Washington's 1st congressional district

Washington's 1st congressional district
Representative	Suzan DelBene D–Medina
Population (2000)	654,904
Median household income	58,565
Ethnicity	83.8% White 7.9% Asian 4.3% Hispanic 1.8% Black 0.9% Native American 0.6% other
Cook PVI	D+9

Washington's 1st congressional district encompasses the majority of Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish counties, as well as nearly one-third of King County. The eastern edge of the district follows county lines from the Canadian border down to the I-90 corridor. Then it follows I-90 west to West Lake Sammamish, and from there north to I-5. The western border follows the I-5 corridor north to Bellingham, then along the coast to Canada. Note that the map at right shows the 2010 District boundaries, as of 2012 the district matches the description. (Reference is GovTrack.us page showing new and old borders of Washington congressional districts.)

The 2012 redistricting drastically changed the 1st district. Much of this area was previously part of the 2nd district, but in the new map the 2nd has shrunk significantly. Jay Inslee (D) was the representative of the 1st District until resigning to run for Governor of the state, but most of the district has been represented by Rick Larsen (D), of the 2nd District, in the past.

Soon after the 2012 general election polls closed, the Seattle Times and national news organizations called the district for Democrat Suzan DelBene, defeating Republican John Koster with a margin that the Seattle Times called "unexpectedly decisive", reflecting the difficulty of predicting the vote in the new district. The certified results confirmed her significant margin. DelBene also won the election for the remainder of Inslee's term in the old First District, and after being sworn in on November 13, 2012, is serving in the 112th Congress.

In presidential elections, the 1st District has leaned Democratic. Under the old boundaries, Al Gore and John Kerry narrowly carried the district in 2000 and 2004 with 48% and 51% of the vote, respectively. In 2008, Barack Obama swept the district with 55.60% of the vote while John McCain received 42%.

Pre-2012 redistricting History

Prior to the 2012 redistricting, the district encompassed part of Northwest Seattle and largely suburban areas north and east of Seattle including Shoreline, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Bothell, Kirkland and Redmond as well as Bainbridge Island and part of the Kitsap Peninsula. Until March 20, 2012, it was represented by Democrat Jay Inslee from Bainbridge Island. Inslee resigned to focus on his run for Governor of the state; the seat will remain vacant until a special election that will coincide with the November 2012 general election.

The former House seat of powerful U.S. Senator Warren G. Magnuson, the district was a swing district throughout much of the 1990s, changing hands and parties three times in four elections. Before the election of future U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell in 1992, the district had been in Republican hands for 40 years (and 42 of the previous 46 years). Since the 1998 election, when Inslee was first elected, the growing Democratic trend in the Seattle area enabled him to turn it into a fairly safe seat. He had been reelected six times with little difficulty, most recently in 2010.

Recent election results from presidential races

Year	Results
1992	Clinton 42 - 32%
1996	Clinton 51 - 37%

List of representatives

Beginning in 1909, members were elected from districted seats, instead of at-large statewide. (See Washington's At-large congressional district.)

Years	Representative	Party	Electoral history
March 4, 1909	District created
March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1917	William E. Humphrey	Republican	Redistricted from the At-large seat
March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1931	John F. Miller	Republican	[data missing]
March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933	Ralph A. Horr	Republican	[data missing]
March 4, 1933 – August 7, 1936	Marion Zioncheck	Democratic	Died
August 7, 1936 – January 3, 1937	Vacant
January 3, 1937 – December 13, 1944	Warren G. Magnuson	Democratic	Resigned after being appointed to the U.S. Senate
December 13, 1944 – January 3, 1945	Vacant
January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947	Emerson H. DeLacy	Democratic	[data missing]
January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949	Homer R. Jones	Republican	[data missing]
January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1953	Hugh B. Mitchell	Democratic	[data missing]
January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1973	Thomas M. Pelly	Republican	[data missing]
January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1985	Joel M. Pritchard	Republican	[data missing]
January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1993	John R. Miller	Republican	[data missing]
January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995	Maria E. Cantwell	Democratic	Lost re-election
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999	Rick White	Republican	Lost re-election
January 3, 1999 – March 20, 2012	Jay Inslee	Democratic	Resigned to run for Governor
March 20, 2012 – November 6, 2012	Vacant
November 6, 2012 – present	Suzan DelBene	Democratic	Incumbent

Recent election results

2010

United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jay Inslee (incumbent)	172,642	57.67
	Republican	James Watkins	126,737	42.33
Total votes			299,379	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2012 short term (2010 boundaries)

United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2012 One Month Short Term

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Suzan DelBene	216,144	60.42
	Republican	John Koster	141,591	39.58
Total votes			357,735	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2012

United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Suzan DelBene (incumbent)	177,025	53.94
	Republican	John Koster	151,187	46.06
Total votes			328,212	100.0
Turnout
	Democratic hold

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2008
• United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2010
• United States House of Representatives elections in Washington, 2012

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

• Washington State Redistricting Commission
• Find your new congressional district: a searchable map, Seattle Times, January 13, 2012