Washington's 8th congressional district is a district for the United States House of Representatives located in western Washington State. It includes the eastern portions of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, and crosses the Cascade mountains to include Chelan and Kittitas counties. The district's western part includes the exurban communities of Sammamish, Issaquah, and Maple Valley but does not include Seattle and Tacoma's more immediate suburbs. On its east side, the 8th's population centers include the rural communities Wenatchee, Leavenworth, and Ellensburg. It is currently represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Democrat Kim Schrier, who was first elected to the seat in 2018. Creation The 8th district was created after redistricting cycle after the 1980 Census. For its first 30 years, it was centered on the Eastside region of the Seattle metropolitan area. After the 2010 U.S. Census, the state responded to population changes by shifting much of the Eastside to the 9th district. To make up for the loss in population, areas east of the Cascades were shifted to the 8th district. For the first 35 years of its existence, the district was held by a Republican. At the same time, the 8th district has voted for the Democratic nominee in every presidential election since 1992. Prior to the 2011 redistricting, the district had the peculiarity of having a Democratic advantage according to its Cook PVI, but only having elected Republicans to Congress throughout its history. After the district was pushed into the Cascades with the 2010 redistricting, its PVI became even. The GOP winning streak ended with the 2018 election. Recent history 2004 In 2004, Dave Reichert, at the time serving as the sheriff of King County, beat his Democratic opponent Dave Ross by 52% to 48% in the race to replace 12-year incumbent Jennifer Dunn; that year, voters in the district favored Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. 2006 Responding to Reichert's perceived vulnerability, former Microsoft program manager Darcy Burner (D) challenged Rep. Reichert in 2006, in what was widely expected to be a close election. Influential election analyst Charlie Cook listed the contest among 68 competitive or potentially competitive House races to watch in 2006, categorizing it as a "toss-up" (defined as "the most competitive; Either party has a good chance of winning"). Burner was one of 22 House challengers selected by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for fundraising assistance with its "Red to Blue"