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News and updates

New Democratic Chairs to Helm House Committees

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As a result of the November elections, Democrats will assume the chairs of committees in the House when the new Congress convenes in 2019.

At the macro level, we can expect the Democrats to hold oversight hearings on myriad issues and activities related to the Trump Administration with respect to both policies and politics.  Individually, the soon-to-be chairs of the committees, all of whom are seasoned Members, will have different priorities that they plan to emphasize.  Earlier this year, Politico profiled a number of the Democrats likely to lead the panels after the switch in control.  A shorter synopsis of the new chairs’ backgrounds and their interests is provided below.

Appropriations

Nita Lowey, representing the suburbs of New York City, is expected to take over as the first woman to chair the Appropriations Committee.  First elected to Congress in 1988, she has been a tremendous champion of domestic programs.

She has served in the past as the lead Democrat on the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee, which is responsible for funding biomedical and student aid programs.  She has made funding NIH a priority in the past.

Armed Services

Adam Smith, representing the 9th Congress District of Washington and one of UW’s biggest backers, is slated to take over the chairmanship of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC).

A UW alum, he was first elected to Congress in 1996 and has served as Ranking Member on since 2011.

Education and the Workforce

Bobby Scott, who will be in his 14th term from the Newport News area of Virginia, will become the new chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

As chair, he will drive much of the agenda related to higher education, including the possible reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.  He will look to push back against much of the Trump Administration’s attempts to roll back consumer protections with respect to the for-profit institutions and well the proposed changes to Title IX and other civil rights issues.  The House Democrats’ HEA bill introduced earlier this year, the Aim Higher Act,  will likely serve as the starting point for HEA reauthorization.

Energy and Commerce

The Energy and Commerce has a big portfolio in terms of legislative jurisdiction, including health care.  Frank Pallone of New Jersey is expected to assume the chairmanship of the committee.

Pallone helped draft the Affordable Care Act in 2009 and 2010.  Possible changes to the ACA and other health care policies will have to go through his committee.

Homeland Security

Bennie Thompson of Mississippi is slated to take over as the chair of the Homeland Security Committee.

As the name states, the committee has jurisdiction over, among other issues, the Department of Homeland Security and its various agencies, including those responsible for immigration matters.  We should expect to a flurry of activities around the Administration’s immigration policies and practices.

Judiciary

The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to be taken over by Lowey’s fellow New Yorker Jerrold Nadler.

First elected in 1992, we should expect to see the committee take on the Administration on host of high profile issues, including immigration, gay and LGBTQ rights, and voting rights, just to name a few.

Oversight and Government Reform

Elijah Cummings of Baltimore will helm the Oversight and Government Reform panel.

This committee’s jurisdiction is broad and we should expect myriad subpoenas from and hearings in front of it on a host of matters related to the operation of the government which Democrats believe have not been adequately addressed by the House Republicans.

Ways and Means

The Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction over tax matters but other issues of interest to UW as well, such as healthcare.  Much of the debate during this current Congress (which wraps up at the end of the year) on the tax bill and the ACA repeal took place in this committee.

Its next chairman, Richard Neal of Massachusetts, has been a member of the panel for 25 year.  Changes to healthcare and possible changes to the tax code will have to go through Chairman Neal and his Democratic colleagues in the 116th Congress.

 

Washington State Results

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In Washington state, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA-05) defeated challenger Lisa Brown in a hotly contested race. Technically, two races are still outstanding this morning, but Rep. Jaime Herrera Beulter (R-WA-03) is expected to be re-elected and Dr. Kim Schier (D) is expected to be declared the winner over Dino Rossi to represent WA-08, which was an open seat. Otherwise, the current Washington delegation was easily re-elected.

Who Won In Washington

  • U.S. Senate – Incumbent Maria Cantwell with about 58% of the vote
  • WA-01 – Incumbent Suzan DelBene with 58% of the vote
  • WA-02 – Incumbent Rick Larsen with 72% of the vote
  • WA-03 – Incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler with 52% of the vote
  • WA-04– Incumbent Dan Newhouse with 65% of the vote
  • WA-05 – Incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers with 55% of the vote
  • WA-06 – Incumbent Derek Kilmer with 62% of the vote
  • WA-07 – Incumbent Pramila Jayapal with 83% of the vote
  • WA-08 – Dr. Kim Schrier with 53% of the vote
  • WA-09 – Incumbent Adam Smith with 70% of the vote
  • WA-10 – Incumbent Denny Heck with 60% of the vote

Dr. Kim Schrier (D) defeats Dino Rossi (R) in the 8th Congressional District

The Washington State Congressional Delegation just got a little bluer as Democratic candidate Dr. Kim Schrier beat Republican candidate Dino Rossi in the state’s only open-seat contest at the federal level. Currently held by Congressman Dave Reichert, a Republican who is retiring in December, the 8th Congressional District spans from Mount Rainier north to Issaquah, east to Ellensburg, and north to Lake Chelan. Historically, the district has elected Democratic presidents and Republican Members of Congress.

The open-seat race drew in millions of dollars on both sides of the aisle. It was the most expensive Congressional race in the country, with spending topping $28 million. Schrier won by about six percentage points.

Meet Washington’s newest Congresswoman, Dr. Kim Schrier

A first-time candidate, Congresswoman-elect Kim Schrier is a pediatrician from Issaquah, WA. As a health care provider and individual with a pre-existing condition (she is a type 1 diabetic), her policy platform is focused on protecting and improving health care for working families. She attributes recent efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act for prompting her to run for office. In addition to health care, Dr. Schrier is a proud product of public schools and universities and says she is committed to supporting and improving public education. A fluent Spanish speaker, she is passionate about helping Latinx communities.

 

Fun Facts from the Election

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Here are some fun factoids, that we know of, from last night’s election: 

  • Three African-American candidates — Antonio Delgado (D-NY), Colin Allred (D-TX), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL) — defeated Republican incumbents in majority-white districts.
  • Texas elected two Latina women, Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX), who are the first Latina congresswomen in the state. Tennessee elected a female Senator, Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), for the first time.
  • Two native American women were elected to Congress for the first time.  Sharice Davids (D-KS) is also the state’s first openly gay representative and the first former mixed-martial-arts fighter. Deb Haaland (D-NM), member of the Pueblo of Laguna, defeated Republican Janice Arnold-Jones.
  • Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) became the first-ever Muslim woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She ran unopposed by a Republican challenger and she won her primary in August, beating out five other challengers. She is joined by Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
  • Jared Polis in Colorado was elected the first openly gay governor in U.S. history.
  • Amendment 4 passed in Florida restoring voting rights to 1.5 million felons.
  • Marijuana won big. Michigan voted to legalize recreational pot use, Missouri voters legalized medical marijuana, with a tax, while North Dakota voters decided not to legalize recreational marijuana.
  • Voters in Arkansas and Missouri raised the minimum wage. In Missouri, the wage will rise to $11 from $8.50; Arkansas’s will increase to $12 from $7.85.
  • Health care access did well in conservative states. Voters in Idaho and Nebraska passed the Medicaid expansions, bringing tens of thousands of additional adults under Medicaid coverage. Votes are still being counted for initiatives in Montana and Utah. Montana’s measure would raise tobacco taxes to pay for, and continue, a Medicaid expansion that might otherwise expire. Utah’s proposal included a sales tax increase to help fund the expansion.

Results…and Still Counting

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There are still many races that are still too close to call this morning, which was expected. It happened in 2012, 2014 and 2016. It’s happened twice already this year.

That said, many races have been called. The Democrats have 220 seats, exactly two more seats than needed for a majority and a gain of 27 seats, while Republicans have 193. There are currently just over 30 House seats yet to be called; if the current leader in all of them ends up winning, the House will be 227 Democrats, 208 Republicans. House Democrats gained in states like New York, California, Kansas, Iowa, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Oklahoma.

The Republican majority in the Senate got stronger with wins in Indiana, Florida, and Missouri. In the Senate there are still two races outstanding in Montana and Arizona, while Mississippi is going to have a runoff. Republicans lead in both those races; if the current leader ends up winning, the Senate will have 46 Democrats, 54 Republicans. Democrats were always looking at a challenging year as they were defending more seats and many in conservative states.

Democrats made significant pickups across the nation at the Governor’s office gaining seats in Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Nevada, Kansas, and Maine. If they current leader ends up winning, there will be 23 Democratic and 27 Republican governors.

In some contentious races, like in Georgia and Mississippi, there is a possibility that no candidate will receive a majority of votes, kicking in special rules to decide the election at a later date. Although currently Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp is running just barely above the total needed for a recount. Mississippi looks likely to head to a runoff.  Florida has also triggered an automatic recount between Senate candidates Sen. Ben Nelson (D) and Gov. Rick Scott (R).

In Washington state, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA-05) defeated challenger Lisa Brown in a hotly contested race. Technically, two races are still outstanding this morning, but Rep. Jaime Herrera Beulter (R-WA-03) is expected to be re-elected and Dr. Kim Schier (D) is expected to be declared the winner over Dino Rossi to represent WA-08 in an open contest. Otherwise, the current Washington delegation was handily elected.

It’s Election Day!

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Happy Election Day!

In a much hyped and talked about mid-term election, Americans are going to the polls for some exciting local and national races. Will the Democrats win the House? How many new Members of Congress will Washington state have? Will the Republicans gain seats in the Senate? Will most of our nation’s governors be in the Democratic party? We will start to find out tonight. However, given the peculiarities and peccadilloes of each state’s elections laws, we might not know who has won many elections for weeks.

Washington state has some very interesting races being watched on the national stage, and with Congressman Reichert’s retirement, we will have at least one new Member of Congress representing WA-08. Track the results for all Washington races here.

For national races, the New York Times will has it’s very popular Needle on their home page tracking election results again this year.  CNN will also have live updates. The Washington Post also has a fun tracker. Do not expect poll returns until later in the day. The Times has a story on when polls close.

For those of you that have been intensely interested in this election (Beto! Stacey Abrams! Dino Rossi!)  just keep in mind, the forecasts and models were very wrong last year.  It’s raining in every state east of the Mississippi River, and that’s sure to impact turnout.

For those intensely interested in what’s happening across the country at every level, here’s a handy-dandy election tracker that has all high-target political races this election.

 

Federal Relations will update this post as necessary throughout the day and have an election recap tomorrow.