The 2008 congressional elections in Washington was held on November 4, 2008 to determine who will represent the state of Washington in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected will serve in the 111th Congress from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Nonpartisan blanket primary elections were held on August 19, 2008.[1]
Washington has nine seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Its 2007-2008 congressional delegation consisted of six Democrats and three Republicans.
All of the incumbents were re-elected, with only the 8th district race being considered competitive.
Incumbent DemocratJay Inslee has represented the 1st district in Congress since 1999. Inslee won in the 2006 election with 68% of the vote. He was opposed by Republican candidate Larry Ishmael.
Primary results[]
Washington's 1st congressional district primary election, August 19, 2008[2]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Jay Inslee
104,342
66.44%
Republican
Larry Ishmael
52,700
33.56%
Total votes
157,042
100%
General election[]
Washington's 1st congressional district general election, November 4, 2008[3]
Incumbent DemocratRick Larsen has represented the 2nd district in Congress since 2001. Larsen won in the 2006 election with 64% of the vote. He was opposed by Republican candidate Rick Bart. Two other Democrats challenged the two in the primary election, Doug Schaffer and Glen Johnson.
Primary results[]
Washington's 2nd congressional district primary election, August 19, 2008[4]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Rick Larsen
98,304
54.33%
Republican
Rick Bart
68,189
37.69%
Democratic
Doug Schaffer
8,857
4.89%
Democratic
Glen Johnson
5,590
3.09%
Total votes
157,042
100%
General election[]
Washington's 2nd congressional district general election, November 4, 2008[5]
Incumbent DemocratBrian Baird has represented the 3rd district in Congress since 1999. Baird won in the 2006 election with 63% of the vote. He was opposed by Republican candidate Michael Delavar. Democrat Cheryl Crist and Republican Christine Webb also entered the primary.
Primary results[]
Washington's 3rd congressional district primary election, August 19, 2008[6]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Brian Baird
83,409
50.59%
Republican
Michael Delavar
32,372
19.63%
Republican
Christine Webb
27,738
16.82%
Democratic
Cheryl Crist
21,356
12.95%
Total votes
164,875
100%
General election[]
Washington's 3rd congressional district general election, November 4, 2008[7]
Incumbent RepublicanDoc Hastings has represented the 4th district in Congress since 1995. Hastings won in the 2006 election with 60% of the vote. He was opposed by Democratic candidate George Fearing. Republican Gordon Allen Pross was eliminated in the primary.
Primary results[]
Washington's 4th congressional district primary election, August 19, 2008[8]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Doc Hastings
93,241
62.19%
Democratic
George Fearing
49,841
33.24%
Republican
Gordon Allen Pross
6,842
4.56%
Total votes
149,924
100%
General election[]
Washington's 4th congressional district general election, November 4, 2008[9]
Incumbent RepublicanCathy McMorris Rodgers has represented the 2nd district in Congress since 2005. Rodgers was elected in 2006 with 56% of the vote. She was opposed by Democratic candidate Mark Mays. Barbara Lampert of the Democratic party, Republican Kurt Erickson, Libertarian John Beck and Constitution candidate Randall Yearout were eliminated in the primary.
Primary results[]
Washington's 5th congressional district primary election, August 19, 2008[10]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Cathy McMorris Rodgers
96,584
56.29%
Democratic
Mark Mays
34,251
19.96%
Democratic
Barbara Lampert
19,645
11.45%
Republican
Kurt Erickson
12,155
7.08%
Constitution
Randall Yearout
5,268
3.07%
Libertarian
John H. Beck
3,673
2.14%
Total votes
171,576
100%
General election[]
Washington's 5th congressional district general election, November 4, 2008[11]
Incumbent DemocratNorm Dicks has represented the 6th district in Congress since 1977. Dicks won in the 2006 election with 71% of the vote. He was opposed by Republican candidate Doug Cloud. Green candidate Gary Murrell and Democrat Paul Richmond also entered the primary.
Primary results[]
Washington's 6th congressional district primary election, August 19, 2008[12]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Norm Dicks
96,862
57.26%
Republican
Doug Cloud
51,300
30.33%
Democratic
Paul Richmond
14,983
8.86%
Green
Glen Johnson
6,014
3.56%
Total votes
169,159
100%
General election[]
Washington's 6th congressional district general election, November 4, 2008[13]
Incumbent DemocratJim McDermott has represented the 7th district in Congress since 1989. McDermott won in the 2006 election with 79% of the vote in the most Democratic district in the state. He was opposed by Republican candidate Steve Beren. Democrats Donovan Rivers and Goodspaceguy entered the primary, as well as independents Mark Goldman and Al Schaefer.
Primary results[]
Washington's 7th congressional district primary election, August 19, 2008[14]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Jim McDermott
95,344
73.82%
Republican
Steve Beren
19,307
14.95%
Democratic
Donovan Rivers
6,685
5.18%
Independent
Mark A. Goldman
3,410
2.64%
Democratic
Goodspaceguy Nelson
3,199
2.48%
Independent
Al Schaefer
1,216
0.94%
Total votes
129,161
100%
General election[]
Washington's 7th congressional district general election, November 4, 2008[15]
Incumbent RepublicanDave Reichert has represented the 8th district in Congress since 2005. Reichert won in the 2006 election with 51.5% of the vote. He was opposed by Democratic candidate Darcy Burner. The primary also included Democrats James Vaughn and Keith Arnold, and Independents Richard Todd and Boleslaw Orlinski.
The District 8 race was considered competitive: it voted for Obama by a large margin and had a Cook PVI of D+2. It was rated "toss up" by Cook, "no clear favorite" by CQ Politics and "toss up/tilt Republican" by Rothenberg.[16][17][18]
Primary results[]
Washington's 8th congressional district primary election, August 19, 2008[19]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Republican
Dave Reichert
74,140
48.54%
Democratic
Darcy Burner
68,010
44.53%
Democratic
James E. Vaughn
5,051
3.31%
Independent
Richard Todd
2,116
1.39%
Democratic
Keith Arnold
1,886
1.23%
Independent
Boleslaw Orlinski
1,523
1.00%
Total votes
152,726
100%
General election[]
Washington's 8th congressional district general election, November 4, 2008[20]
Incumbent DemocratAdam Smith has represented the 9th district in Congress since 1997. Smith won in the 2006 election with 66% of the vote. He was opposed by Republican candidate James Postma.
Primary results[]
Washington's 9th congressional district primary election, August 19, 2008[21]
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Democratic
Adam Smith
81,503
64.70%
Republican
James Postma
44,472
35.30%
Total votes
125,975
100%
General election[]
Washington's 9th congressional district general election, November 4, 2008[22]
Federal elections
State elections