By Jim Brunner
The Seattle Times
Issaquah pediatrician Kim Schrier will carry Democrats’ hopes of winning the U.S. House seat of retiring Rep. Dave Reichert, advancing to a November matchup against Republican Dino Rossi.
Schrier edged out rival Democrat and attorney Jason Rittereiser in the 8th Congressional District primary on the strength of new vote tallies Monday afternoon.
Rittereiser conceded in a phone call to Schrier, according to her campaign spokeswoman Katie Rodihan.
Rittereiser had previously hung onto hope as he trailed Schrier by a little more than 1,000 votes as of Friday. But on Monday afternoon, Schrier led him by about 1,100 votes.
In a statement Monday, Schrier described voters as “tired of business as usual in Washington, D.C.”
“Every day, we read new headlines about chaos and corruption in the White House, and watch as the Republican-held Congress sits by and does nothing to help families and workers in our district,” she said in a statement.
Rossi, a former state senator and real-estate investor, took first place in the primary, with about 43 percent of the vote. Schrier came in second, with about 19 percent, just ahead of Rittereiser’s 18 percent. Another Democrat, former federal public-health official Shannon Hader, took 12.5 percent.
The November matchup will offer voters a clear contrast, pitting a Democratic newcomer in Schrier against one of the state’s best-known Republican politicians in Rossi, who has served in the state Legislature but lost three bids for higher office.
They’re competing in a nationally watched election in a district that has never sent a Democrat to the House. But the district has regularly voted for Democrats in presidential races and has been rated a “toss up” by national political oddsmakers.
The primary results have Democrats contending they can win the seat for the first time in a midterm election shaping up as a referendum on President Donald Trump and the policies of the GOP majority in Congress.
But Republicans say they’re confident in Rossi, who has carried the 8th District even in his three statewide election losses. The district runs from eastern King and Pierce counties across the Cascade Mountains to Kittitas and Chelan counties.
In all, a dozen candidates were on the primary ballot in the 8th District race. Combined, the Democrats received 50 percent of the vote, while Republicans took 47 percent.
Rossi, 58, expressed confidence in the matchup, saying Schrier comes from the liberal-protester wing of the Democratic Party and would not appeal to moderate and independent voters.
“She comes from the ‘resist’ movement,” he said this past week. “What she is telling the world is you really are not going to work with anybody else.”
Rossi pointed to his own record as a state legislator, in particular his role helping to craft a bipartisan state budget in 2003 that closed a $2.3 billion deficit.
Schrier, 49, said Rossi’s views are out of sync with a majority of voters, citing his anti-abortion rights stance and his opposition to same-sex marriage.
“His positions are not moderate. He has been anti-choice his entire career, and this is a pro-choice district,” she said.
Schrier, who has worked for 16 years as a pediatrician at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Issaquah, said she’ll focus on health care as a main reason for getting into the race.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat if you can’t afford your family’s medication, if you can’t afford your health-care premiums,” she said.
While often polite, the primary among Democrats was not without rancor.
Rittereiser for a time attacked Schrier’s pediatrics practice for not accepting all Medicaid plans; Hader launched a late round of negative mailers contending Schrier was not adamant enough in support of government-mandated vaccinations for children.
Schrier shrugged off those episodes, predicting Democrats will unite against Rossi. She said planning for a joint appearance is already underway.
“It’s politics. It’s not personal. We all have far more in common than separates us,” she said.
