Democrat Kim Schrier flips Washington House district

Republican Dino Rossi late Wednesday conceded to Democrat Kim Schrier, flipping a GOP-held district in Washington state that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Schrier’s campaign in the 8th District was a focus for Democrats in 2018.

{mosads}Polls showed a tight race in the final days of the campaign, though it had been rated as “Lean Democratic” by Cook Political Report.

The Associated Press still had not called the race as of Thursday morning. Schrier had a nearly 6 percentage point lead according to vote tabulations Wednesday night. 

Record numbers of outside advertising made the race one of the most expensive in the country, and the most expensive House race in Washington state history. The district voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Democrats outspent Republicans nearly 2 to 1 in looking to flip it this year.

Schrier is the first Democrat to win the district, which has been represented for seven terms by GOP Rep. Dave Reichert, who is retiring.

Schrier, a pediatrician, ran on strengthening ObamaCare. She has said she supports a Medicare buy-in and wants to eventually move towards Medicare-for-all.

In a statement obtained by the Seattle Times, Schrier said she would work to fix a “broken” Congress and “get corporate money out of politics.”

“Congress is broken, and people in the 8th District are ready for a community pediatrician to bring a dose of common sense to DC,” she said in a statement. “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.”