Adam Smith (Washington politician)

1996

Smith won his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996 by defeating another incumbent Republican, Rep. Randy Tate, with 50.4 percent of the vote. He has never faced another contest nearly that close.

1998

Smith ran for a second term and defeated Republican Ron Taber in the general election, winning 65% of the vote.^[6]

2000

Smith ran for a third term and defeated Republican Chris Vance in the general election, winning 61.7% of the vote.^[7]

2002

Smith was reelected for a fourth term.

2004

Smith was reelected for a fifth term.

2006

In 2006, Smith won his sixth term in Congress against Republican Steve Cofchin, with 65.7% of the vote to Cofchin's 34.3%.^[8]

2008

In 2008, Smith won a seventh term in the House, defeating James Postma, a 74-year-old retired engineer running on a pro-nuclear power platform, with 65% of the vote.^[9]

2010

Smith was reelected for an eighth term.

2012

For his first seven terms, Smith represented a district that straddled Interstate 5, from Renton through Tacoma to just outside of Olympia. Smith's district was significantly redrawn after the 2010 census. It absorbed much of southeast Seattle as well as most of the Eastside. As a result, it became the state's first with a majority of residents who are racial or ethnic minorities.^[10] It is also the state's second-most Democratic district; only the neighboring 7th district, which covers the rest of Seattle, is more Democratic.

Smith was reelected for a ninth term.

2014

Smith was reelected for a tenth term.

2016

Smith was reelected for an eleventh term.

2018

Smith was reelected for a twelfth term.

2020

Smith ran for a thirteenth term and defeated Republican Doug Basler in the general election, winning 74.1% of the vote.^[11]

2022

Smith ran for a fourteenth term and defeated Republican Doug Basler in the general election for a second time, winning 71.6% of the vote.^[12]

2024

Smith ran for a fifteenth term and defeated Democrat Melissa Chaudhry in the general election, winning 65.4% of the vote.^[13]

Foreign affairs

On October 10, 2002, Smith was among the 81 Democratic members of the House to vote to authorize the invasion of Iraq.^[19] In March 2012, he said that U.S. troops had done "amazing work" in Afghanistan and that it was "time to bring the troops home".^[20]

Smith voted against the Protect America Act of 2007, which has been criticized for violating Americans' civil liberties by allowing wiretapping without issued warrants.^[21] But in 2008, he voted for a similar bill, the FISA Amendment Act of 2008 (FAA), reauthorizing many of the provisions in the expired Protect America Act, leading critics like the ACLU to call it "an unconstitutional bill that would significantly modify the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act", granting expansive new monitoring powers to the executive branch with very little court oversight. The FAA also ensured the dismissal of all pending cases against telecommunication companies for their previous illegal spying on American citizens on behalf of the Executive Branch.^[22][23][24] Smith also voted for the 2001 Patriot Act and to extend the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program.^[25]

On December 16, 2010, Smith defeated Silvestre Reyes and Loretta Sanchez to become the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee after Chairman Ike Skelton was defeated for reelection. In the first round, Sanchez and Smith earned 64 votes, and Reyes earned 53. In the runoff, Smith defeated Sanchez by 11 votes.^[26]

In 2011, recognized for his work in fighting global poverty, Smith became only the second member of Congress selected for the Borgen Project's board of directors.^[27] The same year, he argued against cuts that could "jeopardize our national security" and leave the U.S. "more vulnerable to nuclear terrorism".^[28]

In 2001, Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF),^[29] which gave the president authority to use "all necessary and appropriate force" against those who committed and aided the September 11 attacks. While this power has been rarely used to detain persons in the U.S., Smith introduced a bill to ensure that anyone detained on U.S. soil under the AUMF has access to due process and the federal court system.^[30] The bill also prohibits military commissions and indefinite detention for people detained in the U.S. and would ensure the detainees constitutional rights.^[30]

Smith and Representative Mac Thornberry co-sponsored an amendment to the fiscal 2013 defense spending bill reversing previous bans on disseminating Defense and State Department propaganda in the U.S., reversing the Smith–Mundt Act of 1948 and the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1987, designed to protect U.S. audiences from government misinformation campaigns.^[31] The bill passed on May 18, 2012, 299 to 120.^[32]

Smith, concerned about the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, tried to contact Joe Biden in advance, without success; however, he did get a call from Biden after he criticised the Afghanistan withdrawal—the only one he got from Biden in four years.^[33]

In September 2025, a bipartisan delegation led by Smith visited China and met with Premier of China Li Qiang on September 21.^[34] This marked the first visit to China by a U.S. House of Representatives delegation since 2019.^[35][36]

Domestic affairs

In December 2023, Smith introduced the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act of 2023 to the House. This legislation would require hedge funds to sell at least 10% of the single-family homes they own yearly over 10 years. After this period, hedge funds will be banned from owning single-family homes.^[37]