Newly elected 19th Legislative District State Rep. Jim Walsh is sworn in by Judge Dave Edwards at the Grays Harbor County Courthouse in Montesano.
Jim Walsh was sworn in as state representative for the 19th District Thursday, marking the second time a Republican has represented the district in the last 70 years.
The 19th District, which stretches from Aberdeen to Longview and covers much of Southwest Washington, including a small portion of Lewis County, voted Republican in the state gubernatorial race as well.
Walsh served as the vice chairman of the state Republican Party and as chairman of its political operations committee. Walsh is also an architect who lives in Aberdeen.
Walsh beat his opponent Teresa Purcell by only around 560 votes and is being sworn in early since his predecessor, JD Rossetti, was appointed to the seat in October 2015. Walsh will receive committee assignments later this month.
Other legislators will assume their positions in January.
Walsh ran on a platform of creating jobs and promoting schools. He said a priority for him in the Legislature will be creating family-wage jobs and adequately funding schools.
In a press release from the Legislature, Walsh was quoted as saying he wants to “make a difference for people in the 19th District who have been left behind by Seattle-centric policies.”
This rural sentiment has also been speculated as contributing to the victory president-elect Donald Trump enjoyed nationally.
Walsh graduated cum laude from Amherst College in 1986 and owns a technical publishing company.
He has five children and lives with his wife.
Walsh’s email is jim.walsh@leg.wa.gov and his phone number will be 360-786-7806. His office will be located at 428 John L. O’Brien Building in the Capitol campus.
