the remaining seat.
“There would not be new elections for vice chair had I not stood alone fighting for justice and what is right,” Free said in a video submitted to DNC members. “But as a Native American woman and attorney, that is not new for me.”
Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News, go to Gaylord News.net.
