| Washington's 1st congressional district | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 | |
| Representative | |
| Population (2024) | 810,553 |
| Median household income | $131,159[1] |
| Ethnicity |
|
| Cook PVI | D+15[2] |
Washington's 1st congressional district encompasses parts ofKing andSnohomish counties. The district covers several cities in the north of theSeattle metropolitan area, east ofInterstate 5, including parts ofBellevue,Marysville, and up north towardArlington.
In presidential elections, the 1st district has leaned Democratic. Under current boundaries,Barack Obama swept the district in2008 and2012, with 60% of the vote each time.Hillary Clinton won the district with 59% in2016,Joe Biden received 63% in the district in2020, andKamala Harris received 62% here in2024.
Prior to the 2012 redistricting, the district encompassed part of NorthwestSeattle and largely suburban areas north and east of Seattle, includingShoreline,Edmonds,Lynnwood,Mountlake Terrace,Kenmore,Bothell,Kirkland, andRedmond, as well asBainbridge Island and part of theKitsap Peninsula. Until March 20, 2012, it was represented byDemocrat Jay Inslee fromBainbridge Island. Inslee resigned to focus on his run for Governor of the state;[3] the seat remained vacant until the special election that coincided with the November 2012 general election.[4][5]
The former House seat of powerfulU.S. SenatorWarren G. Magnuson, the district was a swing district throughout much of the 1990s, changing hands and parties three times in four elections. Before the election of futureU.S. SenatorMaria Cantwell in1992, the district had been inRepublican hands for 40 years (and 42 of the previous 46 years). Since the1998 election, when Inslee was first elected, the growing Democratic trend in the Seattle area enabled him to turn it into a fairly safe seat. He had been re-elected six times, with little difficulty,most recently in 2010.
The 2012 redistricting drastically changed the 1st district. Much of this area was previously part of the 2nd district, but in the new map, the 2nd has shrunk significantly.Jay Inslee (D) was the representative of the 1st district until resigning to run forgovernor of the state, but most of the district has been represented byRick Larsen (D), of the2nd district, in the past.
Soon after the 2012 general election polls closed, theSeattle Times and national news organizations called the district forDemocratSuzan DelBene, defeatingRepublicanJohn Koster with a margin that theSeattle Times called "unexpectedly decisive",[6] reflecting the difficulty of predicting the vote in the new district. The certified results confirmed her significant margin.[7] DelBene also won the election for the remainder of Inslee's term in the old first district, and after being sworn in on November 13, 2012.
| Year | Office | Results[8][9][10] |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | President | Obama 60%–38% |
| 2010 | Senate | Murray 53%–47% |
| 2012 | President | Obama 60%–40% |
| 2016 | President | Clinton 59%–33% |
| Senate | Murray 60%–40% | |
| Governor | Inslee 55%–45% | |
| Lt. Governor | Habib 58%–42% | |
| Secretary of State | Wyman 54%–46% | |
| Auditor | McCarthy 52%–48% | |
| 2018 | Senate | Cantwell 62%–38% |
| 2020 | President | Biden 63%–33% |
| Governor | Inslee 61%–38% | |
| Secretary of State | Wyman 52%–48% | |
| Treasurer | Pellicciotti 57%–43% | |
| Auditor | McCarthy 62%–38% | |
| Attorney General | Ferguson 60%–40% | |
| 2022 | Senate | Murray 62%–37% |
| Secretary of State (Spec.) | Hobbs 55%–41% | |
| 2024 | President | Harris 62%–34% |
| Senate | Cantwell 63%–37% | |
| Governor | Ferguson 59%–40% | |
| Lt. Governor | Heck 60%–40% | |
| Secretary of State | Hobbs 64%–36% | |
| Treasurer | Pellicciotti 61%–39% | |
| Auditor | McCarthy 62%–38% | |
| Attorney General | Brown 60%–40% | |
| Commissioner of Public Lands | Upthegrove 57%–43% |
For the118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:[11]
KingCounty(12)
SnohomishCounty(32)
Beginning in 1909, members were elected from districted seats, instead of at-large statewide. (SeeWashington's at-large congressional district.)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jay Inslee (incumbent) | 172,642 | 57.67 | |
| Republican | James Watkins | 126,737 | 42.33 | |
| Total votes | 299,379 | 100.0 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Suzan DelBene | 216,144 | 60.42 | |
| Republican | John Koster | 141,591 | 39.58 | |
| Total votes | 357,735 | 100.0 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Suzan DelBene (incumbent)[a] | 177,025 | 53.94 | |
| Republican | John Koster | 151,187 | 46.06 | |
| Total votes | 328,212 | 100.0 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Suzan DelBene (incumbent) | 124,151 | 55.04 | |
| Republican | Pedro Celis | 101,428 | 44.96 | |
| Total votes | 225,579 | 100 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Suzan DelBene (incumbent) | 193,619 | 55.42 | |
| Republican | Robert J. Sutherland | 155,779 | 44.58 | |
| Total votes | 349,398 | 100 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Suzan DelBene (incumbent) | 197,209 | 59.27 | |
| Republican | Jeffrey Beeler | 135,534 | 40.73 | |
| Total votes | 332,743 | 100 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Suzan DelBene (incumbent) | 249,944 | 58.6 | |
| Republican | Jeffrey Beeler | 176,407 | 41.3 | |
| Write-in | 511 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 426,862 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Suzan DelBene (incumbent) | 181,992 | 63.5 | |
| Republican | Vincent Cavaleri | 104,329 | 36.4 | |
| Write-in | 363 | 0.1 | ||
| Total votes | 286,684 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Suzan DelBene (incumbent) | 227,213 | 63.0 | |
| Republican | Jeb Brewer | 132,538 | 36.7 | |
| Write-in | 907 | 0.3 | ||
| Total votes | 360,658 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
.jpg)
_(new_version).svg)