Washington's 8th legislative district
Washington's 8th legislative district is one of forty-nine districts in Washington state for representation in the state legislature. The district includes parts of Benton and Franklin Counties. The district includes part or all of the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, and West Richland. It was most recently redrawn as a part of the Soto Palmer v. Hobbs decision in 2024.[1]
The district is represented by state senator Matt Boehnke (R) and state representatives Stephanie Barnard (R; position 1), and April Connors (R; position 2).[2]
Past legislators
Statehood-1932
During this period, the state senate and state house districts were geographically distinct.[3]
| Year | Senate | House | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Senate District Geography | House Position 1 | House Position 2 | House District Geography | |
| 1st (1889-1890) | Platt A. Preston (R)[a] | Walla Walla County | |||
| George T. Thompson (R)[a] | |||||
| 2nd (1891-1892) | C. G. Austin (R) | Asotin, Columbia, and Garfield | House District Established | Asotin County | |
| William Farrish (R)[b] | |||||
| 3rd (1893-1894) | J. A. Kellogg (R) | ||||
| 4th (1895-1896) | C. E. Gibson (P.P) | ||||
| 5th (1897-1898) | J. C. Van Patten (Pop.), (P.P)[c] | R. W. Caywood (Pop.) | |||
| 6th (1899-1900) | John F. Chrisman (R) | ||||
| 7th (1901-1902) | Edward Baumeister (R) | ||||
| 8th (1903-1904) | G. B. Wilson (R) | Whitman County (part) | J. A. Dix (R) | Position Established | Whitman County (part) |
| George M. Witter (R) | |||||
| 9th (1905-1906) | E. E. Smith (R) | G. C. Kenoyer (R) | |||
| 10th (1907-1908) | Peter McGregor (R) | F. P. Connell (R) | G. W. Peddycord (R) | ||
| 11th (1909-1910) | S. J. Boone (R) | H. S. McClure (R) | |||
| 12th (1911-1912) | Oliver Hall (R) | W. C. McCoy (R) | |||
| 13th (1913-1914) | J. E. Turnbow (D) | T. C. Miles (D) | |||
| 14th (1915-1916) | E. W. Wagner (R) | George A. Weldon (R) | |||
| 15th (1917-1918) | George A. Weldon (R) | C. W. McCall (D) | |||
| 16th (1919-1920) | D. F. Trimble (R) | W. M. Anderson (R) | |||
| 17th (1921-1922) | George H. Arland (R) | D. F. Trimble (R) | |||
| 18th (1923-1924) | Harry Goldsworthy (R) | Willis Mahoney (D) | |||
| 19th (1925-1926) | Thomas W. Hemp (R) | ||||
| 20th (1927-1928) | Frank A. Ratliffe (R) | ||||
| 21st (1929-1930) | |||||
| 22nd (1931-1932) | Will R. Heglar (R) | ||||
1933-Present
After the passage of Initiative 57 and the 1930 redistricting cycle, the state senate and state house districts were geographically similar. While some senate districts would occasionally be broken up into house seats A and B, seats A and B were always contained in the Senate district boundaries.
The 8th Legislative district's state senate and house seats are identical geographically from 1933 to the present day.[3]
| Year | Senate | House | District Geography | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | House Position 1 | House Position 2 | ||
| 23rd (1933-1934) | W. P. Gray (R) | Richard B. Ott (R) | Grant A. Stewart (R) | Adams, Lincoln, and Ferry Counties |
| 24th (1935-1936) | J. P. Keller (D) | Carl E. Devenish (D) | Richard B. Ott (R) | |
| 25th (1937-1938) | Harry Harder (D) | |||
| 26th (1939-1940) | David Phillips (D) | |||
| 27th (1941-1942) | ||||
| 28th (1943-1944) | J. H. Robertson (R)[d] | David Phillips (D)[e] | W. C. Raugust (R)[f] | |
| John Shimek (D)[g] | ||||
| 29th (1945-1946) | David Hoefel (R) | |||
| 30th (1947-1948) | ||||
| 31st (1949-1950) | ||||
| W. C. Raugust (R)[f] | Clyde Massie (D)[h] | |||
| 32nd (1951-1952) | Robert D. Timm (R) | |||
| 33rd (1953-1954) | ||||
| 34th (1955-1956) | Delbert Pence (R) | |||
| 35th (1957-1958) | ||||
| 36th (1959-1960) | Donald W. Moos (R) | Position removed in reapportionment | ||
| 37th (1961-1962) | ||||
| 38th (1963-1964) | ||||
| 39th (1965-1966) | ||||
| 40th (1967-1968) | Damon Canfield (R) | Irving Newhouse (R) | Position reestablished | 1965 Redistricting |
| Walt Reese (R) | Benton (part) and Yakima (part) | |||
| 41st (1969-1970) | Max E. Benitz (R) | |||
| 42nd (1971-1972) | ||||
| 43rd (1973-1974) | Doris Johnson (D) | 1972 Redistricting | ||
| Benton (part) | ||||
| 44th (1975-1976) | Max E. Benitz (R)[i] | James M. Boldt (D)[j] | Claude L. Oliver (R) | |
| 45th (1977-1978) | ||||
| Linda Wynne (D)[k] | ||||
| Ray Isaacson (R)[l] | ||||
| 46th (1979-1980) | Shirley Hankins (R)[m] | |||
| 47th (1981-1982) | ||||
| 48th (1983-1984) | ||||
| 49th (1985-1986) | ||||
| 50th (1987-1988) | Jim Jesernig (D) | |||
| 51st (1989-1990) | ||||
| Shirley Hankins (R)[m] | Vacant[n] | |||
| Jim Jesernig (D)[o][p] | Vacant[q] | |||
| 52nd (1991-1992) | Lane Bray (D) | Curtis Ludwig (D)[r] | ||
| 53rd (1993-1994) | ||||
| Curtis Ludwig (D)[r] | Thomas Moak (D)[s] | |||
| Patricia Hale (R)[t][u] | Jerome Delvin (R) [v] | |||
| 54th (1995-1996) | Shirley Hankins (R) | |||
| 55th (1997-1998) | ||||
| 56th (1999-2000) | ||||
| 57th (2001-2002) | ||||
| 58th (2003-2004) | ||||
| Jerome Delvin (R)[w][x] | Sean McGrath (R)[y] | |||
| Larry Haler (R)[z] | ||||
| 59th (2005-2006) | ||||
| 60th (2007-2008) | ||||
| 61st (2009-2010) | Brad Klippert (R) | |||
| 62nd (2011-2012) | ||||
| 63rd (2013-2014) | ||||
| Sharon Brown (R)[aa] | ||||
| 64th (2015-2016) | ||||
| 65th (2017-2018) | ||||
| 66th (2019-2020) | Matt Boehnke (R) | |||
| 67th (2021-2022) | ||||
| 68th (2023-2024) | Matt Boehnke (R) | Stephanie Barnard (R) | April Connors (R) | Benton (part) and Yakima (part)[ab] |
| 69th (2025-2026) | ||||
Key
| Democratic (D) |
| Populist (Pop) |
| Republican (R) |
- P.P. is People's Party which was closely associate with the Populist Party.
See also
Notes
- 1 2 This district was represented by two senators simultaneously from 1889-1890.
- ↑ Elected Speaker of the House for the 3rd legislative session (1893-94
- ↑ Changed party affiliation from Populist Party to People's Party in 1899
- ↑ Resigned Aug. 24, 1949; Appointed Employment Security Commissioner
- ↑ Deceased June 24, 1943
- 1 2 Resigned house seat; Appointed Aug. 25, 1949 to serve the 1950 Ex. Session in the state senate
- ↑ Appointed Sept. 11, 1943 to serve 1944 Ex. Session
- ↑ Appointed Aug. 15, 1949
- ↑ Deceased Aug. 29, 1990
- ↑ Resigned May 1, 1978
- ↑ Appointed June 8, 1978
- ↑ Elected November 1978 to serve unexpired term
- 1 2 Resigned house seat; Appointed Sept. 19, 1990 to the serve in the state senate
- ↑ This seat was vacant from Sept. 1990 until the start of the 1991 session. The legislature did not convene during this time.
- ↑ Elected Nov. 6, 1990; Sworn in Nov. 30, 1990 to serve unexpired term
- ↑ Resigned Nov. 9, 1993; Appointed Director of the Washington Department of Agriculture
- ↑ This seat was vacant from Nov. 30, 1990 until the start of the 1991 session. The legislature did not convene during this time.
- 1 2 Resigned house seat; Appointed Dec. 8, 1993 to the serve in the state senate
- ↑ Appointed Jan. 3, 1994
- ↑ Elected Nov. 8, 1994 to serve unexpired term
- ↑ Resigned May 6, 2004; Appointed to the U.S. Small Business Administration
- ↑ Elected Nov. 1994 to serve unexpired term
- ↑ Resigned house seat; Appointed May 12, 2004 to the serve in the state senate; Elected Nov. 2, 2004 to serve unexpired term
- ↑ Resigned Feb. 3, 2013 Elected to Benton County Council
- ↑ Appointed May 18, 2004
- ↑ Elected Nov. 2004 to serve unexpired term
- ↑ Appointed January 28, 2013; Sworn in Feb. 4. 2013; Elected Nov. 5, 2013 to serve unexpired term
- ↑ 2024 court ordered redistricting in Soto Palmer v. Hobbs
References
- ↑ "Judge approves Washington's new legislative district maps after court battle over Latino voting rights". opb. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
- ↑ "The page title". Default. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
- 1 2 "State of Washington Members of the Legislature, 1889 – 2011" (PDF). Washington State Legislature. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 20, 2022.
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