The United States House of Representatives elections in Washington were held on November 2, 2004. Washington has nine members in the House of Representatives, as apportioned during the 2000 Census, and all nine seats were up for re-election. There were two open seats in the 5th and 8th districts when Republicans George Nethercutt and Jennifer Dunn, respectively, retired. No seats changed party this year.

Overview

District 1

In this liberal-leaning district based in the northern suburbs of Seattle and parts of the Kitsap Peninsula, incumbent Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee did not face a serious challenge from Republican candidate Randy Eastwood and Libertarian Charles Moore. Congressman Inslee was able to crush both candidates in the general election to win his fifth nonconsecutive term in Congress.

District 2

Incumbent Congressman Rick Larsen has represented this Western Washington district, which extends from the northern and western suburbs of Seattle to the Canada–US border in the north since he was first elected in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. This year, he was challenge by Republican Suzanne Sinclair and Libertarian Bruce Guthrie, but he was easily able to win a third term due to the liberal nature of his constituency.

District 3

This Western Washington district, which spans from

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to the Washington- Oregon border, has a moderate profile and has been represented by Democratic Congressman Brian Baird since 1999. Seeking a fourth term, Baird was opposed by Republican Thomas Crowson, but the Congressman’s popularity allowed him to crush his opponent in a landslide.

District 4

Incumbent Republican Congressman Doc Hastings, who won his first term in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

by defeating fellow Congressman Jay Inslee, ran for a sixth term in this conservative, central Washington-based district. Hastings faced Democratic nominee Sandy Matheson in the general election, whom he was able to defeat convincingly.

District 5

When incumbent Republican Congressman George Nethercutt opted to run for Senate instead of seeking a sixth term, an open seat was created. The Minority Leader of the Washington House of Representatives, Cathy McMorris, emerged as the Republican nominee, while

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, a well-known developer based in Spokane became the Democratic nominee. McMorris was able to defeat Barbieri by a wide margin to win her first term in Congress.

District 6

Congressman

Norm Dicks Norman DeValois Dicks (born December 16, 1940) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for , between 1977 and 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district was located in the northwestern corner o ...

, the dean of the Washington congressional delegation, sought a fifteenth term in this liberal-leaning district based on the Kitsap Peninsula. Dicks faced perennial candidate and conservative activist Doug Cloud in the general election, but he was able to trump Cloud to seal another term in Congress.

District 7

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott, who has represented this solidly liberal district based in Seattle since he was first elected in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

, ran for an eighth term in 2004. Facing Republican candidate Carol Cassady, McDermott was able to easily take victory, winning by the largest margin out of any Congressman that year in his state.

District 8

Incumbent Republican Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn declined to seek a seventh term in this increasingly liberal district based in the eastern suburbs of Seattle and encompassing much of

King County King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

Sheriff Dave Reichert became the Republican nominee. The Democratic primary attracted national attention with three major candidates: Heidi Behrens-Benedict, the Democratic nominee for the congressional seat in 1998, 2000, and 2002; former

RealNetworks RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of artificial intelligence and computer vision based products. RealNetworks was a pioneer in Internet streaming software and services. They are based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The company also p ...

attorney Alex Alben; and

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radio host

Dave Ross Dave Ross (born April 10, 1952) is a talk show host on Seattle's KIRO-FM radio station. He joined KIRO as a news anchor in 1978 and was given his own talk show in 1987. He has sometimes broadcast his show while on assignment in other locations, ...

. Ross won the primary and ran as the Democratic nominee. Despite a grueling battle and the fact that the Democratic nominee for President, John Kerry, won the district that year, Reichert managed to pull out a thin victory and went to Congress for his first term.

District 9

This district has been represented by Democratic Congressman

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

since he was first elected in

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. Covering the densely populated area from the suburbs of Seattle to the northern portion of

, the district has a moderately liberal population with a tendency to support Democratic candidates. Congressman Smith did not face a serious challenge from Republican Paul Lord and Green Party candidate Robert Posey and was re-elected to a fifth term with ease.