Dino Rossi Vs. The Democrats: The WA-8 Race News Roundup

ISSAQUAH, WA - Welcome to the inaugural edition of Dino Vs. The Democrats, Patch's weekly (possibly semi-weekly if things get slow) roundup of news about the race to replace Dave Reichert in Washington's 8th Congressional District.

As you might know, Republican Dino Rossi - a well-known pol who lost past bids for U.S. Senate and governor, but served as an interim state senator in 2017 in the 45th Legislative District - is trying to keep the seat for the GOP. But he's being challenged by the Indivisible-approved candidates Dr. Kim Schrier, (also) Dr. Shannon Hader, and former King County prosecuting attorney Jason Rittereiser (there are a few other Democrats in the race, but they appear to be inactive at this point).

Without adieu, here's what happened last week in the WA-8 race:

Endorsements: union-backed group Flip the 8th for and the Muslim Committee of the OneAmerica Votes Justice Fund for Hader (see past endorsements); IUOE Local 286 for Rittereiser (see past endorsements); and Democratic state Reps. Judy Clibborn and Tana Senn and National Women’s Political Caucus for Schrier (see past endorsements).

Schrier releases tax returns: Schrier, who works as a pediatrician, released her 2017 return on Friday. She earned about $210,000 and ended up getting a refund of close to $5,000. She donated about $13,000 to charity in 2017. Schrier called on Rossi and her Democrat opponents to release their returns. "Like President Trump, my Republican opponent Dino Rossi has a history of refusing to release his tax returns – in 2004, 2008, and 2010. I call on my opponents from both parties to follow my lead and release their 2017 tax returns and refuse corporate PAC contributions," she said.

Q1 campaign contributions: All the candidates filed a first quarter campaign contribution report with the Federal Election Commission. Rossi has raised about $2 million so far to Schrier's $1 million, and Rittereiser and Hader's $595,000.

Rossi on the issues: The Republican updated his website with his stances on various issues. He says he's a "fiscal conservative with a social conscience" and that he's worked on bipartisan budgets. He wants to make Trump's tax cuts permanent, repeal the estate tax, and boost small business tax credits. He wants a "humane and compassionate" fix for DACA, and kinda takes a hard line on immigrants who commit crimes, even though that's an imaginary problem.

On crime, he's anti-DUI and anti-child molester; on school shootings, he appears to be in the "do something about mental illness" camp rather than the get-rid-of-AR-15 camp, and seems to be against bump stocks. He doesn't say "Obamacare" anywhere, but he's against healthcare mandates, which is the essence of Obamacare.

Forecast: The Cook Political Report rated the WA-8 race as "even," which means it's unclear which party will claim the district.

Upcoming WA-8 events

• April 28 - Rittereiser Town Hall at the WCA Family Village in Issaquah from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
• April 28 - Meet with Dr. Kim Schrier in Auburn 11 AM
• May 5 - Dr. Kim Schrier for Congress Office Grand Opening 1 p.m., 455 Rainier Blvd N, Issaquah
• May 5 - Meet Dr. Shannon Hader in Redmond, 10328 176th Ave NE, Redmond
• June 23 - Wenatchee Pride Festival 2018

Got a WA-8 news tip? Email neal.mcnamara@patch.com

Image courtesy the WA-8 candidates