Washington's 8th congressional district is a district for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

located in western Washington State. It includes the eastern portions of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

and Pierce counties, and crosses the

Cascade mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, a ...

to include Chelan and Kittitas counties. The district's western part includes the exurban communities of

Sammamish Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is a resid ...

, 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 Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

, Leavenworth, and

Ellensburg Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and wa ...

. It is currently represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Democrat Kim Schrier, who was first elected to the seat in 2018.

Creation

The 8th district was created after redistricting cycle after the 1980 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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. 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 The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...

, 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. United States House of Representatives, Washington District 8 map

United States House of Representatives, Washington District 8 map

Recent history

2004

In 2004,

Dave Reichert David George Reichert (; born August 29, 1950) is an American politician, veteran, and former sheriff who served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 8th congressional district from 2005 to 2019. He is a Republican and is the former ele ...

, at the time serving as the sheriff of King County, beat his Democratic opponent

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, ...

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 John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

2006

Responding to Reichert's perceived vulnerability, former

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

program manager

Darcy Burner Darcy Gibbons Burner (born November 12, 1970) is an American businesswoman and politician and a member of the Democratic Party from Carnation, Washington. Early life, education, and family Burner was adopted at birth in Alaska and grew up in a ...

(D) challenged Rep. Reichert in 2006, in what was widely expected to be a close election. Influential election analyst

Charlie Cook Charles Edward Cook Jr. (born November 20, 1953) is an American political analyst who specializes in election forecasts and political trends. Cook writes election forecasts and rankings in the publication he founded, ''The Cook Political Report'' ...

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"). Burner was one of 22 House challengers selected by the

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds, and organizes races in ...

(DCCC) for fundraising assistance with its "Red to Blue" program, aimed at unseating vulnerable Republican

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

s around the country. In the end, Reichert won re-election, defeating Burner by just 7,341 votes out of more than 250,000 cast. 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 ballot An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station to which the voter is normally allocated. Methods include voting at a different location, postal voting, proxy voting and online vo ...

2008

In the

2008 election This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are ...

, 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 Suzan Kay DelBene (née Oliver; ; born February 17, 1962) is an American politician and businesswoman who has been the United States representative from Washington's 1st congressional district since 2012. DelBene was the 2010 Democratic nomin ...

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

and Tim Dillon in the primaries.

2012

In the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, Reichert ran against Democrat Karen Porterfield, Associate Dean and Public Administration Lecturer at Seattle University. James Windle of

Snoqualmie Pass Snoqualmie Pass is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 90 (I-90) through the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. The pass summit is at an elevation of , on the county line between Kittitas County and King County. Snoqualmie P ...

also ran against Reichert as an independent candidate, but dropped out of the race in August 2012.

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.

2018

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

2020

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

2022

Schrier defeated Republican Matt Larkin with 53% of the vote.

Election results from statewide races

List of members representing the district

References

Sources

*
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

Washington State Redistricting Commission
''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

'', January 13, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington's 8th Congressional District 08