West Virginia Democrats aim to rebuild party expectations at state convention

Jun. 15—CHARLESTON — Kathryn Prather and Rylee Birkett both sit at the end of a long table at the back of the South Hall within the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center on June 14.

A sparse number of Democratic delegates mingle in loose clusters around the cavernous hall. It's only four p.m., but by 6:30 p.m., the hall will be full. For now, people are still filing in for the 2024 West Virginia Democratic Party State Convention. Prather and Birkett traveled three hours from Ohio County to be here. They are both 18, recently graduated from high school and are in the first summer of their lives as adults.

"I'm not entirely sure we know what we're getting into, if I'm honest," Prather said. "Not that it was a spur of the moment decision to show up. I've thought about it more and more this time but initially, it was like, 'sure I'll go.' So, I think we're really just here to see what happens."

Prather and Birkett enter the convention at a time when a lot of Democrats in the state are wondering what happens next with the party. The party is at a nadir, with the State voting heavily Republican for the last 10 years. Former President Donald Trump, recently convicted for hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election, won the state in 2016 and 2020.

However, state Democrats have something brewing for the 2024 election this year. While state Republicans chose against holding a state convention this year, and the Republican-controlled legislature voted to change the law mandating presidential electors be selected at state conventions, Democrats are holding their first in-person convention in 8 years.

More than anything, there is one message state Democrats wanted to make clear with this convention. Out with the old, in with the new.

"It was October of the last year and you saw a real changing of the guard," David Turner, Democratic delegate from Randolph County, said. "You got Chairman [Mike] Pushkin elected. It was a lot of new people came aboard, a new direction for the Democratic party in West Virginia. It's going to be a long way coming back, but but you have to start with a few steps in the right direction."

Turner, 70, said he expected to see a great deal of unity and enthusiasm at the convention, with the party embracing greater inclusion. With younger people entering the party, he predicts the state party will hew closer to the national party.

However, Mary Anne Durland, another delegate from Randolph County, said she doesn't see enough of them in the party. Durland, 75, is head of the Randolph County Democratic Women.

Women's reproductive health came up frequently as a topic.

"I think a big issue that needs to be addressed is the overturning of Roe v. Wade," Birkett said. "It's just not safe. When you ban abortion, people start doing it in unsafe ways, ways that they could hurt themselves."

Health care, as a whole, is also important to Prather who is diagnosed with two chronic illnesses. She said disability rights are also important to her.

Dorian James, 57, a delegate from Harrison County, wants to keep an open mind on what the convention came up with as far as platform goals were. More importantly, he wants to see the convention energize party members for the general election season.

"We lost a lot over the years to whatever reason, people switching," James said. "But, I've been a Democrat always and that's something I'm going to remain. I don't switch parties. My main goal is to really show my support, attend this convention and all the sessions and see what's going to be amended and what's going to be new.

"I'm hearing about a lot of new things that are going to come up that's going to help us recruit more energetic people."

Voters switching parties is a challenge the Democratic Party has faced through the most recent years. Candidates eager to gain office will switch their party affiliation in order to run a viable campaign. However, Turner suspects that phenomenon will create a long term surprise the GOP won't enjoy.

The party runs the chance of splitting between conservatives and rightwing centrists who might agree on some issues but not on others.

"I think you're going to see the Republicans have a peril of prosperity," Turner said. "I think they're going to have a little bit more problem than they think. They got too many contradictions and if you can turn those two contradictions on each other, it's a start."

Sam Brown Petsonk, second vice chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, argued the exodus would actually sharpen the focus of the party. He said the loss of voter registrations to the GOP and independents has shown the party has not adequately reflected the needs of the electorate.

The convention will be reassessing who the party is and what they stand for.

Petsonk said the GOP has squandered the opportunity to enact policies that help people throughout the state.

"People gave them a chance by switching over to Republican and the Republicans largely have blown it," he said. "And now it's the responsibility of the Democratic Party to focus on the needs of the citizenry and deliver a political and legislative program that addresses those needs."

Prather and Birkett hope they will get the opportunity to move on to the National Convention. They view this as an educational opportunity, as well as an opportunity to make their voices heard. While they do have issues that are important to them, they are just as concerned with the process and ensuring the structure of the convention enables discussion.

Birkett is turned off by extremist rhetoric from the left, which she views as shutting down discussions when people should be coming together.

Both will study engineering in the fall. They said they want to see a greater plurality of professions in politics, not the glut of lawyers that currently monopolize the field. Prather and Birkett hope they can bring fresh ideas that spring out of youth to the greater discussions happening around who the Democratic Party of West Virginia will be going forward.

"It's important that young people become more involved in government," Birkett said. "We can't just ignore it. It's gonna be a problem for us eventually."

Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com