United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 congressional elections in Washington was held on November 4, 2008 to determine who will represent the state
of Washington in the United States House of Representatives
. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress
from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election
.
Washington has nine seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Its 2007-2008 congressional delegation consisted of six Democrats
and three Republicans
. That remains unchanged, although the District 8 race was considered competitive: "toss up" for Cook, "no clear favorite" for CQ Politics and "toss up/tilt Republican" for Rothenberg.
The Top 2 Primary election was held August 19, 2008.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Washington in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress
111th United States Congress
The One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011. It began during the last two weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of...
from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
.
Washington has nine seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Its 2007-2008 congressional delegation consisted of six Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and three Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. That remains unchanged, although the District 8 race was considered competitive: "toss up" for Cook, "no clear favorite" for CQ Politics and "toss up/tilt Republican" for Rothenberg.
The Top 2 Primary election was held August 19, 2008.
Races and results
Because of Washington's new "Top 2" primary system, only two names were on the ballot in each congressional race. Incumbents held their seats in all nine congressional races in Washington. The table below shows the certified election results with the winner of each race listed in bold.| District | Incumbent | Party | Elected | Status | 2008 Candidates | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington 1 | Jay Inslee Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes many of Seattle's northern suburbs in King, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties... |
Democrat | 1998 | Running | Jay Inslee Jay Inslee Jay Robert Inslee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1999. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes many of Seattle's northern suburbs in King, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties... (D) (cw) Larry Ishmael (R) (cw) |
68% 32% |
| Washington 2 | Rick Larsen Rick Larsen Richard Ray "Rick" Larsen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:... |
Democrat | 2000 | Running | Rick Larsen Rick Larsen Richard Ray "Rick" Larsen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:... (D) (cw) Rick Bart (R) (cw) |
62% 38% |
| Washington 3 | Brian Baird Brian Baird Brian Norton Baird is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1999 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district comprises the counties of Thurston, Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, and Skamania.... |
Democrat | 1998 | Running | Brian Baird Brian Baird Brian Norton Baird is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1999 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district comprises the counties of Thurston, Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, and Skamania.... (D) (cw) Michael Delavar (R) (cw) |
64% 36% |
| Washington 4 | Doc Hastings Doc Hastings Richard Norman "Doc" Hastings is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes most of the central part of the state, including Yakima, Wenatchee, and the Tri-Cities.... |
Republican | 1994 | Running | Doc Hastings Doc Hastings Richard Norman "Doc" Hastings is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes most of the central part of the state, including Yakima, Wenatchee, and the Tri-Cities.... (R) (cw) George Fearing (D) (cw) |
63% 37% |
| Washington 5 | Cathy McMorris Cathy McMorris Cathy McMorris Rodgers is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. The district, based in Spokane, includes most of the eastern third of the state. She is a member of the Republican Party.She is currently one of two female U.S... |
Republican | 2004 | Running | Cathy McMorris Cathy McMorris Cathy McMorris Rodgers is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. The district, based in Spokane, includes most of the eastern third of the state. She is a member of the Republican Party.She is currently one of two female U.S... (R) (cw) Mark Mays (D) (cw) |
65% 35% |
| Washington 6 | Norm Dicks | Democrat | 1976 | Running | Norm Dicks (D) (cw) Doug Cloud (R) (cw) |
67% 33% |
| Washington 7 | Jim McDermott Jim McDermott James Adelbert "Jim" McDermott is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1989. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The 7th District includes most of Seattle and Vashon Island, and portions of Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Tukwila, SeaTac, and Burien.He serves on the House Ways and Means... |
Democrat | 1988 | Running | Jim McDermott Jim McDermott James Adelbert "Jim" McDermott is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1989. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The 7th District includes most of Seattle and Vashon Island, and portions of Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Tukwila, SeaTac, and Burien.He serves on the House Ways and Means... (D) (cw) Steve Beren Steve Beren Steve Beren is an American speaker, writer, and political activist from Seattle, Washington. Beren was also the 2006 and 2008 Republican candidate for U.S... (R) (cw) |
84% 16% |
| Washington 8 | Dave Reichert Dave Reichert David George Reichert is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as Sheriff of King County, Washington.-Early life, education and career:... |
Republican | 2004 | Running | Dave Reichert Dave Reichert David George Reichert is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as Sheriff of King County, Washington.-Early life, education and career:... (R) (cw) Darcy Burner Darcy Burner Darcy Gibbons Burner is a Democrat from Carnation, Washington. She was a candidate for in 2006 and 2008, but lost to incumbent Dave Reichert in both elections. She worked for twelve years in high technology including five years at Microsoft as a Marketing Manager, working on .NET... (D) (cw) |
53% 47% |
| Washington 9 | Adam Smith Adam Smith (politician) David Adam Smith , American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing Washington's 9th congressional district.-Biography:... |
Democrat | 1996 | Running | Adam Smith Adam Smith (politician) David Adam Smith , American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing Washington's 9th congressional district.-Biography:... (D) (cw) James Postma (R) (cw) |
65% 35% |
External links
- Elections from the Washington Secretary of State
- Map of districts
- U.S. Congress candidates for Washington at Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- Washington U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions for Washington congressional races from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...
- NWProgressive Institute blog on candidates