Kim Schrier

Kimberly Merle Schrier (/ˈʃraɪər/ SHRIRE; born August 23, 1968) is an American former physician and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 8th congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Her district includes the suburbs east of Seattle, and extends across the Cascade Range to rural areas in central Washington, as well as the cities of Wenatchee and Ellensburg.

Early life and education

Schrier was born, and raised, in Los Angeles, California, where she graduated from Palisades Charter High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in astrophysics. She attended the University of California Davis School of Medicine, where she earned her Doctor of Medicine degree. She continued on to a residency at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Medical career

Schrier's professional career as a pediatrician began in Ashland, Oregon, where she worked for one year before joining Virginia Mason Medical Center in Issaquah, Washington in 2001. While working at Virginia Mason, she became politically active, particularly on healthcare issues. In 2017, Schrier was dissatisfied with Congressman Dave Reichert's handling of the efforts to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and this, coupled with her frustration with the results of the 2016 elections, led to her decision to enter politics.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

Schrier announced her candidacy to represent Washington's 8th congressional district in August 2017, a year before the primary. She initially intended to challenge incumbent Dave Reichert, but the seat became open in September 2017 when Reichert announced his retirement. She had decided to run after the 2016 election, making the expansion of Medicare and the Affordable Care Act the centerpiece of her campaign.

No Democrat had ever been elected to represent the district and Reichert had been seen as a relatively safe incumbent, but his decision to retire left the seat as a potential Democratic pickup in an election year already leaning toward the Democratic Party.

Schrier advanced from the top-two primary, narrowly defeating attorney Jason Rittereiser, and advancing to face Republican Dino Rossi in the general election. The 8th district campaign attracted $25 million in spending, making it the most expensive in state history and one of the costliest nationally in 2018, including controversial attack ads from the Rossi campaign. One such ad nicknamed Schrier "Dr. Tax" and depicted her holding a large stack of $20 bills. The ad was perceived as antisemitic by The Washington Post.

Schrier won the general election with 52% of the vote. Although Rossi won 3 of the 4 counties in the district, Schrier won the district's portion of King County by nearly 30,000 votes, almost double her overall margin of 15,000 votes.

2020

Schrier ran for reelection. She advanced from the top-two primary in first place and faced the second-place finisher, Republican U.S. Army veteran and Amazon senior project manager Jesse Jensen. Schrier won the general election with 51.7% of the vote.

2022

Schrier defeated Republican nominee and lawyer Matt Larkin with 53.3% of the vote. In 2022, Washington's 8th District was the state's most competitive and was among the key races in determining House partisan control. During the race, Schrier criticized Larkin's proposals for abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest.

2024

Schrier ran for re-election. She and Republican Carmen Goers, a banker, advanced to the general election from the top-two primary. Schrier defeated Goers with 54.0% of the vote.

Tenure

Schrier was sworn into office on January 3, 2019, as the U.S. representative for Washington's 8th congressional district. During the 116th Congress, she served on the Committee on Education and Labor and Committee on Agriculture. During Donald Trump's administration, Schrier voted in line with the president's stated position 6.6% of the time. As of June 2023, Schrier had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.

In 2025, Schrier was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.

Committee assignments

Schrier's committee assignments for the 119th Congress include:

• Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee on Health Subcommittee on Energy

Caucus memberships

Schrier's caucus memberships include:

• Black Maternal Health Caucus
• Congressional Equality Caucus
• New Democrat Coalition (chair: Farm Bill Task Force)
• Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (co-chair: Climate and Agriculture Task Force)
• Congressional Doctors Caucus (co-chair)
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

Personal life

Schrier and her husband, David Gowing, have a son and live in Sammamish, Washington. Her grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Europe who arrived in the United States before World War II. Schrier has Type 1 diabetes.

Electoral history

See also

• List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

Notes

External links

• official U.S. House website
• at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• at the Federal Election Commission
• at the Library of Congress
• at Vote Smart
• onC-SPAN