Kim Schrier


Kimberly Merle Schrier is an American politician and physician serving as the U.S. Representative for since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and career

Schrier was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in astrophysics. She attended the University of California Davis School of Medicine, where she earned her Doctor of Medicine. She continued on to a residency at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Schrier's professional career as a pediatrician began in Ashland, Oregon where she worked for one year before joining Virginia Mason Medical Center in Issaquah, Washington in 2001. While working at Virginia Mason, Schrier became politically active, particularly regarding healthcare issues. In 2017, Schrier was dissatisfied with Congressman Dave Reichert's handling of the efforts to repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and this, coupled with her frustration with the results of the 2016 elections, led to her decision to enter politics.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

Schrier announced her intention to run to represent in the 2018 elections in August 2017, a year before the jungle primary. Initially intending to challenge Republican incumbent Dave Reichert, it became an open seat in September 2017 when Reichert announced he was retiring. She had decided to run after the 2016 election, making the expansion of Medicare and the Affordable Care Act the centerpiece of her campaign.
Whereas no Democrat had ever been elected to represent the district and Reichert had been seen as a relatively safe incumbent, his decision to retire left the swing seat as a potential Democratic pickup in an election year already leaning toward the Democratic Party.
Schrier advanced from the top-two primary, narrowly defeating attorney Jason Rittereiser, and advancing to face Republican nominee Dino Rossi in the general election. The 8th district campaign attracted $25 million in spending, making it the most expensive in state history and one of the costliest nationally for the 2018 election, and included controversial attack ads from the Rossi campaign. One such ad, paid for by the Washington State Republican Party, nicknamed Schrier "Dr. Tax" and depicted her holding a large stack of $20 bills. The ad was perceived as Antisemitic, fulfilling stereotypes about Jewish greed.
In the November general election, Schrier received 52 percent of the vote and won the seat.

Committee assignments

Personal life

Schrier and her husband, David Gowing, have a son and live in Sammamish, Washington. Her grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Europe who arrived in the U.S. prior to World War II. Schrier has Type 1 diabetes.

Footnotes