Washington's 8th congressional district

Washington's 8th congressional district
	Kim Schrier; D–Issaquah
Area	7,359.70 sq mi (19,061.5 km2)
Distribution	83.4% urban; 16.6% rural;
Population (2010)	672,463[1]
Median income	$83,495[2]
Ethnicity	79.9% white; 9.7% Hispanic; 7.0% Asian; 4.6% other; 4.4% Two or more races; 2.4% black; 1.1% Native American; 0.5% Pacific Islands Americans;
Cook PVI	EVEN[3]

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 western-most 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 elected on November 6, 2018.

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 53 percent of the vote to become the first Democrat to represent the district.[15]

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%

List of members representing the district

Representative	Party	Dates	Cong ress	District Home	Electoral history
District created		January 3, 1983
Rod Chandler	Republican	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993	98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd	Redmond[16]
Jennifer Dunn	Republican	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2005	103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th	Bellevue[17]
Dave Reichert	Republican	January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2019	109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th	Auburn
Kim Schrier	Democratic	January 3, 2019 – present	116th	Sammamish	Incumbent

References

Specific

"U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. 2010. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=53&cd=08
"Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
Brunner, Jim (January 11, 2012). "The new 8th district: a bridge across the state?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
Cook, Charlie. "2006 competitive House race chart." The Cook Political Report, October 11th, 2006. (warning: PDF)
Hearn, Josephine. "Internal DCCC list pins hopes on 22 challengers." The Hill, April 27, 2006.
Office of the Washington Secretary of State. 2006 General Election Results. Accessed January 3, 2007.
Kapochunas, Rachel. "WA 8: GOP Survivor Reichert Prevails Over Burner." The New York Times, November 14, 2006.
Seattle Times Endorses DelBene
2010 General Election Results
Garber, Andrew (May 18, 2012). "Final filing day in state offers wealth of choices". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
Orenstein, Walker. "Ex-sports anchor Tony Ventrella drops out of congressional race". Retrieved 14 August 2018.
Weigel, David (September 6, 2017). "Dave Reichert, a swing seat Republican, will retire from the House". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
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.
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.
Turner, Wallace (3 September 1983). "G.O.P. expected to get Jackson seat". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
"Late Bellevue Congresswoman Dunn Honored by Son in County DVT Awareness Month Proclamation". Bellevue, WA Patch. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2016. Jennifer Dunn, who lived in Bellevue, represented Washington's 8th District in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2004.

General

Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

Washington State Redistricting Commission
Find your new congressional district: a searchable map, Seattle Times, January 13, 2012

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[Census-1] "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. 2010. Retrieved 2016-01-05.

[2] ttps://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=53&cd=08

[Cook-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 11th, 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.

[Seattle_Times_Endorsements-9] Seattle Times Endorses DelBene

[Election-10] 2010 General Election Results

[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 14 August 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] Turner, Wallace (3 September 1983). "G.O.P. expected to get Jackson seat". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2016.

[17] "Late Bellevue Congresswoman Dunn Honored by Son in County DVT Awareness Month Proclamation". Bellevue, WA Patch. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2016. Jennifer Dunn, who lived in Bellevue, represented Washington's 8th District in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2004.