The Associated Press
TACOMA — Washington Democrats wrapped up the final day of their state convention Sunday.
They selected the final 34 national delegates and eight alternates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July 25-28.
Sixty-seven delegates were previously elected at the party’s May congressional caucuses.
The selection of delegates is a formality. Presidential candidates are awarded delegates proportional to their finish at the Democratic caucuses in March.
Bernie Sanders, who won the caucuses, will have 74 delegates from Washington state at the national convention. Hillary Clinton will have 27. In addition, 17 superdelegates, most of whom have already pledged their support to Clinton, will represent the state at the convention.
On the North Olympic Peninsula, Port Townsend resident Jeff Engels was chosen to represent the 6th Congressional District at the convention along with Jessica Hernandez of Port Angeles and Julie Johnson of Neah Bay.
Engels and Hernandez will be Sanders delegates, while Johnson will be a Clinton delegate.
They were elected May 21 at the 6th Congressional District Democratic caucus in Suquamish.
They were chosen by delegates representing Democratic precinct caucuses in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, Grays Harbor and Pierce counties, officials said.
The 6th District covers the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas and most of Tacoma.
No delegates from Clallam or Jefferson counties were chosen at the state Republican Convention in Pasco on May 20-21 to go to the national convention in Cleveland on July 18-21.
On Saturday, state convention delegates passed their party platform and voted on various party charter amendments and resolutions.
One resolution has the state party officially endorsing Sanders, and the conference room broke into loud cheers after the vote.
Party officials said before the vote that the motion wouldn’t have any impact beyond being symbolic.
Another resolution that would have had the party officially endorse both Sanders and Clinton failed.
Also Saturday, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the lone Democratic U.S. senator to have endorsed Bernie Sanders, told the convention gathering that the party must unite behind Clinton in order to defeat Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
His remarks were met with boos from the Sanders supporters, mixed with cheers from the smaller Clinton camp.
