Kim Schrier | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 8th district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
Preceded by | Dave Reichert |
Personal details | |
Born | Kimberly Merle Schrier August 23, 1968 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | David Gowing |
Children | 1 |
Education | University of California, Berkeley (BS) University of California, Davis (MD) |
Website | House website |
Kimberly Merle Schrier (/ˈʃraɪər/ SHRIRE; born August 23, 1968)[1][2] is an American politician and a licensed physician serving as the U.S. representative from Washington's 8th congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Schrier was born and raised in Los Angeles, California,[2] and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in astrophysics. She attended the University of California Davis School of Medicine, where she earned her Doctor of Medicine degree. She continued on to a residency at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Schrier's professional career as a pediatrician began in Ashland, Oregon, where she worked for one year before joining Virginia Mason Medical Center in Issaquah, Washington in 2001. While working at Virginia Mason, she became politically active, particularly on healthcare issues. In 2017, Schrier was dissatisfied with Congressman Dave Reichert's handling of the efforts to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and this, coupled with her frustration with the results of the 2016 elections, led to her decision to enter politics.[3][4]
See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington § District 8 |
Schrier announced her candidacy to represent Washington's 8th congressional district in August 2017, a year before the jungle primary. She initially intended to challenge incumbent Dave Reichert, but the seat became open in September 2017 when Reichert announced he was retiring. She had decided to run after the 2016 election, making the expansion of Medicare and the Affordable Care Act the centerpiece of her campaign.[3][5][6][7]
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.[8]
Schrier advanced from the top-two primary, narrowly defeating attorney Jason Rittereiser, and advancing to face Republican nominee Dino Rossi in the general election.[9] 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.[10][11] 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.[12]
Schrier won the general election with 52% of the vote.[13][14]
See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington § District 8 |
Schrier ran for reelection. She advanced from the top-two primary in first place[15] and faced the second-place finisher, Republican U.S. Army veteran and Amazon senior project manager Jesse Jensen.[16] Schrier won the general election with 51.7% of the vote.[17]
See also: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Washington § District 8 |
Schrier defeated Republican nominee and lawyer Matt Larkin with 53.4% of the vote.[18] [19] In 2022, Washington's Eighth District was the state's most competitive and was among the key races in determining House partisan control.[20] During the race, Schrier criticized Larkin's proposals for abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest.[21]
During Donald Trump's administration, Schrier voted in line with the president's stated position 6.6% of the time.[22] As of June 2022, Schrier had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[23]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Dino Rossi[a] | 73,288 | 43.1 | |
Democratic | Kim Schrier | 31,837 | 18.7 | |
Democratic | Jason Rittereiser | 30,708 | 18.1 | |
Democratic | Shannon Hader | 21,317 | 12.5 | |
Republican | Jack Hughes-Hageman | 4,270 | 2.5 | |
Republican | Gordon Allen Pross | 2,081 | 1.2 | |
Democratic | Tom Cramer | 1,468 | 0.9 | |
Independent | Bill Grassie[b] | 1,163 | 0.7 | |
Libertarian | Richard Travis Reyes | 1,154 | 0.7 | |
Independent | Keith Arnold | 1,090 | 0.6 | |
Independent | Patrick Dillon[c] | 898 | 0.5 | |
No party preference | Todd Mahaffey | 673 | 0.4 | |
Total votes | 169,947 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kim Schrier | 164,089 | 52.4 | |
Republican | Dino Rossi | 148,968 | 47.6 | |
Total votes | 313,057 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic gain from Republican |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kim Schrier (incumbent) | 106,611 | 43.3 | |
Republican | Jesse Jensen | 49,368 | 20.0 | |
Republican | Keith R. Swank | 42,809 | 17.4 | |
Trump Republican Party | Dean Saulibio | 28,976 | 11.8 | |
Independent | Corey Bailey | 6,552 | 2.7 | |
Democratic | James Mitchell | 6,187 | 2.5 | |
Democratic | Keith Arnold | 4,111 | 1.7 | |
No party preference | Ryan Dean Burkett | 1,458 | 0.6 | |
Write-in | 289 | 0.1 | ||
Total votes | 246,361 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kim Schrier (incumbent) | 213,123 | 51.7 | |
Republican | Jesse Jensen | 198,423 | 48.2 | |
Write-in | 566 | 0.1 | ||
Total votes | 412,112 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kim Schrier (incumbent) | 97,700 | 47.9 | |
Republican | Matt Larkin | 34,684 | 17.0 | |
Republican | Reagan Dunn | 29,494 | 14.4 | |
Republican | Jesse Jensen | 26,350 | 12.9 | |
Republican | Scott Stephenson | 7,954 | 3.9 | |
Democratic | Emet Ward | 1,832 | 0.9 | |
Republican | Dave Chapman | 1,811 | 0.9 | |
Democratic | Keith Arnold | 1,669 | 0.8 | |
Libertarian | Justin Greywolf | 1,518 | 0.7 | |
Independent | Ryan Burkett | 701 | 0.3 | |
Independent | Patrick Dillon | 296 | 0.1 | |
Write-in | 122 | 0.1 | ||
Total votes | 204,131 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Kim Schrier (incumbent) | 179,003 | 53.3 | |
Republican | Matt Larkin | 155,976 | 46.4 | |
Write-in | 1,059 | 0.3 | ||
Total votes | 336,038 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic hold |
Schrier and her husband, David Gowing, have a son and live in Sammamish, Washington.[27][5] Her grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Europe who arrived in the U.S. before World War II.[28] Schrier has Type 1 diabetes.[3]