Democrat Kim Schrier will be Washington’s 8th Congressional District in the next Congress — a seat that has never been held by a Democrat since it was established after the 1980 census.
Schrier, a pediatrician, ran against former state senator and Republican Dino Rossi in the most expensive race to date in the state. In total, $28 million was spent for the contest.
“Congress is broken, and people in the 8th District are ready for a community pediatrician to bring a dose of common sense to DC,” Schrier said in a statement, per the Seattle Times. “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.”
Although the Associated Press has yet to call the race, Rossi conceded late Wednesday.
“While the race did not end in the way you or I would have liked, I urge you to stay involved in the democratic process,” Rossi said in a Facebook post late Wednesday.
Schrier is part of what is being reported as a record number of women serving in Congress next year. Democrats regained a majority in the House, but Republicans maintained their majority and picked up several seats in the Senate.
