SEATTLE — In a high-stakes race that could help determine control of Congress, U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier led Republican challenger Matt Larkin in Tuesday’s vote count in Washington’s swing 8th Congressional District.
With about 194,000 votes counted, Schrier had 53% and Larkin was at 47%. Schrier led substantially in King County but was trailing Larkin in Pierce, Snohomish, Chelan and Kittitas counties.
With tens of thousands of votes remaining to be tallied this week, the contest was one of many that remained up in the air nationally, as Republican hopes of a convincing red wave didn’t materialize Tuesday night.
At the Democrats’ election night party at a Bellevue hotel, Schrier took the stage to “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys.
While acknowledging there are more ballots to count, Schrier said “at this moment, we’re feeling pretty darn good.” She thanked her family and volunteers and added: “You can count on me to listen, to learn and then deliver. There’s more work to do.”
At the Republican Party’s gathering, about a block away, Larkin expressed confidence he can make up the gap.
“We’re right where we want to be. We’re in the pocket of victory, where we can still win this,” Larkin said in a brief speech in which he thanked fellow Republicans and his family. He said there’s “still work to be done” in the coming days as more ballots are counted.
A Larkin win would bolster Republicans in Washington and likely signal a GOP majority determined to counteract President Joe Biden’s agenda during the final two years of his term. Republicans only need to pick up a handful of seats to flip the House.
Schrier and Larkin offered a clear contrast for voters in the 8th District, which spans the Cascade Mountains, joining parts of east King, Pierce and Snohomish counties with Central Washington’s Chelan and Kittitas counties.
Like Republicans nationally, Larkin attacked Schrier on rising gas and food prices and crime, with polls showing the GOP building toward a possible midterm wave.
But the dynamic shifted after the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe. v. Wade, upending 50 years of legal precedent and allowing states to ban abortion. The decision gave Schrier and Democrats a chance to go on offense against Larkin, a staunch opponent of legal abortion who said he’d support a national ban.
In 2018, Schrier, a Sammamish pediatrician, became the first Democrat to win the 8th District, after the retirement of Rep. Dave Reichert. Her win that year came in a midterm backlash against then-President Donald Trump and helped Democrats win a House majority.
This year, seeking a third term, Schrier struggled with a potential midterm blowback against Biden, whose approval numbers were weighed down by concerns over record inflation.
Schrier, 54, emphasized Democratic legislative wins, including a massive infrastructure spending bill that is funding bridges, roads and broadband across the state, as well as the largest climate-action bill in U.S. history.
Schrier attacked Larkin for his stated support for a nationwide abortion ban — without exceptions for rape or incest — calling that position too radical for the center-leaning 8th District.
Larkin, 41, is an attorney and co-owner of Romac Industries, the Bothell pipe-product manufacturer founded by his grandfather. He channeled voters’ economic worries, blaming big government spending bills.
He centered much of his campaign on public-safety concerns, adopting the slogan “Make Crime Illegal Again” and accusing Schrier of failing to speak up enough about the “defund the police” movement and disorder in Seattle.
Larkin offered few specifics but said it was important to demonstrate support for law enforcement, and he backed a House Republican agenda that included funding to hire 200,000 police officers nationally.
Schrier fought the accusations that she has been weak on policing, pointing to her efforts to increase funding for local police departments.
Schrier’s campaign had raised more than $8.7 million through mid-October, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Larkin raised nearly $2.3 million, including nearly $900,000 in loans to his own campaign.
Outside groups had poured in more than $17 million, with Democrat-allied PACs spending $8.6 million and Republican groups spending roughly the same amount.
