Political Pattie’s is once again cooking up some controversy by endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president. After recently giving their facade a makeover in response to backlash over the GOP elephant in their logo, observers noticed two Harris/Walz signs go up in their front windows last week. The couple behind the bar, Andrew Benbow and Sydney Bradford, are both native Washingtonians who envisioned Pattie’s as a bipartisan space for “civil conversations” and aimed to be the “sports bar of political affairs.” But with rising scrutiny over the nature of the bar, Benbow and Bradford wanted to make their stance known. “We will both be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election,” says Bradford. “We think putting the posters in a clearly visible spot at Pattie’s was important.” The owners—she’s a Democrat, he’s a Republican—say their ability to speak publicly about their own beliefs emphasizes the mission of the bar. “I think deciding on a candidate doesn’t mean that you’re not open to having that polite political discourse with someone who may feel differently,” says Bradford. “I hope that it won’t serve as a deterrent to those with more conservative views, but for us, it was important enough to be demonstrative about where we felt we were going to land in terms of voting.” Benbow and Bradford say that since opening, they’ve welcomed Washingtonians of all backgrounds through their red front door and observed lively debates between friends. Pattie’s hosted a watch party for the Vice Presidential debate last Tuesday, which drew a large crowd curious about the bar they’d heard so much about online. “If you look at our patronage, it runs a spectrum of backgrounds and experiences,” says Benbow. “We have older and younger, Black, White, Hispanic, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. All of them are coming together in our space.” The couple says they hope the bar will continue to bring in all kinds of visitors who are passionate about politics or just want to have a fun experience at a unique political bar. Bradford says that despite backlash, they have a clear mission for Pattie’s and encourage doubters to come take a look inside. They say their goal for productive bipartisan conversation is still at the forefront of everything they do at Political Pattie’s. “We want to encourage civic engagement,” says Bradford. “We want to encourage folks to vote, but we also want to encourage folks to take a stand, and if you believe in a candidate you should say it loud and proud and be ready to support that with facts. We just want to add our voices to the conversation too.”The post “Bipartisan” Political Pattie’s Endorsed a Presidential Candidate first appeared on Washingtonian.