Snohomish County voters will help narrow the field of candidates for three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in the Aug. 2 primary.
Incumbents are seeking re-election in the 1st and 2nd congressional districts while Congressman Jim McDermott is retiring from the 7th Congressional District. There are nine people hoping to succeed him.
In each contest, the top two finishers in Tuesday’s election will advance to the Nov. 8 general election.
1st Congressional District
Democratic U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene of Medina faces four challengers in her pursuit of a third term. They include Republicans Robert Sutherland and John Orlinski, Libertarian Scott Stafne and Independent Alex Storms
At stake is a two-year term representing communities from the Canadian border south to Kirkland in east King County. The district takes in a swath of Snohomish County east of I-5 including the cities of Snohomish, Lake Stevens, Mill Creek, Arlington and Sultan.
The year began with Republican state Rep. Elizabeth Scott of Monroe as the lone challenger to DelBene. But Scott ended her bid in May, spurring Sutherland and Orlinski, both of whom challenged DelBene in 2014, to enter the race.
Sutherland finished third in that year’s primary, 873 votes behind runner-up and fellow Republican Pedro Celis. Sutherland then ran unsuccessfully for county executive in 2015.
DelBene is running on her record since arriving in Congress in late 2012. She said she’s passed bills to increase email privacy protections and preserve work training for qualified food stamp recipients. She’s also pushed for passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act, requiring online businesses collect sales tax, and recently introduced legislation aiding communities dependent on timber industry such as Darrington.
DelBene has raised $1.53 million and had nearly $1 million in cash on hand as of July 13, according to the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Sutherland, with $7,043 in contributions, is the only other candidate to report raising money in the primary.
2nd Congressional District
Incumbent Democrat Rick Larsen faces four opponents in his bid for re-election in the 2nd Congressional District. The district runs from Mountlake Terrace to Bellingham and encompasses all of Island and San Juan counties. Everett is the most populous city in the district.
Democratic hopeful Mike Lapointe, Republican Marc Henneman, Libertarian Brian Luke and Kari Ilonummi, who states no party preference, are trying to prevent Larsen from winning a ninth term.
Larsen said he’s talking with voters about his work to pass a federal transportation bill, protect the federal Voting Rights Act and improve services for the men and women in the military. He said he’s knocked on close to 4,000 doors and the number will grow in the coming months.
“None of my opponents will outwork me,” he said.
Lapointe is challenging Larsen for the third straight election. It is his first time doing so as a Democrat after two attempts as an independent. He said he did so at the request of Democrats who felt Larsen didn’t represent them.
One of Lapointe’s major points is his opposition to the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement that could be voted by Congress this year. Lapointe also said if elected he would push harder than Larsen for legislation dealing with climate change and eliminating economic inequality.
Luke also opposes the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal. If elected, he said he wants to end the federal prohibition on growing and selling marijuana, reduce federal military spending and bring most of American troops home from overseas.
Larsen said he hasn’t made up his mind on how he’ll vote on the TPP. He also said greater attention must be paid to enforcing terms of existing deals.
As of July 13, Larsen had raised $690,861 in this election cycle and had $383,894 in available funds. He is also is the only candidate who had collected enough money to require filing reports with the Federal Election Commission.
7th Congressional District
Nine candidates are competing to succeed Congressman McDermott of Seattle in arguably Washington’s most liberal congressional district. The district stretches from Normandy Park in the south to Edmonds in the north and takes in most of Seattle.
The best known and most well-financed candidates are a trio of Democratic office-holders: state Rep. Brady Piñero Walkinshaw, state Sen. Pramila Jayapal and King County Councilman Joe McDermott, no relation to the congressman.
Also competing are Republicans Scott Sutherland and Craig Keller, Democrats Don Rivers and Arun Jhaveri and two people who state no party preference, Leslie Regier and Carl Cooper. Congressman McDermott defeated Keller in the 2014 general election.
Walkinshaw was appointed to the state House in 2013 and elected to a full term in 2014. Before that he spent five years at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where his work focused on economic opportunity for small farmers, according to his campaign website.
He’s authored measures to improve mental health care, to combat heroin and opioid addiction, and to address climate change. He pledges to continue to focus on those issues. He’s trying to become the first gay Latino in Congress.
Jayapal won her state Senate seat in 2014. She is a founder and former executive director of OneAmerica, one of the state’s largest political advocacy groups for immigrants.
As a lawmaker, Jayapal pushed bills to boost the state’s minimum wage, increase access to reproductive health care and reform state gun laws. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders endorsed Jayapal and urged his supporters to donate to her campaign.
Joe McDermott served a decade in the Legislature, as a representative and senator, before joining the King County Council in 2010. In Olympia, McDermott, who is gay, helped pass laws expanding rights of domestic partners and broadening the state’s anti-discrimination law to cover sexual orientation and gender identity.
Reforming campaign finance rules and reducing gun violence, including imposing a ban on assault weapons, are two focuses of his campaign. He has pledged to work to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United, which ended limits on election spending by corporations and unions.
Jayapal leads all candidates in fundraising through July 13 based on the latest FEC filings.
She reported $1.28 million in contributions and, after expenditures, had $368,719 in cash on hand while Walkinshaw reported raising $888,853 and having $314,355 available. McDermott has received $425,901 in donations and had $126,835 available as of July 13.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com Twitter: @dospueblos.
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