Full profile
Race at a glance
Washington’s 8th Congressional District has a contested U.S. House race in the 2026 election. Five candidates are listed: one Democrat and four Republicans. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026.
Kim Schrier, the Democratic candidate, is the incumbent. The Republican candidates are Andres R. Valleza, Trinh Ha, Bob Hagglund and Spencer Harrison Meline. The candidate field makes the race contested because more than one person is seeking the congressional seat.
Party affiliation and incumbency are the principal distinctions established among the candidates at this stage. There are no documented policy positions for any of the five candidates, so there is not yet a stated basis for comparing their approaches to issues before Congress.
The five candidates
Andres R. Valleza, Republican: Valleza is one of four Republican candidates listed in the race. He is seeking the U.S. House seat for Washington’s 8th District in the general election on Nov. 3, 2026. No documented policy positions are listed for Valleza.
Kim Schrier, Democrat: Schrier is the Democratic candidate and the incumbent officeholder in the district. She is seeking the U.S. House seat for Washington’s 8th District in the general election on Nov. 3, 2026. No documented policy positions are listed for Schrier.
Trinh Ha, Republican: Ha is one of four Republican candidates listed in the race. Ha is seeking the U.S. House seat for Washington’s 8th District in the general election on Nov. 3, 2026. No documented policy positions are listed for Ha.
Bob Hagglund, Republican: Hagglund is one of four Republican candidates listed in the race. He is seeking the U.S. House seat for Washington’s 8th District in the general election on Nov. 3, 2026. No documented policy positions are listed for Hagglund.
Spencer Harrison Meline, Republican: Meline is one of four Republican candidates listed in the race. He is seeking the U.S. House seat for Washington’s 8th District in the general election on Nov. 3, 2026. No documented policy positions are listed for Meline.
What is contested
The central choice is among five candidates for one U.S. House district. Schrier enters the race as the sitting representative and the only Democrat listed. Valleza, Ha, Hagglund and Meline share the Republican label, but each is a separate candidate.
The listed party affiliations show the partisan makeup of the field, but they do not establish where any candidate stands on a specific policy question. Without documented positions, issue differences among the candidates cannot yet be described. A party label also does not by itself state a candidate’s position on legislation or other matters that may come before the House.
What voters should track
The next major fixed date is the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Before then, voters can watch for candidates to state positions on federal issues and explain how they would approach the work of representing the district.
The candidate field is also an important part of the process to follow. At present, the contest includes the Democratic incumbent and four Republican candidates, giving voters five named choices in the race for Washington’s 8th District seat.
