A drink and a debate: DC stays open late as Democrats flock to watch parties across the city

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USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – Julia Jeanty and Naudelis Fernandez, both new to D.C. and eager climate activists, trekked across the city Wednesday night to watch the first Democratic debate of the 2020 election cycle.

They ended up at The Outrage, a D.C. “activist apparel” store that kept its doors open late for like-minded feminists looking for a place to watch the debate.

“I think it’s good to just come here, unwind after work, have a drink, it’s kind of like sitting in your living room with your friends,” Jeanty said.

Bars and restaurants — even clothing stores — hosted watch parties for the first major Democratic event. While debates are just a click away on TVs and computers at home, some Washingtonians chose to watch in public spaces, eating and drinking with friends.

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The Outrage’s storefront displayed shirts and mugs with progressive sayings on them, such as Michelle Obama’s “When they go low, we go high,” and “Plank like RBG.” People steadily filed in, walking to the back of the store where there were colorful couches, hanging plants and $3 rosé. 

Becca Rose, an account coordinator at a public relations firm, said she “dragged her friends” with her to The Outrage to be among other progressives. 

“I chose The Outrage because it’s this really unapologetically progressive space and I feel like that’s particularly what I’m looking to get out of the Democratic primary,” Rose said. “I don’t really want to get stuck with a moderate. It’s nice to watch the debate in a space that feels as progressive as I am.”

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Law student Amira Perryman watched the debate with friends at Busboys and Poets on 14th Street. She said she enjoyed being able to watch with other people to get a sense of others’ political passions.

“I love it because it shows how much energy is in the election so far,” Perryman said. “It’s more than a year out and the whole place is filled.”

A few blocks away, organizers and viewers gathered hours before the debate in Haydee’s Restaurant for a watch party hosted by the D.C. Democratic Party and the D.C. Latino Caucus.

The restaurant was full early, and before eventually changing the channel to debate coverage, large TVs showed CNN’s coverage of the immigration issues at the border, including the graphic photo of the El Salvadoran man and his daughter who died early this week trying to cross the Rio Grande.

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“We wanted to give D.C. residents an opportunity to come together with other fellow Democrats and just be in conversation and see who’s hopefully going to be the next President of the United States,” Charles Wilson, chair of the D.C. Democratic Party, told USA TODAY. “We’ll see who we can start rallying around.”

Daniel Hernandez, a member of the D.C. Latino Caucus, said he never saw himself in politics. But the 2018 Supreme Court hearings for Brett Kavanaugh hearings woke him up —  “It made me want to put my time where my mouth is,” he said.

Now, Hernandez is running for a seat on D.C. Council. The election is in June 2020.

Dorothy Douglas, 71, a community advocate for nearly six decades who watched the debate at Haydee’s, said she was wary of candidates making promises they couldn’t keep. 

“They need to practice what they preach, and stand behind the people that put them in office and the folks that put money in their pockets,” Douglas said.

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