Rep. Adam Smith (D)

The congressman from the 9th District is Adam Smith, a Democrat first elected in 1996. He grew up in the Sea-Tac area. His father, a baggage handler for United Airlines who was active in the Machinists Union, died when Smith was 17. The family went on welfare. Smith worked his way through Fordham University driving trucks for UPS, then went to the University of Washington Law School. He worked as a lawyer, then as a Seattle prosecutor, handling drunk-driving and domestic-abuse cases. In 1990, at age 25, he was elected to the state Senate, beating an incumbent Republican by canvassing the district door-to-door. In 1995, he decided to run against first-term U.S. Rep. Randy Tate, a Republican. The two had similar backgrounds. They were born in the same year to families of modest means, were first elected to office at young ages and were firm believers in grassroots campaigning. But Tate was a religious conservative and a strong supporter of Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, while Smith campaigned as a moderate Democrat, supporting the death penalty and tougher penalties for criminals. He attacked Tate for supporting Gingrich on 96% of House votes and for backing cuts in Medicare. Tate attacked Smith for his opposition to assigning youthful offenders to adult courts and prisons and for voting for Democratic Gov. Mike Lowry’s $1.2 billion tax increase in 1993. This was one of the closest races in the country. In the September all-party primary, Smith led 49%-48%. In November, he won 50%-47%.

In the House, Smith got a seat on the Armed Services Committee, a useful assignment back home, and joined the New Democrat Coalition. He established a moderate voting record and showed a willingness to take on established interests within his party. He voted against government-paid vouchers for private school tuition. He voted to authorize military action in Iraq and sought to improve compensation and other quality-of-life benefits for military personnel. In 2004, he was one of four Democrats who opposed a provision in the USA PATRIOT Act to bar law enforcement access to library and bookstore records. In 2007, he called on the administration to change its strategy in Iraq, but he also criticized liberal activists for pressuring Democrats to end the war. When Democrats took control of the House in 2007, Smith became chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats and Capabilities, which he called the “tip of the spear” in the war on terrorism.

Smith’s independence has worked well for him back home. He has won re-election easily, and Republicans have quit targeting this district. In the 2004 presidential campaign, he was one of the first congressional supporters of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and chaired his campaign in Washington. In 2008, he was an early supporter of Democrat Barack Obama for president and chaired Obama’s Washington state campaign. Smith briefly explored the possibility of taking a job with the Obama administration, but in February 2009, he announced that he would keep his seat in the House. He earned a seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, further bolstering his legislative credentials on military operations and foreign affairs.