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.
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 |
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.
* 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.
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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
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
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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: 1992-2019
13 years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
| Year
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92
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93
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94
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95
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96
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97
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98
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99
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00
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01
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02
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03
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04
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05
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06
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07
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08
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09
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10
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11
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12
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13
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14
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15
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16
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17
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18
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19
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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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 | | Gender |
|---|
| Female: | 50.1% | 50.8% | | 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)
for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Washington.
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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).
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