[VIDEO] Semi Bird Receives Overwhelming GOP Endorsement for Governor

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April 22, 2024

Washington State Republicans make Historic Endorsement at their statewide convention.

by Katie Kresly. Over the weekend, Semi Bird and the Washington State Republicans made history. Bird is the first black American person running for governor to be endorsed by a major political party in Washington. He was selected overwhelmingly by a 72% delegate vote at the statewide Republican convention in Spokane, WA.After Bird's endorsement, he answered several Burien-related questions for us. Here is our brief interview from April 20, 2024 [** please note interview corrections on Highline School data below]:[videopress 77fT6569]As reported on media outlets (KOMO) (KING5) and social media throughout the weekend, there was some initial confusion over the WAGOP officially endorsing a Republican candidate for governor.The candidate committee, citing "newly discovered information" about Semi Bird, suggested the delegates not vote to endorse any single candidate at this convention. They felt Bird should be disqualified from the endorsement process altogether based on three-decades-old information, even though their vetting process only looks back 15 years.At this historic convention, grassroots Republican attendees disagreed and voted down the committee's suggestion. Instead, they overwhelmingly endorsed Semi Bird as the first African American gubernatorial candidate for a major party in Washington State history.During the deliberation, Reichert sent a social media post to remove himself from the Republican endorsement process.Candidate Bird attended the convention, while Candidate Reichert did not.Although we have repeatedly requested interviews with fellow gubernatorial candidates Dave Reichert (R) and Bob Ferguson (D), neither have confirmed dates with us. We are also reaching out to Mark Mullet (D) for an interview.Because Burien-News understands the importance of hearing from all sides, especially regarding Burien-focused issues, we will continue actively reaching out to all the top candidates in our local races. We will publish each interview as we connect with candidates.** [EDITOR's NOTE: Interviewer's question incorrectly stated OSPI Washington State Report Card numbers for Highline School District students meeting standards are currently at 21% for math and 28% for ELA (English Language Arts.) Updated OSPI numbers are as follows:]OPSI Washington State Report Card screenshots from: https://washingtonstatereportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/ReportCard/ViewSchoolOrDistrict/100105[caption id="attachment_16391" align="aligncenter" width="439"]