Long concedes; Herrera Beutler re-elected in 3rd
Southwest Washington voters have elected Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, to serve a fifth term in Congress.
Minutes after the latest round of ballots were tallied Wednesday evening in Clark County, Democratic candidate Carolyn Long conceded.
With 10,000 votes separating the candidates for the 3rd Congressional District, which includes Pacific County, after election night, all eyes were on Wednesday’s returns.
The spread only widened and Long’s chances at taking the Republican’s seat grew even dimmer. Herrera Beutler ended Wednesday with 52.58 percent of the vote to Long’s 47.42 percent in a district that covers all or part of eight Southwest Washington counties.
To have overcome Herrera Beutler’s election night margin, Long needed to win about 60 percent of the remaining votes.
That didn’t happen.
— The Columbian
Rossi concedes 8th District race to Schrier
Issaquah pediatrician Kim Schrier will become the first Democrat to represent Washington’s 8th Congressional District, defeating Republican Dino Rossi in the most expensive House race in state history.
Rossi, a former state senator, conceded the race in a statement Wednesday night as new vote totals saw Schrier widen her lead.
“While this race did not end in the way you or I would have liked, I urge you to stay involved in the democratic process,” he wrote in a statement to supporters, adding he looked forward to returning to life with his family.
Schrier, a first-time candidate who rode a wave of Democratic enthusiasm to victory in the historically red district, vowed to bring a new perspective to a divided Capitol.
“Congress is broken, and people in the 8th District are ready for a community pediatrician to bring a dose of common sense to DC,” she said in a statement. “We deserve a representative who will take on drug companies and insurers to lower healthcare costs, who will protect pre-existing conditions, who will finally give the middle class a pay raise, and who will get corporate money out of politics. That’s exactly the representative I will be in Congress.”
Her campaign drew 4,000 active volunteers, she said, who knocked on more than 400,000 doors and made 400,000 phone calls. That helped drive what is projected to be record turnout.
Schrier led with 53 percent after new vote tallies from King and Pierce counties Wednesday. The 6 percentage-point gap was essentially the same as on Election Day, but Schrier’s lead in raw votes grew by about 950, leaving her 12,576 votes ahead.
Rossi initially said he would not comment Wednesday as tens of thousands of votes remained to be counted. But he quickly issued his concession statement after KING-TV called the race for Schrier.
The more conservative counties in the district, Chelan and Kittitas, were not expected to count more votes until Friday, but they make up a relatively small share of the district.
— The Seattle Times
