Schrier announced her candidacy to represent Washington's 8th congressional district in August 2017, a year before the primary. She initially intended to challenge incumbent Dave Reichert, but the seat became open in September 2017 when Reichert announced his retirement. She had decided to run after the 2016 election, making the expansion of Medicare and the Affordable Care Act the centerpiece of her campaign.[5][7][8][9]
No Democrat had ever been elected to represent the district and Reichert had been seen as a relatively safe incumbent, but his decision to retire left the seat as a potential Democratic pickup in an election year already leaning toward the Democratic Party.[10]
Schrier advanced from the top-two primary, narrowly defeating attorney Jason Rittereiser, and advancing to face Republican Dino Rossi in the general election.[11] The 8th district campaign attracted $25 million in spending, making it the most expensive in state history and one of the costliest nationally in 2018, including controversial attack ads from the Rossi campaign.[12][13] One such ad nicknamed Schrier "Dr. Tax" and depicted her holding a large stack of $20 bills. The ad was perceived as antisemitic by The Washington Post.[14]
Schrier won the general election with 52% of the vote. Although Rossi won 3 of the 4 counties in the district, Schrier won the district's portion of King County by nearly 30,000 votes, almost double her overall margin of 15,000 votes.[15][16]
Schrier ran for reelection. She advanced from the top-two primary in first place[17] and faced the second-place finisher, Republican U.S. Army veteran and Amazon senior project manager Jesse Jensen.[18] Schrier won the general election with 51.7% of the vote.[19]
Schrier defeated Republican nominee and lawyer Matt Larkin with 53.4% of the vote.[20][21] In 2022, Washington's 8th District was the state's most competitive and was among the key races in determining House partisan control.[22] During the race, Schrier criticized Larkin's proposals for abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest.[23]
Schrier ran for re-election. She and Republican Carmen Goers, a banker, advanced to the general election from the top-two primary. Schrier defeated Goers with 54.0% of the vote.
Tenure
During Donald Trump's administration, Schrier voted in line with the president's stated position 6.6% of the time.[24] As of June 2023, Schrier had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[25]
Committee assignments
Schrier speaking with Bill Northey during a House Agriculture Committee event in 2019.
