Christopher Armitage

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Christopher Armitage

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 4, 2020

Military

Personal

Birthplace

Newark, N.J.

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Christopher Armitage (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Washington's 5th Congressional District. He lost in the primary on August 4, 2020. Armitage unofficially withdrew from the race but appeared on the primary election ballot on August 4, 2020.

Armitage completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Christopher Armitage was born in Newark, New Jersey. He served in the United States Air Force.

Elections

2020

See also: Washington's 5th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Washington District 5

Incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers defeated Dave Wilson in the general election for U.S. House Washington District 5 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R)	61.3	247,815
		Dave Wilson (D)	38.5	155,737
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	808

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 404,360
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Washington District 5

Incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dave Wilson defeated Christopher Armitage (Unofficially withdrew), Stephen Major, and Brendan O'Regan in the primary for U.S. House Washington District 5 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R)	52.7	122,744
✔		Dave Wilson (D)	24.3	56,492
		Christopher Armitage (D) (Unofficially withdrew)	12.1	28,180
		Stephen Major (R)	8.6	20,000
	Submit photo	Brendan O'Regan (Independent)	2.1	4,995
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	385

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 232,796
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Rob Chase (R)

Campaign themes

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released January 26, 2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Christopher Armitage completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Armitage's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Chris Armitage is an Air Force Veteran who deployed twice from Fairchild Air Force base to the Middle East as a Security Forces Base Defense Operations Controller. Chris was also a First Responder. His duties included Law enforcement and regular shifts as a 911 operator. During his deployments he was able to earn a Master's degree in Homeland Security and an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice, thanks to the G.I. bill. Since leaving the Air Force, Chris has also been a small business owner and stand up comedian. Chris has witnessed firsthand the benefits brought to a community when its members have healthcare, housing, and jobs. These benefits were provided to him while serving in the Air Force. His experiences as an Eagle Scout, Military Service Member, Veteran and Community Activist have shown him that these opportunities should be extended to all Americans.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Get corporate money out of politics
• Sustainable jobs and housing
• Healthcare for All

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Chris is an unapologetic champion for policies like Healthcare For All, Criminal Justice reform, getting corporate money out of politics, and the Green New Deal. He supports a single-payer, health care system which guarantees care for all regardless of their ability to pay. As an active duty service member he received top notch service from salaried staff who instead of focusing on billing insurance, the priority was on patient care. In addition to being a community organizer, Chris is involved in climate change activism and is a member of the Sunrise Movement and focuses on Climate Action. Chris supports policies in the GND which would create well paying jobs and invest in infrastructure across Eastern Washington's rural counties.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Christopher Reeve is one of my biggest heroes. When I was going through a rough time on my first deployment I remember reading his book "Still Me". The courage he demonstrated while facing such incredibly challenging circumstances really inspired me. Right after his accident when he became a vent-dependent quadriplegic he had a lot of personal growth and development. The most valuable lesson I learned from that book was the importance of resilience even in the face of challenging circumstances. Our attitude is what determines our outcome. Everything may or may not happen for a reason, but through our reaction to our life experiences we can "make it have happened for a reason". Through that tragic experience Christopher Reeve became an advocate and a worldwide leader for scientific advancement for those with spinal cord injuries and others in the disabled community.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

- The courage to stand up for those who are not being heard

- Listening skills, and an openness to speak with everyone possible, not just donors or those who agree with your views.

- Service Before Self

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

- Improve quality of life for residents

- Good judgement and character for making unexpected decisions

- Steadfast leadership to set an example and bring consensus to the solutions that benefit the most people.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

911. I was only 9 years old. At the time I was going to elementary school in New Jersey, maybe 90 minutes from the Twin Towers. I was in second or third grade and I remember the teachers talking to each other and sending us home early from school. One of my good friend's fathers died that day. They never found his body. He just never came home. I could tell it was a very important day, even at 9 years old. My mother and older brother were standing around the TV and explaining to me what happened, they told me that things were never going to be the same. 6 years later I was protesting the war, 3 after that I enlisted. And now, a few years after leaving the military I'm trying to stop other forever wars and wars that are built on lies.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Shortly before joining the Air Force, my first job was working at it at an industrial Bakery. My job was to pull the bread pans out and make sure they were properly lined up as they went down the conveyor belt.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The role of the U.S. House in oversight and budgetary decisions are particularly important. As the most proportional and adaptive representation in the federal government, it most embodies the will of the people.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Every person in the United States has experience with government and politics. They interact with our daily lives in every way imaginable. This occurs when your tenants rights are trampled, when you're receiving unfair bills in the mail or being targeted by predatory loan rates. All of those experiences are government and politics connecting to our daily lives and we all have a duty for civic engagement. Our Founders didn't want us to have career politicians. They wanted to see large numbers of people engaged. Having teachers, First Responders and nurses represented in the US House of Representatives is crucial if we want to have true representation.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Many of the problems we face over the next decade intersect with one another - from climate change, homelessness, to underemployment and unemployment, to the healthcare crisis. But the only way we're going to be able to substantively and seriously tackle all of them is if we get corporate money out of politics. Because only then can we create solutions that are focused on helping people and not just corporations and corporate donors.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

The Homeland Security committee and Armed Services committee. The U.S. House Homeland Security committee would be the most beneficial for me to be a member of. While on that committee, part of my focus will be prioritizing climate action and Emergency Management action for the United States, as well as using climate action in Emergency Management preparedness to bring jobs and opportunity to Eastern Washington. As a member of the Armed Services committee the priorities I would focus on would be limiting out of control and wasteful defense spending and instituting regular audits of the Pentagon.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

The Founders created a two-year term length for the House of Representatives, a six-year term length for the Senate, and four-year term length for the presidency for a reason. Their intent was to ensure a government that would be both adaptable and steady in its governance. That's why I support the current term lengths as our Founders intended.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I support enacting term limits. However, I would rather see improvements made to our voting system that would encourage higher voter turnout and higher voter engagement. That would allow good Representatives to stay longer but make it easier to weed out the ones that are not doing their jobs.

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Footnotes

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Washington's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Maria Cantwell (D)

Patty Murray (D)

Representatives

District 1

Suzan DelBene (D)

District 2

Rick Larsen (D)

District 3

Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (D)

District 4

Dan Newhouse (R)

District 5

Michael Baumgartner (R)

District 6

Emily Randall (D)

District 7

Pramila Jayapal (D)

District 8

Kim Schrier (D)

District 9

D. Adam Smith (D)

District 10

Marilyn Strickland (D)

Democratic Party (10)

Republican Party (2)