Democrats Targeting Reichert's Seat In 2018, According To Documents

BONNEY LAKE, WA - The campaign arm of House Democrats is targeting two Washington Republican House members for defeat in 2018, including Dave Reichert.

A new Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee document lists U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Bonney Lake, among a group of 60 "targets" for 2018. U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler is also on the list; she represents a swath of Southwestern Washington from Centralia to the Oregon border.

"In 2018, the DCCC will build on the innovative strategies and battle-tested tactics that allowed House Democrats to defy historical trends and gain six seats while protecting nearly every incumbent, despite Republicans winning the White House in 2016," the document states.

Out of 435 House seats, Republicans control 237 to the Democrats' 193. Democrats gained six seats during the 2016 election.

Reichert has been the target of left-leaning activist groups recently united under the "Indivisible" banner. The group has staged a number of protests outside Reichert's Issaquah office, and have harangued him over his refusal to hold an in-person town hall meeting.

Reichert's district straddles Eastern and Western Washington, giving him a more Republican-leaning district as a whole. In the 2016 election, he beat Democratic challenger Tony Ventrella, a former sports broadcaster, 60 percent to 39 percent. Ventrella dropped out of the race last July, but reentered when he came out ahead in the August primary. In 2014, Reichert beat challenger Jason Ritchie 63 percent to 36 percent.

In 2013, Reichert's 8th Congressional District was redrawn to include portions of Chelan and Kittitas counties in Eastern Washington. For ten years before that, the district had been limited to King and Pierce counties, and included the city of Bellevue. In 2012, the last election year in the old district, he beat Democrat and Seattle University lecturer Karen Porterfield 59 percent to 40 percent.

Image via U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert