Washington's 8th congressional district

Washington's 8th congressional district is a district for the United States House of Representatives located in western Washington State. It includes the eastern portions of King and Pierce counties and crosses the Cascade mountains to include Chelan and Kittitas counties. The district's western part includes the exurban communities of Sammamish, Issaquah, and Auburn but does not include Seattle and Tacoma's more immediate suburbs (with the exception of eastern Kent in the district's westernmost corner). On its east side, the 8th's population centers include the rural communities Wenatchee, Leavenworth, and Ellensburg.[4] It is currently represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Democrat Kim Schrier, who was first elected to the seat in 2018.

"WA-8" redirects here. WA-8 may also refer to Washington State Route 8.

Washington's 8th congressional district
Representative
  Kim Schrier
D–Sammamish
Area7,359.70 sq mi (19,061.5 km2)
Distribution
  • 83.4% urban
  • 16.6% rural
Population (2019)770,177[1]
Median household
income		$95,968[2]
Ethnicity
Cook PVIEVEN[3]

Creation

The 8th district was created after the 1980 U.S. Census. For its first 30 years, it was centered on the Eastside region of the Seattle metropolitan area. After the 2010 U.S. Census, the state responded to population changes by shifting much of the Eastside to the 9th District. To make up for the loss in population, areas east of the Cascades were shifted to the 8th District.

For the first 35 years of its existence, the district was held by a Republican. At the same time, the 8th district has voted for the Democratic nominee in every presidential election since 1992. Prior to the 2011 redistricting, the district had the peculiarity of having a Democratic advantage according to its Cook PVI, but only having elected Republicans to Congress throughout its history. After the district was pushed into the Cascades with the 2010 redistricting, its PVI is now even. The GOP winning streak ended with the 2018 election.

The district from 2003 to 2013

Recent history

2004

In 2004, Dave Reichert, at the time serving as the sheriff of King County, beat his Democratic opponent Dave Ross by 52% to 48% in the race to replace 12-year incumbent Jennifer Dunn; that year, voters in the district favored Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

2006

Responding to Reichert's perceived vulnerability, former Microsoft program manager Darcy Burner (D) challenged Rep. Reichert in 2006, in what was widely expected to be a close election. Influential election analyst Charlie Cook listed the contest among 68 competitive or potentially competitive House races to watch in 2006, categorizing it as a "toss-up" (defined as "the most competitive; Either party has a good chance of winning").[5] Burner was one of 22 House challengers selected by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for fundraising assistance with its "Red to Blue" program, aimed at unseating vulnerable Republican incumbents around the country.[6]

In the end, Reichert won re-election, defeating Burner by just 7,341 votes out of more than 250,000 cast.[7] The outcome of the race was not decided for almost a week after the election, as severe flooding in the eastern part of the district delayed the counting of absentee ballots.[8]

2008

In the 2008 election, Reichert faced Burner again in a rematch that many election watchers again described as one of the nation's hottest contests. This time, Reichert defeated Burner 53 percent to 47 percent, a solid victory despite Barack Obama's 15-point margin in the district.

2010

In the 2010 election, Reichert and Democrat Suzan DelBene advanced out of the Washington State Top 2 Primaries with 47.2% and 26.9% of the vote, respectively. Reichert prevailed over DelBene in the General Election 52.1% to 47.9%. In this election, Reichert won both King and Pierce counties even after losing some key endorsements, including the Seattle Times, which endorsed Suzan DelBene and Tim Dillon in the primaries.[9][10]

2012

In the 2012 election, Reichert ran against Democrat Karen Porterfield, Associate Dean and Public Administration Lecturer at Seattle University. James Windle of Snoqualmie Pass also ran against Reichert as an independent candidate, but dropped out of the race in August 2012.[11]

2014

In the 2014 election, Reichert defeated Democrat Jason Ritchie, a small business owner from Issaquah.

2016

In the 2016 election, Reichert defeated Democrat Tony Ventrella, a former sportscaster. Ventrella did not think he would beat the other candidates in the field and dropped out in July 2016 only to finish second overall and restart his campaign in the general election.[12]

2018

Reichert announced in September 2017 that he would not seek re-election.[13] Former State Senator and gubernatorial nominee Dino Rossi advanced from the top-two primary alongside pediatrician Kim Schrier.[14] In the general election, Schrier defeated Rossi with 52% of the vote to become the first Democrat to represent the district.[15]

2020

Schrier defeated Republican Jesse Jensen with 52% of the vote, a similar percentage as in 2018.[16]

Election results from statewide races
Year Office Results
1984 President Reagan 62 - 37%
1988 President Bush 56 - 43%
1992 President Clinton 38 - 34%
1996 President Clinton 47 - 41%
2000 President Gore 49 - 47%
2004 President Kerry 51 - 48%
2008 President Obama 57 - 42%
2012 President Obama 50 - 48%
2016 President Clinton 48 - 45%
2020 President Biden 52 - 45%

List of members representing the district
Member
(District Home)		 Party Dates Cong
ress		 Electoral history
District created January 3, 1983

Rod Chandler
(Redmond)[17]		 Republican January 3, 1983 –
January 3, 1993		 98th
99th
100th
101st
102nd		 Elected in 1982.
Re-elected in 1984.
Re-elected in 1986.
Re-elected in 1988.
Re-elected in 1990.
Retired to run for U.S. senator.

Jennifer Dunn
(Bellevue)[18]		 Republican January 3, 1993 –
January 3, 2005		 103rd
104th
105th
106th
107th
108th		 Elected in 1992.
Re-elected in 1994.
Re-elected in 1996.
Re-elected in 1998.
Re-elected in 2000.
Re-elected in 2002.
Retired.

Dave Reichert
(Auburn)		 Republican January 3, 2005 –
January 3, 2019		 109th
110th
111th
112th
113th
114th
115th		 Elected in 2004.
Re-elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Re-elected in 2010.
Re-elected in 2012.
Re-elected in 2014.
Re-elected in 2016.
Retired.

Kim Schrier
(Sammamish)		 Democratic January 3, 2019 –
present		 116th
117th		 Elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020.

See also

References
Specific
  1. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  2. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
  3. "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  4. Brunner, Jim (January 11, 2012). "The new 8th district: a bridge across the state?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  5. Cook, Charlie. "2006 competitive House race chart." The Cook Political Report, October 11, 2006. (warning: PDF)
  6. Hearn, Josephine. "Internal DCCC list pins hopes on 22 challengers." The Hill, April 27, 2006.
  7. Office of the Washington Secretary of State. 2006 General Election Results. Accessed January 3, 2007.
  8. Kapochunas, Rachel. "WA 8: GOP Survivor Reichert Prevails Over Burner." The New York Times, November 14, 2006.
  9. "The Seattle Times | Local news, sports, business, politics, entertainment, travel, restaurants and opinion for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest". www.seattletimes.com.
  10. "Voter Portal". voter.votewa.gov.
  11. Garber, Andrew (May 18, 2012). "Final filing day in state offers wealth of choices". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  12. Orenstein, Walker. "Ex-sports anchor Tony Ventrella drops out of congressional race". Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  13. Weigel, David (September 6, 2017). "Dave Reichert, a swing seat Republican, will retire from the House". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  14. Brunner, Jim (August 13, 2018). "Kim Schrier edges out Jason Rittereiser to face Dino Rossi in 8th Congressional District". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  15. Brunner, Jim (November 7, 2018). "Dino Rossi concedes 8th District race to Kim Schrier as new votes widen her lead". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  16. "November 3, 2020 General Election Results". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  17. Turner, Wallace (September 3, 1983). "G.O.P. expected to get Jackson seat". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  18. "Late Bellevue Congresswoman Dunn Honored by Son in County DVT Awareness Month Proclamation". Bellevue, WA Patch. March 22, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2016. Jennifer Dunn, who lived in Bellevue, represented Washington's 8th District in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2004.
General

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