National Politics at a Local Level
In the last few years, there has been an outpouring of interest in politics, partly generated by President Trump and people’s responses to him. As a part of this, elections have come into renewed focus and later this year our nation will be voting on the composition of Congress: 33 of our nation’s senators (apportioned by state) and 435 representatives will be elected.
While Washington State is often non-competitive at the national scale, our congressional representation is split 6-4 Democrats to Republicans.
District 8, covering parts of the Eastside, is unusual in that it has always voted Republican for Congress but, in recent years, voted Democrat for president -- twice for Barack Obama and once for Hillary Clinton. Republican Dave Reichert has represented this district since 2005 but is retiring, opening the seat up once again.
On the Democrats' side, a handful of people are running for the position and there is no clear frontrunner at this point.
On the Republican side, Dino Rossi secured the nomination. In 2004, he lost by just 129 votes in the gubernatorial race, winning the first recount and being certified as governor-elect before Christine Gregoire won in the second and final recount. He has also spent more than six years as a state legislator with a proven record of bipartisanship.
The Independent recently reached out to Rossi, and his campaign provided the following responses.
Why are you running for Congress?
I'm running because Congress is broken and needs fresh leadership. There are many in both parties who can't work productively and civilly with people who think differently than them. I come from a different school of thought - I'm not going to D.C. because I want to shout at anyone, I'm going to D.C. because I want to work with people to solve problems again. This job needs to be done, and I have proved throughout my life that I can bring together coalitions of people who don't seem to have anything in common, and build trust and common goals in those groups.
When it comes to the issue of health-care reform, would you support measures to decrease premiums through amending the ACA or do you want to see reform (Medicare for all/or repeal of the ACA)?
I'm self-employed, and have experienced the challenges of the health insurance market firsthand. When the ACA passed, my family lost our health insurance. Our premiums grew rapidly and our quality of coverage collapsed. While it's essential that we protect people with pre-existing conditions, the ACA simply failed to control costs, increase the quality of healthcare, or reduce the enormous bureaucracy that the health insurance industry has to deal with.
If elected, which caucuses do you plan on joining? Republican Main Street Partnership, Republican Study Committee, and/or the Tuesday Group?
When I served in the Washington State Senate, I found that I was most successful when I had friends in every group, and I'll mirror that approach when I'm in Congress. I don't know which groups I'll join, but I know that I will work with anyone who is willing to work with me in good faith.
Would you support entitlement reform as Speaker Ryan has suggested?
I am unaware of a specific bill that is before the House, but my priority is ensuring that the most vulnerable members of our society - seniors, people with developmental disabilities, and the mentally ill - are protected. That's what I did when I balanced the state budget in 2003 - I ensured that we lived within our means, but received the Senior Star award from the AARP and multiple awards from the developmentally disabled community for protecting the vulnerable. People pay into Social Security and Medicare all their lives, and those programs need to be there for them at retirement age.
You’re running in a district that voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016, but has elected Dave Reichert over that same interval. Do you think you reflect this bipartisan mentality and will you bring it to Congress in 2019?
I absolutely place a strong priority on bipartisan work in good faith. The 8th Congressional District has never voted for a Democratic member of Congress, but hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate in decades. The people of the 8th understand the importance of experience and proven ability to work well with other people. I'm looking forward to working with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in Congress to ensure that our country is on a positive path forward.