1.
United States Congress
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The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the Capitol in Washington, D. C, both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Members are usually affiliated to the Republican Party or to the Democratic Party, Congress has 535 voting members,435 Representatives and 100 Senators. The House of Representatives has six non-voting members in addition to its 435 voting members and these members can, however, sit on congressional committees and introduce legislation. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by using the United States Census results. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators, currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 states. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a term, with terms staggered. The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers, however, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills, the House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before a person can be forcibly removed from office. The term Congress can also refer to a meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years, the current one, the 115th Congress, began on January 3,2017, the Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Members of the Senate are referred to as senators, members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congressmen, or congresswomen. One analyst argues that it is not a solely reactive institution but has played a role in shaping government policy and is extraordinarily sensitive to public pressure. Several academics described Congress, Congress reflects us in all our strengths, Congress is the governments most representative body. Congress is essentially charged with reconciling our many points of view on the public policy issues of the day. —Smith, Roberts, and Wielen Congress is constantly changing and is constantly in flux, most incumbents seek re-election, and their historical likelihood of winning subsequent elections exceeds 90 percent
2.
Washington (state)
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It was admitted to the Union as the 42nd state in 1889. Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State or the State of Washington to distinguish it from Washington, Washington is the 18th largest state with an area of 71,362 square miles, and the 13th most populous state with over 7 million people. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast and in the Western United States, Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the states highest elevation at almost 14,411 feet and is the most topographically prominent mountain in the contiguous United States. Washington is a leading lumber producer and its rugged surface is rich in stands of Douglas fir, hemlock, ponderosa pine, white pine, spruce, larch, and cedar. Manufacturing industries in Washington include aircraft and missiles, shipbuilding and other equipment, lumber, food processing, metals and metal products, chemicals. Washington has over 1,000 dams, including the Grand Coulee Dam, built for a variety of purposes including irrigation, power, flood control, the Washington Territory was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. The area was part of a region called the Columbia District after the Columbia River. The area was renamed Washington in order to avoid confusion with the District of Columbia, Washington is the only U. S. state named after a president. To distinguish it from the U. S. capital, which is named for George Washington, Washington is sometimes referred to as Washington State, or, in more formal contexts. Washingtonians and other residents of the Pacific Northwest refer to the state simply as Washington, calling the nations capital Washington, D. C. or, often, Washington is the northwestern-most state of the contiguous United States. Washington is bordered by Oregon to the south, with the Columbia River forming the western part, to the west of Washington lies the Pacific Ocean. The high mountains of the Cascade Range run north-south, bisecting the state, from the Cascade Mountains westward, Western Washington has a mostly marine west coast climate, with mild temperatures and wet winters, autumns and springs, and relatively dry summers. The Cascade Range contains several volcanoes, which reach altitudes significantly higher than the rest of the mountains, from the north to the south, these major volcanoes are Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, and Mount Adams. Mount Rainier, the tallest mountain in the state, is 50 miles south of the city of Seattle and it is also covered with more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous 48 states. Western Washington also is home of the Olympic Mountains, far west on the Olympic Peninsula and these deep forests, such as the Hoh Rainforest, are among the only temperate rainforests in the continental United States. Eastern Washington – the part of the state east of the Cascades – has a dry climate. It includes large areas of steppe and a few truly arid deserts lying in the rain shadow of the Cascades. Farther east, the climate becomes less arid, with annual rainfall increasing as one goes east to 21.2 inches in Pullman, the Okanogan Highlands and the rugged Kettle River Range and Selkirk Mountains cover much of the northeastern quadrant of the state
3.
United States Senate
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The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. S. From 1789 until 1913, Senators were appointed by the legislatures of the states represented, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The Senate chamber is located in the wing of the Capitol, in Washington. It further has the responsibility of conducting trials of those impeached by the House, in the early 20th century, the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began, although they are not constitutional officers. This idea of having one chamber represent people equally, while the other gives equal representation to states regardless of population, was known as the Connecticut Compromise, there was also a desire to have two Houses that could act as an internal check on each other. One was intended to be a Peoples House directly elected by the people, the other was intended to represent the states to such extent as they retained their sovereignty except for the powers expressly delegated to the national government. The Senate was thus not designed to serve the people of the United States equally, the Constitution provides that the approval of both chambers is necessary for the passage of legislation. First convened in 1789, the Senate of the United States was formed on the example of the ancient Roman Senate, the name is derived from the senatus, Latin for council of elders. James Madison made the comment about the Senate, In England, at this day, if elections were open to all classes of people. An agrarian law would take place. If these observations be just, our government ought to secure the permanent interests of the country against innovation, landholders ought to have a share in the government, to support these invaluable interests, and to balance and check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority, the senate, therefore, ought to be this body, and to answer these purposes, the people ought to have permanency and stability. The Constitution stipulates that no constitutional amendment may be created to deprive a state of its equal suffrage in the Senate without that states consent, the District of Columbia and all other territories are not entitled to representation in either House of the Congress. The District of Columbia elects two senators, but they are officials of the D. C. city government. The United States has had 50 states since 1959, thus the Senate has had 100 senators since 1959. In 1787, Virginia had roughly ten times the population of Rhode Island, whereas today California has roughly 70 times the population of Wyoming and this means some citizens are effectively two orders of magnitude better represented in the Senate than those in other states. Seats in the House of Representatives are approximately proportionate to the population of each state, before the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, Senators were elected by the individual state legislatures
4.
Washington's 1st congressional district
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Washingtons 1st congressional district encompasses the majority of Whatcom, Skagit, and Snohomish counties, as well as nearly one-third of King County. The eastern edge of the district follows county lines from the Canada–US border down to the I-90 corridor, then it follows I-90 west to West Lake Sammamish, and from there north to I-5. The western border follows the I-5 corridor north to Bellingham, then along the coast to Canada, the 2012 redistricting drastically changed the 1st district. Much of this area was part of the 2nd district. Jay Inslee was the representative of the 1st District until resigning to run for Governor of the state, the certified results confirmed her significant margin. DelBene also won the election for the remainder of Inslees term in the old First District, in presidential elections, the 1st District has leaned Democratic. Under the old boundaries, Al Gore and John Kerry narrowly carried the district in 2000 and 2004 with 48% and 51% of the vote, in 2008, Barack Obama swept the district with 55. 60% of the vote while John McCain received 42%. Until March 20,2012, it was represented by Democrat Jay Inslee from Bainbridge Island, Inslee resigned to focus on his run for Governor of the state, the seat remained vacant until the special election that coincided with the November 2012 general election. The former House seat of powerful U. S, senator Warren 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 future U. S, senator Maria Cantwell in 1992, the district had been in Republican hands for 40 years. Since the 1998 election, when Inslee was first elected, the growing Democratic trend in the Seattle area enabled him to turn it into a safe seat. He had been reelected six times with little difficulty, most recently in 2010, beginning in 1909, members were elected from districted seats, instead of at-large statewide. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, the Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts
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Washington's 2nd congressional district
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Washingtons 2nd congressional district includes all of Island and San Juan counties and neighboring areas on the mainland from Bellingham in the north to Lynnwood in the south. Since 2001, it has been represented by Democrat Rick Larsen, originally created in 1909 when Washington was broken up into districts, the Second District was represented by future U. S. Senator Henry M. Scoop Jackson between 1941 and 1953 and it was a reliably Democratic district for most of the latter half of the 20th century until the Republican Revolution of 1994, when retiring Rep. Al Swift was replaced by Jack Metcalf. Larsen has represented the district since Metcalfs retirement in 2001 and he faced a close reelection in 2002, but was handily reelected in 2004 and hasnt faced serious opposition until 2010. In the 2008 election, Larsen easily defeated Republican challenger Rick Bart, in the 2010 election, Larsen narrowly avoided defeat against Republican challenger John Koster. In presidential elections, the 2nd District leans Democratic, Al Gore and John Kerry narrowly carried the district in 2000 and 2004 with 48% and 51% of the vote, respectively. In 2008, Barack Obama swept the district with 55. 60% of the vote while John McCain received 42%, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts
6.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers
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Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers is an American politician from Washington where she has served as the U. S. Representative for Washingtons 5th congressional district since 2005, the district includes Spokane and the eastern third of the state. McMorris Rodgers is the highest ranking Republican woman in Congress, serving as the Chairman of the House Republican Conference and she is only the second woman to serve in that capacity, following former Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, who served from 2003 to 2007. From 1994 to 2005, she served in the Washington House of Representatives, Cathy McMorris was born May 26,1969 in Salem, Oregon, the daughter of Corrine and Wayne McMorris. In 1974, when McMorris was five years old, her moved to Hazelton, British Columbia. The family lived in a cabin while they built a log home on their farm, in 1984, the McMorris family settled in Kettle Falls, Washington and established the Peachcrest Fruit Basket Orchard and Fruit Stand. Cathy McMorris worked there for 13 years, in 1990, McMorris earned a bachelors degree in Pre-law from Pensacola Christian College, a then-unaccredited Independent Baptist liberal arts college. McMorris Rodgers subsequently earned an Executive MBA from the University of Washington in 2002, following the completion of her undergraduate education, McMorris was hired by State Rep. Bob Morton in 1991. She served as his manager and later his legislative assistant. She became a member of the legislature when she was appointed to the Washington House of Representatives in 1994. Her appointment filled the vacancy that temporarily remained when Rep. Bob Morton was appointed to the Washington State Senate, after being sworn into office on January 11,1994, she represented the 7th Legislative District. She successfully retained the seat in a 1994 special election, during her time in the legislature, McMorris was known for supporting small business and rural communities. She led efforts to improve the health and productivity of state forest lands, as a social conservative, she worked to unify the House Republicans from around the state and to find common ground with Democrats. This new agenda would reduce the time, effort, security, in 1997, she co-sponsored legislation to ban same-sex marriage in Washington State. Id really like to see us get beyond that and she voted against a 2004 bill to add sexual orientation to the states anti-discrimination law and was a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage. From 2002 to 2003, she served as House Minority Leader and she was the first woman to lead a House Caucus, and the youngest since World War II. She chaired the House Commerce and Labor Committee, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, and she stepped down as minority leader in 2003 after announcing her bid for Congress. During her tenure in the legislature, she lived in Colville, after serving 10 years in the Washington House of Representatives, McMorris ran in 2004 for United States House of Representatives
7.
Washington's 5th congressional district
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Washingtons 5th congressional district encompasses the Eastern Washington counties of Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Whitman, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, and Asotin. It is centered on Spokane, the second largest city. Since 2005, the 5th District has been represented in the U. S. House of Representatives by Cathy McMorris Rodgers, rodgerss predecessor, George Nethercutt, defeated Tom Foley, then Speaker of the House, in the 1994 elections, Foley had held the seat since 1965. In presidential elections, the 5th District was once fairly competitive, although George W. Bush carried the district with 57% in 2000 and 2004, John McCain just narrowly won the district with 52% of the vote, while Barack Obama received 46% in 2008. In 2012, President Obamas share of the vote dropped to 44%, the first election in the 5th District was in 1914, won by Democrat Clarence Dill. Following the 1910 census, Washington gained two seats in the U. S. House, from three to five, but did not reapportion for the 1912 election. The two new seats were elected as statewide at-large, with each voter casting ballots for three seats, their district and two at-large. After that election, the state was reapportioned to five districts for the 1914 election, the states 6th District was added after the 1930 census and first contested in the 1932 election. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, the Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts
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Washington's 6th congressional district
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Washingtons 6th congressional district encompasses the Olympic Peninsula, most of the Kitsap Peninsula, and most of the city of Tacoma. The 6th District has been represented in the U. S. House of Representatives by Derek Kilmer and he succeeded 36-year incumbent and fellow Democrat Norm Dicks, at the time the dean of the Washington delegation. Established after the 1930 U. S. Presidentially, the 6th leans Democratic, al Gore and John Kerry carried the district in 2000 and 2004 with 52% and 53% of the vote, respectively. Barack Obama swept the district in 2008 with 57% of the vote, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts
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Washington's 7th congressional district
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Washingtons 7th congressional district encompasses most of Seattle, all of Vashon Island, Edmonds, Shoreline, Kenmore, and parts of Burien and Normandy Park. Since 2017, the 7th District has been represented in the U. S. House of Representatives by Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat. The 7th is the most Democratic district in the Pacific Northwest, and it is also the most Democratic majority-white district in the United States. Democrats dominate every level of government, and routinely win elections by well over 70 percent of the vote, al Gore swept the 7th District in 2000 with 72% of the vote while John Kerry won 79% of the vote in the district in 2004. Barack Obama took in 84% of the vote in the district in 2008, washingtons seventh seat in the U. S. House was added following the 1950 census, but the state did not immediately reapportion. It was contested as a statewide at-large seat for three elections,1952,1954, and 1956, and voters cast ballots for two seats, their district and the at-large. Democrat Donald H. Magnuson won all three at-large elections, the 1958 election was the first after the state reapportioned to seven districts, Magnuson was elected to the new district in 1958 and 1960, but lost in 1962. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, the Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts
10.
51st United States Congress
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It met in Washington, D. C. from March 4,1889, to March 4,1891, during the first two years of the administration of U. S. President Benjamin Harrison. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Tenth Census of the United States in 1880, both chambers had a Republican majority. This marked the first time since the 43rd United States Congress that both chambers were controlled by the presidents party, grover Cleveland had vetoed a similar bill in 1887. The last two were concessions to Western farmer interests in exchange for support of the tariff and would become tenets of the Populist Party later in the decade. They were authored by Senator John Sherman, the Fifty-first Congress was also responsible for passing the Land Revision Act of 1891, which created the national forests. Harrison authorized Americas first forest reserve in Yellowstone, Wyoming, the same year, other bills were discussed but failed to pass, including two significant pieces of legislation focused on ensuring African Americans the right to vote. Henry Cabot Lodge sponsored a so-called Lodge Bill that would have established federal supervision of Congressional elections so as to prevent the disfranchisement of southern blacks, henry W. June 27,1890, Dependent Pension Act July 2,1890, Sherman Antitrust Act, ch. 647,26 Stat.209 July 14,1890, Sherman Silver Purchase Act,708,26 Stat.289 August 30,1890, Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act October 1,1890, McKinley Tariff, ch. November 8,1889, Montana was admitted as the 41st state, november 11,1889, Washington was admitted as the 42nd state. May 2,1890, Oklahoma Territory was organized, July 3,1890, Idaho was admitted as the 43rd state. July 10,1890, Wyoming was admitted as the 44th state, the count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of this Congress. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the Changes in membership section, six new states were admitted during this Congress, and their Senators and Representatives were elected throughout the Congress. Senators are listed by class, and Representatives are listed by district, skip to House of Representatives, below Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, the names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers. The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts, biographical Directory of the U. S. Congress U. S. House of Representatives, House History U. S. Senate, Statistics and Lists Official Congressional Directory for the 51st Congress, 1st Session. Official Congressional Directory for the 51st Congress, 1st Session, Official Congressional Directory for the 51st Congress, 2nd Session. Official Congressional Directory for the 51st Congress, 2nd Session
11.
United States House of Representatives
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The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress which, along with the Senate, composes the legislature of the United States. The composition and powers of the House are established by Article One of the United States Constitution, since its inception in 1789, all representatives are elected popularly. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435, the House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the President for consideration. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof and is traditionally the leader of the controlling party. He or she and other leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conferences. The House meets in the wing of the United States Capitol. Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a body in which each state was equally represented. All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates, the issue of how to structure Congress was one of the most divisive among the founders during the Convention. The House is referred to as the house, with the Senate being the upper house. Both houses approval is necessary for the passage of legislation, the Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, the Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4,1789. The House began work on April 1,1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time, during the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives, However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed. Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery, One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War, the war culminated in the Souths defeat and in the abolition of slavery. Because all southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, the years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Unions victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877, the ensuing era, the Democratic and the Republican Party held majorities in the House at various times. The late 19th and early 20th centuries also saw an increase in the power of the Speaker of the House
12.
Washington's 8th congressional district
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Washingtons 8th congressional district includes the eastern portions of King and Pierce counties and crosses the Cascade mountains to include Chelan and Kittitas counties. The population centers on the west side of the include the exurban communities of Sammamish, Issaquah. On the east side, the 8ths population centers are rural communities Wenatchee, Leavenworth and it is currently represented in the U. S. House of Representatives by Republican Dave Reichert. Since its creation after the 1980 U. S. Census, prior to the 2011 redistricting, the district had the peculiarity of having a Democratic advantage according to its Cook PVI, but only having elected Republicans to Congress throughout its history. The Districts PVI is now slightly Republican after redistricting and the GOP winning streak is still active as of after the 2012 elections and this district could be compared to Illinoiss 10th congressional district or Connecticuts 4th congressional district in terms of voting patterns. Responding to Reicherts perceived vulnerability, former Microsoft program manager Darcy Burner challenged Rep. Reichert in 2006, in the end, Reichert won re-election, defeating Burner by just 7,341 votes out of more than 250,000 cast. The outcome of the race was not decided for almost a week after the election, in the 2008 election, Reichert faced Burner again in a rematch that many election watchers again described as one of the nations hottest contests. This time, Reichert defeated Burner 53 percent to 47 percent, in 2010, Republican Dave Reichert and Democrat Suzan DelBene advanced out of the Washington State Top 2 Primaries with 47. 2% and 26. 9% of the vote, respectively. The remaining votes went to Democrat Tom Cramer, Republican Ernest Huber, Reichert prevailed over DelBene in the General Election by a vote of 52. 1% to 47. 9%. In this election, Reichert won both King and Pierce counties even after losing some key endorsements including The Seattle Times which endorsed Suzan DelBene, in the 2012 race, Dave Reichert ran against Democrat Karen Porterfield Associate Dean and Public Administration Lecturer at Seattle University. James Windle of Snoqualmie Pass also ran against Reichert as an independent candidate, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress
