The Winner

If you live in Washington’s 8th Congressional District, Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) will keep representing you after winning a fifth term. The Associated Press called the race for Schrier on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 3. With an estimated 89% of votes counted, she had 56.2% of the vote to 43.6% for Republican Spencer Meline, a margin of about 13 points. ​

Schrier had 174,418 votes to Meline’s 135,228, a lead of 39,190 votes. Her win came from King County, which she carried by about 31 points; she also narrowly won Chelan County. Meline led in the district’s portions of Pierce, Snohomish, Kittitas and Douglas counties.

The Race

Schrier went into the race as a heavy favorite. She led the Aug. 4 top-two primary with 53.8%, and before the election Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the seat Solid Democratic while Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Democratic, according to Ballotpedia. Meline, a Cashmere restaurant owner, took the second general election spot with 15.9%, just ahead of fellow Republican Trinh Ha’s 14.8%.

Schrier’s margin grew from 2024, when she beat Republican Carmen Goers 54.0% to 45.8%. In 2018, Schrier became the first Democrat to win the seat.

The district crosses the Cascades. It covers all of Chelan and Kittitas counties, parts of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, and a sliver of Douglas County, according to NCWLIFE. It runs from Seattle’s eastern suburbs, such as Issaquah and Sammamish, to Wenatchee and Ellensburg.

The district has about 781,800 residents, a median household income of $127,400 and a median age of 39. About 42% of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, unemployment is 4.1% and 6.2% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are 69.5% white, 11.4% Hispanic, 11.1% Asian and 2.1% Black.

What’s Next

Schrier’s new term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, in a House that Democrats won control of in the midterms. In September, she joined Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in introducing the INSULIN Act. The bill would cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 a month, or 25% of the list price, for people with private insurance.

---

AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article