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Redistricting: One Proposal Would Remove Klickitat County From 3rd; Another Would Move Part of Lewis County to 6th Congressional District
Maps published last month by the four voting members of the Washington State Redistricting Commission are hinting at some potentially substantial changes for the state’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes Lewis County.
The commission has until Nov. 15 to redraw all congressional and legislative districts in the state to reapportion populations counted in the 2020 U.S. Census, per Washington state law. Commissioners are redrawing congressional districts in an effort to get as close to the 770,528-person apportionment as possible, while also keeping communities of interest together.
The four commissioners — two Democrats and two Republicans — are currently taking public comment on their first round of proposed maps. The public is encouraged to submit their own maps to the commission for consideration with a deadline of Friday, Oct. 22.
The Redistricting Commission’s next regular business meeting was set for 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18. More information can be found online at www.redistricting.wa.gov.
The 3rd Congressional District currently spans the southwest portion of Washington state, running from Klickitat County to Pacific County. It includes seven whole counties and portions of south Thurston County.
While the shape and size of the 3rd District differs among the four maps proposed so far, one thing is clear: Commissioners have decided that Klickitat County is better off in the 4th Congressional District — a district that stretched from Okanogan County down to the Tri-Cities — than in the 3rd.
That’s drawn some attention from both Republicans and Democrats in the 3rd’s easternmost county.
“We like it a lot better in the 3rd Congressional District, to be candid,” said Klickitat County Democrats Chair Rick George.
Though both the county and county seat, Goldendale, straddle the divide between forested Western Washington and dry Eastern Washington, George said the county has more in common with the Vancouver metro area and shares much of its river recreation and commerce.
But that can all depend on which side of the county you live on, as easterners are at times a closer drive to the Tri-Cities, the 4th’s largest metro area, than Vancouver, the 3rd’s largest.
“It’s like going from Western Washington to Eastern Washington right in the same county. We’re talking about a distance of 20 miles,” George said.
But it looks more likely than not that the county will be redrawn out of its current district, George said.
“Candidates will be putting a lot of miles on their cars,” he said.
The sentiment is shared even with Klickitat County Republicans. Chair Lisa Evans, in a statement to The Chronicle, said the county shares more scenic, cultural and natural resources with the 3rd Congressional District, being upriver from Vancouver, than they do with the 4th.
Klickitat is also similar to its current congressional district in that it’s politically diverse, Evans wrote.
“We have a good balance of elected officials from both parties from our county commissioners to our school boards. Every election is competitive which only benefits its citizens by keeping both its candidates and voters educated and engaged,” Evans wrote in a statement.
Half of the proposed maps also shave Skamania County, Clark County’s eastern neighbor, from the 3rd Congressional District.
Most of the proposed maps also keep Western Washington’s largest county by land mass — Lewis County — whole, except for Republican Commissioner Joe Fain’s map.
His proposed map would bring Centralia, Chehalis and other west county communities into the 6th Congressional District, which currently encompasses most of the Olympic Peninsula.
John Thompson, treasurer of the 20th Legislative District Democrats, said it’s important to keep communities of interest — especially counties and cities — together.
“I just don’t think crossing the mountains is good for any community interest,” Thompson said, noting his favorability for Democratic Commissioner Brady Walkinshaw’s map.
Walkinshaw’s map sees the 3rd District expand northward into portions of South Pierce County currently represented by the Cascades-straddling 8th Congressional District. He said it’s a good strategy for the district, which unfortunately due to its size straddles the South Puget Sound and Portland metro media markets.
Thompson, who lost a 2018 challenge to former Rep. Richard DeBolt in the Republican-stronghold 20th Legislative District, said he doesn’t expect to see the 3rd Congressional District change all that much when it comes to political competitiveness.
The 3rd is rated R+5, according to the 2021 Cook partisan voter index, and is the most moderate Republican-held congressional district in the state. U.S. Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler currently holds the seat.
“It’s going to be a really, really competitive congressional district” moving forward, Thompson said.
