Washington's 8th Congressional District election, 2018

Elections in Washington, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 8 (mail or online), or Oct. 29 (in-person)
• Early voting: N/A
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: N/A (Washington conducts all elections by mail)
• Poll times: N/A

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On the ballot: U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • Municipal • Recalls • Primaries in Washington, 2018

2020 → ← 2016
Washington's 8th Congressional District
Top-two primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: May 18, 2018
Primary: August 7, 2018 General: November 6, 2018 Pre-election incumbent: Dave Reichert (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: No polling hours (vote-by-mail) Voting in Washington
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Toss-up Inside Elections: Toss-up Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
Washington's 8th Congressional District U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th Washington elections, 2018 U.S. Congress elections, 2018 U.S. Senate elections, 2018 U.S. House elections, 2018 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Pediatrician Kim Schrier (D) defeated former state Sen. Dino Rossi (R) in the general election on November 6, 2018, to represent Washington's 8th Congressional District.

All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2018. The Democratic Party gained a net total of 40 seats, winning control of the chamber. This race was identified as a 2018 battleground that might have affected partisan control of the U.S. House in the 116th Congress. Heading into the election, the Republican Party was in the majority holding 235 seats to Democrats' 193 seats, with seven vacant seats. Democrats needed to win 23 GOP-held seats in 2018 to win control of the House. From 1918 to 2016, the president’s party lost an average of 29 seats in midterm elections.

Although retiring incumbent David Reichert (R) won re-election in 2016 by 20 percentage points, the district backed the Democratic nominee in the past three presidential elections by two to five percentage points. The district was one of 26 Republican-held congressional seats that voted for Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016. Election forecasters called this race a toss-up.

Washington's 8th Congressional District is located in the central portion of the state and includes Chelan and Kittitas counties and areas Douglas, King, and Pierce counties.

For more information about the top-two primary, click here.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Washington District 8

Kim Schrier defeated Dino Rossi in the general election for U.S. House Washington District 8 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Kim Schrier (D)	52.4	164,089
		Dino Rossi (R)	47.6	148,968

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 313,057
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House Washington District 8

The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House Washington District 8 on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dino Rossi (R)	43.1	73,288
✔		Kim Schrier (D)	18.7	31,837
		Jason Rittereiser (D)	18.1	30,708
		Shannon Hader (D)	12.5	21,317
		Jack Hughes-Hageman (R)	2.5	4,270
	Submit photo	Gordon Allen Pross (R)	1.2	2,081
	Submit photo	Thomas Cramer (D)	0.9	1,468
		William Eugene Grassie (Independent)	0.7	1,163
	Submit photo	Richard Reyes (L)	0.7	1,154
		Keith Arnold (Independent)	0.6	1,090
		Patrick Dillon (Neither Major Party)	0.5	898
	Submit photo	Todd Mahaffey (Independent)	0.4	673

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 169,947
= 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

• Brian Kostenko (D)
• Poga Ahn (D)
• Robert Hunziker (D)
• Brayden Olson (D)

Candidate profiles

See also: Editorial approach to writing about key campaign messages

Dino Rossi, former Washington state senator

Party: Republican

Incumbent: No

Political office: Washington State Senate District 45 (2016-2017); Washington State Senate District 7 (2012); Washington State Senate District 5 (1997-2003)

Biography: Rossi earned his BA in Business Administration from Seattle University in 1982. His professional experience includes serving as a partner at the Coast Equity Partners real estate investment company Rossi represented District 5 in the state Senate from 1997 to 2003, when he mounted an unsuccessful campaign for governor. He also ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2008 and U.S. Senate in 2010. Following his statewide campaigns, Rossi was appointed to fill terms in the Washington State Senate twice.

Key messages

• Rossi ran with an emphasis on his record, saying his authorship of bills that passed with bipartisan support showed his ability to work with both sides. He cited a bill that mandated ignition locks in the cars of DUI offenders and bill establishing a two-strikes law for sex offenders who prey on children.

• Rossi said he is a "fiscal conservative with a social conscience." He was the only candidate in the race in favor of preserving the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, citing a Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council presentation which said 20,000 to 21,000 new jobs would be created in the state.

• Rossi said, "My guiding vision for every policy decision is whether it will move the economy forward or backward."

Kim Schrier, Pediatrician

Party: Democratic

Incumbent: No

Political office: None

Biography: Schrier earned a B.A. in Astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1991. She earned an M.D. from University of California, Davis in 1997 and completed her residency at the Stanford University School of Medicine in 2000.

Key messages

• Schrier prioritized stabilizing the health insurance markets and the state health exchanges under the ACA. She also called for allowing all Americans buy into Medicare on a sliding scale, saying "average insurance company overhead is currently estimated to be 20%, while Medicare overhead is estimated to be only 1.8%."

• Schrier said she would seek to repeal the Dickey Amendment, which mandated that "none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be used to advocate or promote gun control." She supported expanding Washington State’s Extreme Risk Protection Order policy nationwide.

• Schrier linked Rossi's stance on Planned Parenthood to President Trump's and said "I will fight to increase funding for Planned Parenthood and consider any attack on Planned Parenthood to be an attack on women."

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Washington's 8th Congressional District election
Poll	Poll sponsor	Dino Rossi (R)	Kim Schrier (D)	Undecided/Other	Margin of Error	Sample Size
The New York Times Upshot/Siena College (October 30 - November 4, 2018)	N/A	45%	48%	8%	+/-4.8	477
Crosscut/Elway October 4-9	Crosscut	49%	39%	12%	+/-5	400
The New York Times Upshot/Siena College September 24-26	N/A	45%	46%	9%	+/-4.6	505
Note: A "0%" finding means the question was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

Click [show] to see poll results from the top-two primary

Internal polls Washington's 8th Congressional District Poll Poll sponsor Jason Rittereiser (D) Kim Schrier (D) Shannon Hader (D) Robert Hunziker (D) Brayden Olson (D) Thomas Cramer (D) Bill Grassie Dino Rossi (R) Undecided Margin of error Sample size GBA Strategies (April 18-22, 2018) House Majority PAC 7% 17% 11% 0% 0% 0% 3% 41% 12% +/-3.3 900 Global Strategy Group (March 26-28, 2018) Rittereiser campaign 4% 6% 3% 1% 1% 0% 3% 43% 37% +/-4.9 400 AVERAGES 5.5% 11.5% 7% 0.5% 0.5% 0% 3% 42% 24.5% +/-4.1 650 Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Kim Schrier	Democratic Party	$8,144,753	$8,075,093	$69,660	As of December 31, 2018
Dino Rossi	Republican Party	$4,846,553	$4,821,393	$25,160	As of December 31, 2018
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Satellite spending

Satellite spending, commonly referred to as outside spending, describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.

This section lists satellite spending in this race reported by news outlets in alphabetical order. If you are aware of spending that should be included, please email us.

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee: The DCCC had spent over $1.4 million to oppose Rossi as of September 4.
• Congressional Leadership Fund: This Republican leadership-backed super PAC made the following spending moves in preparation for the November general election.
  • In April 2018, the group announced that it was reserving $2.1 million in broadcast and cable advertising ahead of the November election. This was part of a larger $38 million ad buy to protect vulnerable Republican seats.
  • The group announced it was opening an office in the 8th District on March 28, 2018. The group aimed to target 50,000 to 80,000 voters in the district ahead of election day. Michael Byerly, the national press secretary of the CLF, said the group would focus on the 2017 tax bill that President Trump signed, House Minority Nancy Pelosi, and local issues.
• House Majority PAC: This Democratic leadership-backed super PAC reserved $1.7 million in television advertising time for the Seattle media market in the weeks before the November elections.
• Independence USA PAC
  • The group reported spending $2,105,622.20 in support of Schrier and opposed to Rossi on October 23, 2018.
  • The group reported spending $655,000 in support of Schrier and in opposition to Rossi on October 5, 2018.
• The League of Conservation Voters launched a $1 million television ad buy opposing Rossi on October 24, 2018.

Race ratings

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

• Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
• Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
• Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.
• Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: Washington's 8th Congressional District election, 2018
Race tracker	Race ratings
	October 30, 2018	October 23, 2018	October 16, 2018	October 9, 2018
The Cook Political Report	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was EVEN, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were within 1 percentage point of the national average. This made Washington's 8th Congressional District the 202nd most Democratic nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.05. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.05 points toward that party.

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.

Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites.

• Dino Rossi
• Kim Schrier

Noteworthy general election endorsements
Endorsement	Schrier (D)	Rossi (R)
Newspapers and editorials
The News Tribune	✔
The Seattle Times		✔
Elected officials
Former President Barack Obama (D)	✔

Click here to see a list of endorsements in the August 7 top-two primary

Democratic candidate endorsements Endorsement Hader Rittereiser Schrier Organizations The Seattle Times ✔ American Federation of Teachers Washington ✔ EMILY's List ✔ Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO ✔ ✔ Planned Parenthood ✔ International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers District Lodge 751 ✔ International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 5 ✔ Laborers’ International Union of North America, Washington and Northern Idaho District Council ✔ Indivisible ✔ ✔ Washington Federation and State Employees (AFSCME Council 28) ✔ Plumbers and Steamfitters UA Local 598 ✔ Tacoma Pierce County Advocates for Retirement Action ✔ Retired Public Employees Council of Washington ✔ Kittitas County Democrats ✔ ✔ ✔ Win With Women PAC ✔ Young Democrats of Washington ✔ National Women’s Political Caucus ✔ King County Young Democrats ✔ Humane Voters of Washington ✔ Washington State Democratic Party Hispanic & Latino Caucus ✔ Washington State Stonewall Democrats ✔ OneAmerica Votes ✔ King County Democrats ✔ Pierce County Democrats ✔ 11th Legislative District Democrats ✔ 41st Legislative District Democrats ✔ 31st Legislative District Democrats ✔ 45th District Democrats ✔ 33rd Legislative District Democrats ✔ 25th Legislative District Democrats ✔ 30th Legislative District Democrats ✔ 47th Legislative District Democrats ✔ Leadership NOW Project ✔ North Central Washington Central Labor Council ✔ National Organization for Women PAC ✔ Auburn WA Flip 8th CD ✔ Retired Public Employees Council of Washington ✔ OneAmerica Votes Muslim Committee ✔ American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists PAC ✔ International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 77 ✔ Wenatchee Aluminum Trades Council ✔ United Steelworkers Local 310A ✔ The Stranger ✔ International Union of Operating Engineers Local 286 ✔ Central Puget Sound Carpenters Local 30 ✔ Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 598 ✔ International Longshoremen & Warehouse Union’s Puget Sound Council ✔ Communications Workers of America, Pacific Northwest Council ✔ East Pierce Firefighters, IAFF Local 3520 ✔ International Longshoremen & Warehouse Union Foremen’s Local 98 ✔ Young Democrats of Washington ✔ Valley Firefighters, IAFF Local 1352 ✔ Eastside Firefighters, IAFF Local 2878 ✔ Maple Valley Fire Fighters, IAFF Local 3062 ✔ Operating Engineers Local 612 ✔ Renton Firefighters, IAFF Local 864 ✔ Renton Police Officers Guild ✔ Individuals Zack Hudgins, Washington state representative ✔ Nita Rinehart, former Washington state senator ✔ Jeannie Darneille, Washington state senator ✔ Rebecca Saldaña, Washington state representative ✔ Nancy Backus, Auburn mayor ✔ Judith Billings, former Washington superintendent of public instruction ✔ Lisa Wellman, Washington state senator ✔ Judy Clibborn, Washington state representative ✔ Tana Senn, Washington state representative ✔ Beth Doglio, Washington state representative ✔ Steve Bergquist, Washington state representative ✔ Zack Hudgins, former Washington state representative ✔ Pat Thibaudeau, former Washington state senator ✔ Laura Ruderman, former Washington state representative ✔ Mary Lou Pauly, Mayor of Issaquah ✔ Tola Marts, Issaquah City Councilmember ✔ Pam Stuart, Sammamish City Councilmember ✔ Jason Ritchie, Sammamish City Councilmember ✔ Mary Morgan, Ellensburg City Councilmember ✔ Larry Brown, Auburn City Councilmember ✔ Ava Frisinger, former Mayor of Issaquah ✔ John Stokes, former Mayor of Bellevue ✔ Dino Rossi U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) Republican Main Street Partnership The Seattle Times Washington State Farm Bureau Club for Growth

Timeline

• November 4, 2018: A New York Times Upshot/Siena College poll found Schrier about even Rossi, with 48 percent support to Rossi's 45 percent. The poll reported a margin of error of 4.8 percentage points.
• October 24, 2018: The League of Conservation Voters announced a $1 million television ad campaign opposing Rossi.
• October 23, 2018: Independence USA PAC reported spending just over $2.1 million on a television ad buy supporting Schrier and opposing Rossi.
• October 19, 2018: The Seattle Times endorsed Rossi.
• October 17, 2018: Rossi and Schrier met for a debate in Ellensburg.
• October 5, 2018: Michael Bloomberg's Independence USA PAC reported $655,000 of spending in support of Schrier and in opposition to Rossi.
• October 1, 2018: Former President Barack Obama (D) endorsed Schrier in the race.
• September 26, 2018: A New York Times/Siena College survey of 505 likely voters found Schrier leading Rossi 46 to 45 percent. The margin of error was 4.6%.
• September 25, 2018: Rossi released an ad titled, "Credit".
• September 25, 2018: Schrier released an ad titled, "Career."
• September 5, 2018: The Congressional Leadership Fund released an ad critical of Schrier.
• August 13, 2018: The Associated Press announced that Kim Schrier (D) was the second-place finisher and would compete in the general election.
• August 7, 2018: Dino Rossi (R) advanced from the top-two primary. The second-place finisher was not immediately known.
• January 30, 2017: Washington's 8th District was listed as one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's initial targets in 2018.

Campaign advertisements

This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, please email us.

Dino Rossi

Support

"Credit," Dino Rossi campaign ad released September 25, 2018

"Both Sides," Dino Rossi campaign ad released September 25, 2018

"Real Money," Dino Rossi campaign ad released July 27, 2018

"Two Strikes," Dino Rossi campaign ad released July 27, 2018

"Support Dino Rossi in WA-08," U.S. Chamber of Commerce ad released July 21, 2018

"Meet Dino Rossi," Dino Rossi campaign ad released July 18, 2018

Oppose

"Lifestyle" - House Majority PAC ad, released October 30, 2018

"Around" - House Majority PAC ad, released October 23, 2018

"Memories" - House Majority PAC ad, released October 16, 2018

"Connected" - Schrier campaign ad, released October 10, 2018

"Damage" - ad by House Majority PAC, released September 12, 2018

"Remember" - ad by DCCC, released August 15, 2018

Kim Schrier

Support

"Career," released September 25, 2018

"Myself," released September 13, 2018

"Door," released August 1, 2018

"Boys," released July 24, 2018

"Right," released July 10, 2018

"Every Day," released July 10, 2018

Oppose

"Solid" - ad by Congressional Leadership Fund, released October 30, 2018

"Skyrocketing" - ad by Congressional Leadership Fund, released October 5, 2018

"Single Payer" - ad by NRCC, released October 1, 2018

"Keep Her Out" - ad by NRCC, released September 25, 2018

"Profits" - ad by Congressional Leadership Fund, released September 20, 2018

"Refused" - ad by Congressional Leadership Fund, released September 5, 2018

Debates and forums

• Rossi and Schrier appeared at a debate in Ellensburg on October 17, 2018. Click here for footage of the debate.

Media coverage

• Ahmed Namatalla Associated Press (April 5, 2018): "'This is, without a doubt, the best chance Democrats have had to win this district, but they can't just rely on their voters, even if they are angry and motivated. They have to draw Republicans and independents,' said Todd Schaefer, a political science professor at Central Washington University. Rossi's name recognition and centrist appeal put him in a much better position than Republicans running in other competitive districts, Schaefer said."
• Democratic political consultant Ben Anderstone in Crosscut (March 21, 2018): "Here are the top three takeaways for the 8th District race...

1. Washington state Republicans have a better brand than Washington, D.C., Republicans. This is perhaps damning with faint praise, but it’s not nothing. Look beyond Dino Rossi’s win record. He’s a polished, non-scary Republican of a vintage that has allowed the state GOP to overperform, even when they don’t win. Last year’s just-fine results for Republicans in special legislative elections show as much. This matters less in a congressional race, but it’s a factor.
2. Don’t bet that WA-8 will be “the exception.” Candidates matter and campaign matters, but in an open-seat congressional election, it takes outlier scenarios to generate outlier outcomes. If Democrats continue to lead the generic ballot by anywhere near 10 percentage points or more, Republicans would need an outlier scenario to win here. Dino Rossi may be a good candidate, and his Democratic opponent may stumble, but that’s all within the “normal” range of electoral scenarios. Voting by mail might reduce the impact of a tidal wave, but it won’t divert it.
3. Man, this is a bad year to be a Republican. Despite a good economy and few extrinsic crises, Donald Trump is very unpopular, and congressional Republicans have trailed the generic balloting by between 7 and 13 points for about a year. In special elections, they have underperformed by way more, suggesting they suffer from a nasty enthusiasm gap. With upward of 100 congressional seats possibly on the line, and Washington’s 8th among the most vulnerable, Republicans should be sweating bullets.

In the end, that last take-away is by far the most important. This is a nasty environment for Republicans. That environment could improve, but it could also degrade even further. Arguably, the GOP faces more downside risk than upside. A stock market crash or huge twist in Russiagate could turn a Democratic tsunami into a … well, we don’t even have a tidal metaphor for that. I would put the odds of both under 50 percent, though. That leaves our likeliest scenario closer to the current equilibrium: a Democratic wave. Under that scenario, it’s unlikely that the GOP’s assets — a good local brand, convenient mail voting for the less-enthused, and decent recent showings in state elections — will be enough to keep Rossi above water. Here in Cascade Country, our home-state Republicans may stand on higher ground. But some waves can overtake even mountains."

Campaign themes

Dino Rossi

Rossi’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Protecting the Vulnerable “A fiscal conservative with a social conscience” As chair of the Senate Ways & Means Committee, I turned the largest dollar deficit in Washington history into a bipartisan balanced budget by refocusing the priorities of government to deliver the best possible value of services to Washington taxpayers. My guiding philosophy of fiscal conservatism with a social conscience helped protect the most vulnerable Washington residents during my time in the legislature and will continue to guide me as your Representative of Washington’s 8thCongressional District. I defended funding for seniors, the mentally ill, and those with developmental disabilities by bringing people from both parties together onto fiscally responsible and socially conscientious common ground. That’s why my budget work in the state Senate was signed by the Democratic Governor and supported by every single Republican Senator and 38 Democrats in the Washington legislature, including the current Speaker of the House, Frank Chopp. I have dedicated myself to protecting the most vulnerable in society. My balanced budget earned the Senior Star Award from the AARP for protecting seniors, and developmental disabilities groups gave me eight different awards for my work in the legislature defending the vulnerable. I will work to enact effective, fiscally-responsible programs designed to get results and eliminate the bureaucracy that prevents kids, the disabled, and other vulnerable groups from getting the help they need. I will keep our word to our senior citizens by protecting and preserving Medicare and Social Security for everyone who has paid into it. It’s their money. I will work to ensure that everyone gets 100% of the Social Security they are entitled to while reducing fraud and abuse. Economy & Jobs Helping everyone succeed I will focus on policies that put people back to work at good-paying jobs. Specifically, I support increasing small business tax credits, fully repealing the estate tax, focusing on economic competitiveness, and fostering an atmosphere that allows businesses of all sizes in the 8thDistrict and throughout the country to compete and thrive. The recent tax cuts for the middle class should be made permanent. The median family of four in the 8th Congressional District will save $3,357 a year thanks to these tax cuts, and the median individual tax filer will save $2,191 each year. These cuts should be preserved because they are already leading to economic growth and job opportunities, with companies from Boeing to Walmart to Starbucks along with dozens of others already offering raises and bonuses. In a presentation to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Steve Lerch, Executive Director of the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, stated that, because of this tax cut, 20,000 to 21,000 new jobs will be created in Washington state. These are real and lasting benefits for the middle class, and I am the only candidate in favor of preserving them. Government Reform Making government work for the people We have enough people in D.C. yelling at each other and too few working to solve problems. My strong history of bringing Republicans and Democrats together on popular solutions to real problems is sorely needed in D.C. That’s why I have been reappointed to the state Senate twice, with Republican activists agreeing with every single Democrat and Republican on the King County Council that I have the skills to bring problem-solving back to government and make it serve the people. My guiding vision for every policy decision is whether it will move the economy forward or backward. I view all legislation through this prism. I will end the inattention to key business climate issues and return to responsible and sustainable federal budgeting. I will focus on fiscally responsible policies and work to produce a budget that reduces the deficit for the next generation of taxpayers while reducing the red tape and burdens that bureaucracy places on people. Environment Leaving the “campsite” better than we found it My commitment to the environment comes from my Tlingit Alaskan Native grandmother, who taught my family the importance of leaving the campsite better than you found it. I have been a steward of the environment and am committed to ensuring the conservation of public lands. I have twice won the Good Green Deeds award from the Washington Conservation Voters, and was on the Board of The Nature Conservancy and the Mountain-to-Sound Greenway Trust. I was also instrumental in saving the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery from closure as a state Senator. I favor an all-of-the-above approach to energy policy, including preserving our state’s dams and supporting nuclear power, which has been and will continue to be important to our nation’s energy infrastructure. I have campaigned on environmental issues, including calling for converting the state motor pool to hybrid and plug-in vehicles, providing a sales tax exemption on hybrid vehicles, replacing fish-killing road culverts and implementing congestion relief projects that would eliminate millions of tons of carbon emissions produced by cars stuck in traffic. Our forests must be managed more effectively to reduce forest fires, which destroy property, take lives, ravage communities, and release massive amounts of greenhouse gasses and particulate pollutants into the atmosphere. Immigration Increasing border security and enforcing existing laws Our nation’s immigration system is broken in every way and must be fixed. I am committed to increasing the security of our borders. Any efforts to increase border security must include efforts to enforcing existing immigration laws and protecting our citizens from crimes committed by those here illegally. Additionally, I support improving the guest worker program for those who want to enter our country legally. A legislative immigration “fix” must also include a humane and compassionate approach to those here under the DACA program. Deporting hundreds of thousands of people to a country that they may have never known and left when they were young is not logical. Veterans Serving those who serve There are almost 50,000 military veterans in the 8th District, all of whom deserve our respect and support. I will prioritize caring for our veterans and fixing the unconscionable bureaucratic failures that have plagued the VA and other veterans service agencies for far too long. America’s veterans deserve better. Recently discharged military veterans deserve dedicated job training programs to ensure a successful transition to the private sector. I believe that meaningful employment is always preferable to unemployment and it is our duty to our veterans to help them add to the skills they acquired in the military and achieve meaningful jobs in the civilian sector. Job training programs would teach these veterans valuable skills and enhance the skills they gained from their service. Accessing VA programs is difficult for many veterans, which is one of the reasons why only a small percentage of veteransever use the benefits they earned during their service. We have to do a better job of ensuring veterans' health care needs are met, including allowing them to see doctors outside the VA system when necessary. All options need to be made available and properly funded to ensure that our nation’s veterans can utilize the health care they earned as a member of our Armed Forces. Keeping military families together and supported should be a priority for our nation. Reintegration of soldiers who are away from home for months at a time is a difficult transition for many families because there are not many dedicated, family-specific resources. It is important that we focus on doing all it can to assist families during active members’ time away from home and after their return. Public Safety Protecting society and ensuring community well-being As a State Senator, I supported the nation’s first mandatory ignition interlock for chronic DUI offenders and harsher penalties for hit-and-run drivers that made Washington a national leader in public safety. I also led the debate and passage of Washington’s two-strikes law for sex offenders who prey on children. This bill has ensured that over 100 repeat child molesters have remained in prison rather than being released back into the general population. Securing cyber infrastructure and defending Americans while ensuring privacy Cybersecurity is more important than ever. I will bring the private sector and federal government agencies together to collaborate on solutions that will protect our nation’s cybersecurity infrastructure while ensuring the privacy of our citizens. Congress must work to provide adequate funding for our nation’s military. I will work with both parties to ensure that our military is properly outfitted and supported in order to continue its missions both at home and abroad. Healthcare Reducing mandates to increase competition and lower prices It is more important than ever for Congress to implement policies that improve access to affordable, quality health care and give our citizens the freedom to choose the policy that fits their needs. Two ways to achieve this include providing tax incentives for small businesses that provide health insurance for their employees and reducing health care mandates. Reducing mandates will reduce cost by bringing more companies into the marketplace and giving Americans more choices to find the right health insurance product for their individual needs. I have personal experience with the consequences of mandates -- the last time Congress expanded mandates, my family lost our health insurance and we were forced to buy a more expensive plan with worse coverage that required us to purchase services we had no need for. Congress' decision last year to reduce health care mandates was a good start, but more must be done to drive down the cost of health care and increase individual choices for health insurance in the 8th District and across the country. Keeping Our Children Safe Keeping our children safe It is essential that we keep our children safe in their schools – the repeated attacks on and in our schools is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue. As your Congressman, I'm willing to listen and talk with anyone who wants to work in good faith to advance solutions to violence that are effective and Constitutional. We must look at every option that meets both of those criteria. One thing that our Congress is failing to do now is to do more to recognize and treat mental illness in this country. It's important to have resources available to help people who may be struggling with mental disorders before they become dangerous, and I would support efforts to do more for the mentally ill, just as I did in the state legislature. It is essential for Congress to re-evaluate whether there are modifications in the market that turn legal weapons into illegal ones. It has been illegal to own automatic weapons (machine guns) for a very long time, and if there are technologies that can functionally turn hunting rifles into automatic weapons, we need to make sure they're not falling through loopholes in the law. We also must strictly enforce current firearms laws. After dipping for several years, prosecution of gun crimes is now trending up again, and that's a good thing. Although this is not a legislative fix, I believe that we must collectively stop sensationalizing the murderers who commit these attacks. The focus in the aftermath of these atrocities must be on helping the victims and preventing these attacks, not on giving the attackers the attention and platform they desire.	”
—Dino Rossi’s campaign website (2018)

Kim Schrier

Schrier’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Climate Change and the Environment Climate change is real and we need to take immediate action. Dramatic, destructive weather systems and forest fires have grabbed the attention of our nation and the world, while the impacts of climate change run exponentially wider than that. From species extinction to oceanic ecosystems collapse, communities across America deserve to understand how their region’s forests, water resources, agricultural industries, and native species held dear will be impacted. Here in the 8th, we will see more wildfires, earlier growing seasons, reduced snowpack, warmer temperatures in our tributaries, a spike in waterborne infectious diseases affecting fish, and species extinction. We have the unique opportunity to champion policies that will create new, sustainable, clean energy jobs and grow our economy. As a person of science, I will apply evidence-based principles and methods to my evaluation of environmental policy and regulation and insist that our government agencies do the same. As a pediatrician who understands the negative impacts of polluted water and air on the health of our children, I will fight any effort to reduce or eliminate clean air and clean water protections. I will protect access to our public lands. I will champion responsible and effective action to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change impacts. I will refocus subsidies away from oil and gas companies and toward clean energy to promote the transition to a 100% clean energy economy within our lifetime. I will advocate for innovative approaches of local organizations like the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy and Carbon Washington to make the transition to 100% clean energy. I will focus resources on people most dramatically affected by climate change, including lower-income communities, farming communities, and communities of color. Education My mother was a public elementary school teacher, my son is a public school student, and my entire education has been public, including college and medical school. I am grateful for that. Our children all deserve access to an excellent public education, regardless of zip code. I will work to improve outcomes in our public schools, with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math. I will fight to provide resources needed in disadvantaged schools to level the playing field. I will push to make sure that our high school graduates are prepared with the skills they need for whatever path they choose. For students who choose to pursue higher education, whether at trade schools or public universities, I will work to make it affordable, with no-interest loans and grants to students who need them. Advocating for early childhood education will be a cornerstone of my education policy. By investing in our children early, we set them up for success later in life. Economy The best measure of our economy is whether families have income security because our country does best when we have a thriving middle class. The best way to grow the economy is for workers to make a livable wage and believe in their future, and for small businesses to get the support they need. Our district has a robust and diverse economy, from science to tech, apples to aircraft, tourism to trade-based companies that employ thousands. We need to continue to grow our economy while creating a highly-skilled workforce for the future. I will work to make sure that our high school graduates have the education and skills they need for today’s economy, whether they are headed to college, trade school, or straight into the workforce. I will push for tax policies that reward people for hard work, support small business, support our agriculture and tech sectors, incentivize job growth in our burgeoning clean energy market, and keep good jobs here in Washington state. I will support legislation to ensure that all workers earn a livable wage that can provide for a family. I will support the vital role of the federal government in promoting innovation by increasing investments in scientific research and development. I will prioritize investment in infrastructure, such as public transit in denser areas and access to high-speed broadband for all households and small businesses throughout the district. Healthcare I’ve worked in the healthcare system every day of my career, and while we can provide excellent care, it comes at an alarmingly high price. I see patients who have insurance but still have tremendous out-of-pocket costs that can make a visit to the doctor or a prescription drug prohibitively expensive. As a pediatrician and a person living with type 1 diabetes, I bring knowledge and first-hand experience in what is wrong with our health care system and will work towards the most effective solutions for our district and our nation. The first step must be to stabilize the health insurance markets and the state health exchanges under the ACA. I will push for accessible, affordable, and excellent healthcare for every American for life. I will work to bring medication costs down while still respecting the fact that pharmaceutical companies need an incentive to pursue novel drug development. There needs to be a balance. I will push to invest in preventative care to reduce the epidemic of untreated chronic diseases that lead to expensive medical interventions down the line, costing us all. I will push to let all Americans buy into Medicare on a sliding scale. Average insurance company overhead is currently estimated to be 20%, while Medicare overhead is estimated to be only 1.8%. The competition will incentivize private insurance companies to offer plans as efficient and beneficial to consumers as Medicare. Women’s Health As a doctor and a woman, I trust women to make their own personal decisions about health and family planning. I have always supported a woman’s right to choose. Control over our own bodies and reproductive choices is a key measure of women’s equality. Planned Parenthood provides vital health services throughout our district and is the only provider in some rural areas. I will oppose any effort that limits a women’s right to choose abortion or make any reproductive health decision. I will fight to increase funding for Planned Parenthood and consider any attack on Planned Parenthood to be an attack on women. Contraception should be widely available and covered by insurance. Vaccines Vaccinations were one of the most important medical advances of the 20th Century, and have prevented countless deaths. Every child should be vaccinated. Immunizations are proven to be safe and effective. This is the position I take in my practice, when talking with parents, and when choosing care for my own child. Vaccinations should be given according to the schedule set forth by the ACIP, AAP, and CDC, and should be required to attend preschool and elementary school, in line with our policy here in Washington State. We also need to combat the spread of misinformation. I wholeheartedly support policies that lead to higher immunization rates and any role the government can play in reaching an end goal of having every medically eligible child in this country immunized. This is our responsibility to our children and to our community at large. As someone who has treated children suffering from deadly, vaccine-preventable diseases, I cannot state firmly enough that no child should have to suffer through a disease that could have been prevented by immunization. Immigration Diversity makes America great. Most of us come from immigrant families, and I have served many as a pediatrician. Yet the Trump Administration is targeting and instilling panic in the very communities that have helped build this country. No one’s child should live with the constant anxiety of being torn away from the only life she or he has ever known. No one should be discriminated in the workplace or harassed in the streets because of where they were born. It is our responsibility to link arms with our immigrant neighbors and stand against hate. As your Congressperson: I will join with my Washington state colleagues in pursuing comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship on a bipartisan basis. I will push to expand and improve worker visas that agricultural and technology-based economies all across our district depend upon. I will immediately push to codify DACA and the DREAM Act as laws of the land. I will seek to overturn Donald Trump’s travel ban which was clearly crafted to deny entry to our country based on religion. I will oppose any expenditure of your tax dollars to build an unnecessary and unaffordable wall on our southern border. Reform Our political system is under attack from big-moneyed special interests that pour millions into elections and then lobby the people they’ve helped elect for special deals. It is under attack from Russian efforts to undermine our voting systems and cast doubt on election results. It is under attack by special interests that load up the tax system with loophole after loophole to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Enough. I will fight to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United to stop the flow of corporate money into US elections. I will support efforts to modernize and secure US voting systems. I will call on social media services to examine foreign attempts to influence our elections in 2016 on their platforms, and to take steps to prevent it from happening again. Gun Safety Americans are 25 percent more likely to die from gun violence than in any other developed nation, and guns are the third leading cause of death in American children. It doesn’t have to be this way – we have the tools to address our epidemic of gun violence, we just need to elect leaders with the courage to stand up to the gun lobby. As a mom and pediatrician, I know how important it is to take action on common sense gun safety. Like many parents, I trust that my third-grade son will be safe when I send him to school, but we know that nowhere is really safe in a country that allows guns to get into the hands of people who would do others harm. We cannot accept these shootings as normal, nor can we accept any notion that we are powerless to stop them. It is long past time for Congress to take common-sense steps to prevent gun violence. If elected, I will fight for solutions that protect our children and families. These are my commitments to addressing our gun violence crisis: Implement universal, comprehensive background checks. Guns should never be allowed in the hands of someone with a history of domestic violence, a violent criminal record, convicted stalkers, and those with severe mental illness. Keep military-style weapons out of the hands of individuals with criminal histories, people in crisis, and those under 21 years old. Work to create a national center for reporting — to ensure that no individual falls through the cracks. Repeal the Dickey Amendment, which prohibits the Centers for Disease Control from researching gun violence as a public health crisis. We base all other health challenges, from highway safety to cancer, on data. But the federal government is not allowed to investigate gun violence in the same way. This is unacceptable and must be reversed immediately. Reject money from gun manufacturers and their lobbying group, the NRA. It is time to say “enough!” to politicians who profit from an industry that spends millions to stop what the vast majority of Americans consider to be common-sense gun safety policies, which makes it easier for individuals to do harm to children. Expand Washington State’s Extreme Risk Protection Order policy nationally, which will enable families and law enforcement to petition the court to temporarily restrict an individual’s access to firearms if there is evidence that he or she will do harm to themselves or others. Let’s not forget that most gun deaths are from suicide. Trade I support fair trade, not free trade. We need to be sure that we are exporting goods, not jobs, overseas. If a trade deal comes up, I will evaluate it by a set of criteria: First, does it include fair labor standards? We need to make sure any trade deal raises labor and wage standards abroad to help U.S. workers compete without undermining our domestic labor standards. I’ll be sure to lean on my relationships with Labor to make sure that any deal will not displace 8th district workers. I have been endorsed by some of the largest Labor organizations in Washington state. They know that I will fight to keep jobs here at home. Second, does it have environmental standards? We must ensure that the U.S. is not disadvantaged when we take the lead on confronting our changing climate. Third, does the deal have teeth? I will only support a trade deal if it has clear consequences for noncompliance. If a trade deal passes these litmus tests, I will support it, because trade is an important tool that can raise the tide for all ships if implemented properly. Trade is absolutely critical to Washington state. Ours is the most trade-dependent state in the nation, and our economy here in the 8th district is particularly reliant on trade. Our district is particularly hurt by President Trump’s unpredictable, governing-by-tweeting trade policies. We need to have comprehensive trade agreements that support our workers and our businesses here in the 8th district, but not all trade deals are good trade deals.	”
—Kim Schriers campaign website (2018)

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Dino Rossi

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Republican district won by Hillary Clinton

See also: U.S. House districts represented by a Republican and won by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Split-ticket districts in the 2016 presidential and U.S. House elections

This district was one of 25 Republican-held U.S. House districts that Hillary Clinton (D) won in the 2016 presidential election. Nearly all were expected to be among the House's most competitive elections in 2018.

Click on the table below to see the full list of districts.

2018 election results in Republican-held U.S. House districts won by Hillary Clinton in 2016
District	Incumbent	2018 winner	2018 margin	2016 presidential margin	2012 presidential margin
Arizona's 2nd	Martha McSally	Ann Kirkpatrick	D+9.5	Clinton+4.9	Romney+1.5
California's 10th	Jeff Denham	Josh Harder	D+2.6	Clinton+3.0	Obama+3.6
California's 21st	David Valadao	TJ Cox	D+0.8	Clinton+15.5	Obama+11.1
California's 25th	Steve Knight	Katie Hill	D+6.4	Clinton+6.7	Romney+1.9
California's 39th	Ed Royce	Gil Cisneros	D+1.4	Clinton+8.6	Romney+3.7
California's 45th	Mimi Walters	Katie Porter	D+1.6	Clinton+5.4	Romney+11.8
California's 48th	Dana Rohrabacher	Harley Rouda	D+5.8	Clinton+1.7	Romney+11.7
California's 49th	Darrell Issa	Mike Levin	D+7.4	Clinton+7.5	Romney+6.7
Colorado's 6th	Mike Coffman	Jason Crow	D+11.2	Clinton+8.9	Obama+5.1
Florida's 26th	Carlos Curbelo	Debbie Mucarsel-Powell	D+1.8	Clinton+16.1	Obama+11.5
Florida's 27th	Ileana Ros-Lehtinen	Donna Shalala	D+6.0	Clinton+19.7	Obama+6.7
Illinois' 6th	Peter Roskam	Sean Casten	D+5.6	Clinton+7.0	Romney+8.2
Kansas' 3rd	Kevin Yoder	Sharice Davids	D+9.1	Clinton+1.2	Romney+9.5
Minnesota's 3rd	Erik Paulsen	Dean Phillips	D+11.4	Clinton+9.4	Obama+0.8
New Jersey's 7th	Leonard Lance	Tom Malinowski	D+4.7	Clinton+1.1	Romney+6.2
New York's 24th	John Katko	John Katko	R+6.3	Clinton+3.6	Obama+15.9
Pennsylvania's 1st	Brian Fitzpatrick	Brian Fitzpatrick	R+2.6	Clinton+2.0	Obama+2.6
Pennsylvania's 5th	Pat Meehan	Mary Gay Scanlon	D+30.2	Clinton+28.2	Obama+27.7
Pennsylvania's 6th	Ryan Costello	Chrissy Houlahan	D+17.6	Clinton+9.3	Obama+3.2
Pennsylvania's 7th	Charlie Dent	Susan Wild	D+11.3	Clinton+1.1	Obama+7.0
Texas' 7th	John Culberson	Lizzie Pannill Fletcher	D+5.0	Clinton+1.4	Romney+21.3
Texas' 23rd	Will Hurd	Will Hurd	R+0.5	Clinton+3.4	Romney+2.6
Texas' 32nd	Pete Sessions	Colin Allred	D+6.3	Clinton+1.9	Romney+15.5
Virginia's 10th	Barbara Comstock	Jennifer Wexton	D+12.4	Clinton+10.0	Romney+1.6
Washington's 8th	David Reichert	Kim Schrier	D+6.2	Clinton+3.0	Obama+1.6

Click here to see the 13 Democratic-held U.S. House districts that Donald Trump (R) won.

Click here to see an overview of all split-ticket districts in the 2016 presidential and U.S. House elections..

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Five of 39 Washington counties—12.8 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County	Trump margin of victory in 2016	Obama margin of victory in 2012	Obama margin of victory in 2008
Clallam County, Washington	2.76%	0.38%	3.30%
Cowlitz County, Washington	13.32%	4.44%	11.15%
Grays Harbor County, Washington	6.99%	14.11%	14.56%
Mason County, Washington	5.81%	7.09%	8.66%
Pacific County, Washington	6.74%	11.52%	14.07%

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Washington with 52.5 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 36.8 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Washington cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 73.3 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Washington supported Democratic candidates for president more often than Republican candidates, 53.3 to 43.3 percent. The state favored Democrats in every election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Washington. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 34 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 25.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 30 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 32.1 points.

In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 15 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 13.9 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 19 out of 49 state House districts in Washington with an average margin of victory of 14.9 points.

2016 presidential results by state House district
District	Obama	Romney	2012 Margin	Clinton	Trump	2016 Margin
1	59.66%	37.93%	D+21.7	61.73%	30.36%	D+31.4
2	47.71%	49.88%	R+2.2	37.79%	53.05%	R+15.3
3	57.66%	38.63%	D+19	51.82%	38.12%	D+13.7
4	40.00%	57.37%	R+17.4	34.91%	56.36%	R+21.4
5	53.41%	44.29%	D+9.1	54.74%	37.12%	D+17.6
6	46.76%	50.72%	R+4	44.72%	46.75%	R+2
7	36.16%	61.01%	R+24.9	29.00%	63.45%	R+34.5
8	36.10%	61.49%	R+25.4	34.54%	57.03%	R+22.5
9	37.70%	59.71%	R+22	35.13%	56.40%	R+21.3
10	50.21%	47.38%	D+2.8	46.94%	45.07%	D+1.9
11	67.51%	30.27%	D+37.2	67.74%	25.40%	D+42.3
12	39.91%	57.67%	R+17.8	37.34%	55.97%	R+18.6
13	35.70%	61.75%	R+26	31.04%	61.91%	R+30.9
14	42.63%	54.97%	R+12.3	38.98%	54.23%	R+15.2
15	45.75%	52.31%	R+6.6	42.51%	51.74%	R+9.2
16	38.20%	59.21%	R+21	36.00%	56.67%	R+20.7
17	48.28%	49.36%	R+1.1	45.51%	46.88%	R+1.4
18	43.85%	54.12%	R+10.3	42.36%	50.56%	R+8.2
19	53.59%	43.66%	D+9.9	41.57%	50.52%	R+8.9
20	40.98%	56.26%	R+15.3	30.96%	61.41%	R+30.4
21	61.52%	36.25%	D+25.3	62.27%	30.19%	D+32.1
22	63.17%	33.68%	D+29.5	60.67%	30.15%	D+30.5
23	57.91%	39.72%	D+18.2	56.69%	34.37%	D+22.3
24	54.21%	42.81%	D+11.4	48.95%	43.35%	D+5.6
25	50.87%	46.92%	D+4	45.23%	46.56%	R+1.3
26	49.33%	48.06%	D+1.3	45.36%	45.35%	D+0
27	67.29%	30.00%	D+37.3	65.15%	26.43%	D+38.7
28	54.44%	43.37%	D+11.1	52.61%	38.96%	D+13.7
29	62.55%	34.97%	D+27.6	54.47%	36.76%	D+17.7
30	58.70%	39.18%	D+19.5	56.77%	35.96%	D+20.8
31	47.88%	49.93%	R+2.1	41.61%	50.16%	R+8.5
32	70.64%	26.92%	D+43.7	71.67%	21.56%	D+50.1
33	65.65%	32.25%	D+33.4	64.85%	28.57%	D+36.3
34	77.41%	20.25%	D+57.2	79.30%	14.85%	D+64.4
35	51.47%	45.95%	D+5.5	44.25%	46.59%	R+2.3
36	81.82%	15.34%	D+66.5	85.25%	9.15%	D+76.1
37	86.30%	11.18%	D+75.1	87.06%	8.13%	D+78.9
38	59.99%	37.08%	D+22.9	53.38%	37.81%	D+15.6
39	49.44%	47.52%	D+1.9	40.00%	50.75%	R+10.7
40	62.09%	34.70%	D+27.4	62.61%	29.29%	D+33.3
41	60.00%	38.22%	D+21.8	67.76%	26.09%	D+41.7
42	49.67%	47.37%	D+2.3	47.57%	44.43%	D+3.1
43	85.99%	10.63%	D+75.4	88.74%	5.96%	D+82.8
44	54.08%	43.61%	D+10.5	50.96%	40.24%	D+10.7
45	58.18%	39.63%	D+18.6	64.80%	28.03%	D+36.8
46	78.25%	19.15%	D+59.1	81.92%	12.42%	D+69.5
47	55.53%	42.30%	D+13.2	54.37%	38.29%	D+16.1
48	61.67%	35.86%	D+25.8	68.17%	25.02%	D+43.2
49	57.30%	40.04%	D+17.3	54.21%	37.87%	D+16.3
Total	56.16%	41.29%	D+14.9	54.30%	38.07%	D+16.2
Source: Daily Kos

District history

2016

See also: Washington's 8th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Dave Reichert (R) defeated Tony Ventrella (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Reichert and Ventrella defeated Alida Skold (D), Santiago Ramos (D), Margaret Walsh (We R Independent Party), and Keith Arnold (I) in the top-two primary on August 2, 2016. Prior to the primary, Tony Ventrella withdrew from the race, but he still won the nomination. As a result, Ventrella relaunched his campaign.

U.S. House, Washington District 8 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dave Reichert Incumbent	60.2%	193,145
	Democratic	Tony Ventrella	39.8%	127,720
Total Votes				320,865
Source: Washington Secretary of State

U.S. House, Washington District 8 Primary, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dave Reichert Incumbent	56.8%	73,600
	Democratic	Tony Ventrella	17%	22,035
	Democratic	Santiago Ramos	13.8%	17,900
	Democratic	Alida Skold	8.4%	10,825
	Independent	Keith Arnold	2.4%	3,153
	We R Independent	Margaret Walsh	1.6%	2,024
Total Votes				129,537
Source: Washington Secretary of State

2014

See also: Washington's 8th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 8th Congressional District of Washington held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Dave Reichert (R) defeated Jason Ritchie (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Washington District 8 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dave Reichert Incumbent	63.3%	125,741
	Democratic	Jason Ritchie	36.7%	73,003
Total Votes				198,744
Source: Washington Secretary of State

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Washington heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

• Following the 2016 elections, Democrats held both U.S. Senate seats in Washington.
• Democrats held six of 10 U.S. House seats in Washington.

State executives

• As of September 2018, Democrats held six of 8 state executive positions, Republicans held two, and the remaining positions were officially nonpartisan.
• The governor of Washington was Democrat Jay Inslee. The state held elections for governor and lieutenant governor on November 3, 2020.

State legislature

• Democrats controlled both chambers of the Washington State Legislature. They had a 50-48 majority in the state House and a 26-23 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

• Washington was a Democratic trifecta, meaning that the Democrats controlled the office of the governor, the state House, and the state Senate.

2018 elections

See also: Washington elections, 2018

Washington held elections for the following positions in 2018:

• One U.S. Senate seat
• 10 U.S. House seats
• 25 of 49 state Senate seats
• 98 state House seats
• Municipal elections in Seattle

Demographics

Demographic data for Washington
	Washington	U.S.
Total population:	7,160,290	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	66,456	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	77.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	3.6%	12.6%
Asian:	7.7%	5.1%
Native American:	1.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.6%	0.2%
Two or more:	5.2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	12%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	90.4%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	32.9%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$61,062	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	14.4%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Washington. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, Washington's three largest cities were Seattle (pop. est. 724,745), Spokane (pop. est. 217,108), and Tacoma (pop. est. 213,418).

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Washington from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Washington Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Washington every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Washington 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Hillary Clinton	54.3%	Donald Trump	38.1%	16.2%
2012	Barack Obama	51.2%	Mitt Romney	41.2%	10.0%
2008	Barack Obama	57.6%	John McCain	40.5%	17.1%
2004	John Kerry	52.8%	George W. Bush	45.6%	7.2%
2000	Al Gore	50.2%	George W. Bush	44.6%	5.8%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Washington from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Washington 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Patty Murray	59.0%	Chris Vance	40.1%	18.9%
2012	Maria Cantwell	60.4%	Michael Baumgartner	39.5%	20.9%
2010	Patty Murray	52.4%	Dino Rossi	47.6%	4.8%
2006	Maria Cantwell	56.9%	Michael McGavick	39.9%	17.0%
2004	Patty Murray	55.0%	George R. Nethercutt, Jr.	44.7%	10.3%
2000	Maria Cantwell	48.7%	Slade Gorton	48.6%	0.1%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Washington.

Election results (Governor), Washington 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Jay Inslee	54.4%	Bill Bryant	45.6%	8.8%
2012	Jay Inslee	51.5%	Rob McKenna	48.6%	0.9%
2008	Christine Gregoire	53.2%	Dino Rossi	46.8%	6.4%
2004	Christine Gregoire	48.9%	Dino Rossi	48.9%	0.0%
2000	Gary Locke	58.4%	John Carlson	39.7%	7.1%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Washington in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Washington 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	4	40%	6	60%	D+2
2014	4	40%	6	60%	D+2
2012	4	44.4%	5	55.5%	D+1
2010	4	44.4%	5	55.5%	D+1
2008	3	33.3%	6	66.7%	D+2
2006	3	33.3%	6	66.7%	D+2
2004	3	33.3%	6	66.7%	D+2
2002	3	33.3%	6	66.7%	D+2
2000	3	33.3%	6	66.7%	D+2

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Washington Party Control: 1992-2024
Eighteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	S	S	S	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

See also

• Washington's 8th Congressional District election (August 7, 2018 top-two primary)
• United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2018
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2018

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)