Congressman Dave Reichert will not seek re-election in 2018
Sep 6, 2017, 9:05 AM | Updated: 10:04 am
Kim Schrier says she is running for Congress after seeing the lack of action from Rep. Dave Reichert and steps taken by the Trump administration. (AP)
(AP)
Washington state Congressman Dave Reichert announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection in 2018.
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In a statement Wednesday, Reichert explains:
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of the greatest state in the world’s greatest nation for nearly five decades. First as a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserves for six years, then in the King County Sheriff’s Office for 33 years, and most recently as a seven term Member of Congress. I am humbled to have been trusted by the people of Washington’s 8th District to be their voice in Congress; it is an honor I have not taken lightly. Each and every day, I have committed to serving the 8th District and our nation with the heart of a servant.
Reichert would have been on the November 2018 ballot. But he said that he has decided to “pursue new opportunities to serve the country and the American people?” He said that serving as King County sheriff and as a Congressman has been a calling and a “calling I will not walk away from.”
Reichert and the 8th District
With his exit from the 8th District Congressional seat, Reichert leaves the position open. Washington’s 8th District spans parts of King, Pierce, Kittitas, and Chelan counties. Since its formation in 1980, the district has only had Republican representatives in Congress.
Reichert, a Republican, was first elected to an open seat in the House of Representatives in 2004, defeating KIRO Radio’s Dave Ross. He has maintained his seat in Congress since 2004, most recently defeating Democratic opponent, former sportscaster Tony Ventrella. He is currently on the House Ways and Means Committee, and serves on three subcommittees, including tax policy and human resources. He is chairman of the trade subcommittee.
Before his career in Congress, Reichert was King County sheriff, first appointed to the position in 1997, and further elected in 2001. But he served with the sheriff’s office since 1972 and was on the task force investigating the Green River killer. He eventually wrote a book on the investigation: “Chasing the Devil: My Twenty-Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer.”
