Jesse Jensen Taking Second Shot at Kim Schrier’s U.S. House Seat

One of Democratic incumbent Kim Schrier's most formidable opponents in next month's primary contest for Washington's 8th District U.S. House seat is Republican Jesse Jensen.

Jensen lost to Schrier in the 2020 general election by a roughly 52 to 48 percent margin.

He says he's been canvassing all over the district to get a feel for what issues are most important to voters.

"Boy, it's pretty consistent," said Jensen. "It's the economy, it's crime, it's the border. Things that the Democrats have been wrong on just about across the board. It's a real confluence of bad ideas and worse leadership at the helm of our country."

Jensen bills himself as the son of a Pastor, proud father of three, former Congressional Staffer, four tour US Army Captain and Special Operations Combat Veteran with two Bronze Stars, and successful businessman.

He was born in Bismarck, North Dakota and served in the U.S. Army from 2007 to 2014, reaching the rank of Captain.

Jensen earned a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University in 2006 and a master’s degree from Columbia Business School in 2016.

He now lives in Bonner Springs and is connected to Washington state through career experiences as a senior program manager for technology firms, including Amazon and Microsoft.

Among the issues Jensen is focused on are inflation and taxes, government spending and standing up for police.  He also favors term limits for members of Congress "to get rid of career politicians on both sides of the aisle."

He says he's the only candidate who can beat Kim Schrier is November.

"Both from internal polling as well as external polling, actually polling done by Dave Reichert's old pollster, a guy named Glen Folger, it shows if I win the primary, I go on to defeat Kim Schrier," Jensen said. "If the other leading contender in this race wins, he goes on to lose by 11 percentage points."

Ten people have filed to run against Schrier, but only six have reported fundraising totals, including four Republicans and two Independents.

Jensen leads all challengers at just over $816,000, followed by Matt Larkin at almost $630,000 and Reagan Dunn at more than $605,000..

By contrast, Schrier has raised nearly $4.2 million and has roughly $4.9 million on hand.

The primary election in Washington takes place on August 2.