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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

House Pos. 2

Election Results

Candidate Votes Pct
Joe Schmick (R) 26,958 65.93%
Pam Kohlmeier (D) 11,582 28.33%
Arianna Arends (D) 2,348 5.74%

* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.

The Candidates

Joe Schmick

Party:
Republican
Age:
66
City:
Colfax, Washington

Education: Graduated from Colfax High School. Holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Eastern Washington University with a minor in economics.

Work experience: Farmer and small business owner for more than 40 years.

Political experience: Has served in the House of Representatives in the 9th District since 2007. He previously served on the Washington Barley Commission and the National Barley Improvement Committee in the 1990s.

Family: Married to Kim Schmick.

Campaign finance: Raised more than $229,000 as of Oct. 2, 2024, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. Contributors include the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Premera Blue Cross, Delta Dental of Washington, Washington State Tree Fruit Association Political Action Committee, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, BNSF Railway, Anheuser-Busch, and Avista Corp.

Pam Kohlmeier

Party:
Democratic
Age:
55
City:
Spokane, Washington

Education: Graduated from Manson High School in Manson, Iowa, in 1987. Holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and earned a doctor of medicine degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2018.

Work experience: Worked as an emergency room physician for 15 years, including at St. Francis Hospital in Blue Island, Illinois; St. Elizabeth’s Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, Nebraska; and Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. She also has been an adjunct professor and lecturer at Eastern Washington University and a clinical risk manager at CHAS Health. She has been with the Washington Medical Commission since January 2022 and is currently the policy manager and a hearings examiner.

Political experience: First run for office.

Family: Married to Dr. Stephen Thew. They raised four children together. One died in 2022.

Campaign finance: Raised more than $61,000, including $7,500 in loans, as of Oct. 2, 2024, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. Kohlmeier has given more than $16,000 to her campaign. Other contributors include the Washington Chapter of the American College of Emergency Room Physicians Political Action Committee, Hamilton Studios, the Washington Machinists Council, former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and former candidate for Congress Bernadine Bank.

Arianna Arends

Party:
Democratic
City:
Spokane, Washington

Arends declined to be interviewed.

Complete Coverage

Veteran Washington lawmaker faces emergency room doctor and lawyer in re-election bid

The August primary sealed longtime state Rep. Joe Schmick’s status as the clear frontrunner in November.

Challenger to longtime incumbent Rep. Joe Schmick focuses on health care

Longtime state Rep. Joe Schmick, a Republican, has drawn two Democratic challengers this year for his seat representing southeastern Washington.