CQ Politics

Located in Washington’s southwestern corner, the 3rd is a politically competitive district that includes liberals in the state capital of Olympia and suburbanites in the Vancouver area. The cities are connected by Interstate 5, west and east of which lies considerable open rural territory.

The district’s population center is Clark County (Vancouver), where slightly more than half of the 3rd’s residents live. The county experienced considerable population growth in the 1990s that is continuing. Nearly one-third of county residents cross the Columbia River each day to jobs in Oregon, almost all of them to Portland. These commuters tend to work in manufacturing or in the rebounding technology sector. Traffic problems have prompted local officials to expand roads and add new bridges along the interstate. Vancouver’s local economy is developing rapidly, especially in health care, and there are new residential and commercial developments planned for downtown.

The district’s other population pocket, the capital city of Olympia — where government jobs dominate the workforce — is at the 3rd’s northern tip. Southeast of Olympia, the district includes vast stretches of woodlands in the Cascade Mountains. West of capital city are forests and beaches along the Pacific Ocean. The western part of the 3rd has a hearty logging industry, leaving the district’s timber trade robust despite declines in the Cascade Range to the east. Manufacturing along Interstate 5 plays a large role in Lewis County’s economy.

Clark, like the district at large, is politically competitive. The Democratic vote in Vancouver is offset by Republican strength in the suburbs outside of the city. Olympia, in Thurston County, also offers a Democratic vote, while the smaller communities elsewhere in the district tend to favor Republicans. Overall, George W. Bush took 50 percent of the 3rd’s vote in the 2004 presidential election.

Major Industry

Timber, computer hardware, manufacturing, mining

Cities

Vancouver, 143,560; Olympia (pt.), 35,230; Longview 34,660

Notable

Mount St. Helens erupted May 18, 1980, killing 57 people and destroying enough lumber for 300,000 two-bedroom homes; The World Kite Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Long Beach.