Rep. Kim Schrier Will Face Another Republican Challenge In 2022

ISSAQUAH, WA — Democratic 8th District Rep. Kim Schrier will face another Republican challenge in 2022 as the Issaquah pediatrician seeks a third term in Congress. First elected in 2018, Schrier is the first Democrat to flip to the 8th District, which represents Sammamish and Issaquah, portions of east King and Pierce counties, and all of Chelan and Kittitas counties in the House.

Schrier won re-election to the seat in 2020, securing a little less than 52 percent of the vote against Republican challenger Jesse Jensen, an Army veteran from Bonney Lake. As reported by the Seattle Times on Tuesday, attorney Matt Larkin has launched a bid to unseat Schrier in 2022, two years after his unsuccessful bid for Attorney General, falling 13 points shy of incumbent Bob Ferguson in 2020.

According to the Times, the Woodinville father of four briefly worked as a deputy prosecutor in Pierce County and served as a speechwriter during the last year of George W. Bush's administration. In recent years, Larkin has worked for his family's Bothell-based manufacturing company.

In a campaign video shared on social media, Larkin criticized the "radical left" for criminal justice reforms and called for lower taxes and fewer regulations on businesses. On Larkin's official campaign website, he writes:

"For too long, Washington has been heading in the wrong direction. Crime continues to rise. Drug abuse is out of control. And the homeless situation in our state has hit a breaking point. Yet, no one is doing anything about it. Our state is in desperate need of a leader to step-up to the plate and take these issues head on."

In an interview with the Seattle Times, Larkin declined to say whether he believed President Joe Biden's election was legitimate or take a position on whether Congress should have authorized a commission to investigate the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

According to the Seattle Times, Larkin may not be the sole Republican throwing their hat into the race next year. The newspaper reported Tuesday that Jensen is mulling another run for the 8th District, and the National Republican Congressional Committee identified Schrier's seat on its list of targets to flip next year. When Jensen ran in 2020, he received little national support and was outspent handily by the Schrier campaign.