Dave Reichert

David George Reichert (born August 29, 1950) is an American politician, former law enforcement officer, and former member of the Air Force Reserve who served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 8th congressional district from 2005 to 2019.

He is a Republican and a former elected Sheriff of King County, Washington.

His family moved to Washington in 1951, living first in Renton, then later moving to Kent, where he attended Kent Meridian High School.

At the same time, the Democratic presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry won, 51% to 48%, against President George W. Bush in the Washington's 8th congressional district.

That made Reichert one of just 17 House Republicans elected in a district that also voted for the Democratic candidate for the presidency.

ARMPAC, a political action committee of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, donated $20,000 to his election campaign.

In 1968, he graduated and went to Concordia Lutheran College in Portland, Oregon on a partial football scholarship.

He earned an Associate of Arts degree in social work in 1970.

In 1971 he joined the Air Force Reserves' 939th Military Airlift Group.

In 1971, during his second year in law enforcement, Reichert responded to a domestic violence call in which a knife-wielding man was attempting to kill his wife.

The man attacked Reichert and slit his throat, which required stitches and surgery.

In an interview, Reichert said of the incident, "I was able to save [the wife], and we got into a scuffle and fell over a coffee table in the living room, and he slit my throat with a butcher knife, ending up with forty-five stitches in my neck."

He was awarded with one of his two Medals of Valor for his bravery.

Reichert began serving with the King County sheriff's office in 1972.

He was a member of the Green River Task Force, formed to track down the "Green River killer".

He saw active duty for six months and served until 1976.

In 1984, he and fellow King County homicide detective Robert Keppel met with incarcerated serial killer Ted Bundy to form a psychological profile of the Green River killer.

In 1997, he was appointed sheriff of King County, Washington, by King County Executive Ron Sims.

In 2001, DNA evidence identified Gary Leon Ridgway as the Green River killer.

In 2001, he ran unopposed for a second four-year term.

Reichert served as president of the Washington State Sheriffs Association.

He was an executive board member of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

In 2004, Reichert published the memoir Chasing the Devil: My Twenty-Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer.

Although Reichert has used Ridgway's arrest as a central part of his political campaigns, former supervisor Frank Atchley stated that Reichert was "more of an impediment to the investigation."

According to Seattle University journalism and criminal justice professor Tomás Guillén, Reichart was convinced that a cab driver named Melvyn Foster was the killer, allegedly "taint[ing] Reichert's judgment" to the point a task force allegedly excluded other suspects.

In 2004 Reichert won the 2004 National Sheriffs' Association's Sheriff of the Year award, two valor awards, and the Washington State attorney general's award for courageous action.

In 2004, Reichert ran for Congress.

He bowed out of the Republican primary debate, however, because two other candidates had run ads critical of him.

He defeated his Democratic opponent, KIRO talk show host Dave Ross, in the 2004 election, 52% to 47%.

He replaced retiring Republican Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn.

He faced Democratic candidate Darcy Burner in November 2006; he was re-elected with 51% of the vote.

In a repeat of the 2006 election matchup, he faced Democratic candidate Darcy Burner.

He won the general election with 53% of the vote to Darcy Burner's 47%.

He was challenged by Democratic candidate Suzan DelBene.

He won re-election with 52% of the vote.

He was challenged by Democratic candidate Karen Porterfield, and won with almost 60% of the vote.

In September 2017, Reichert announced that he would retire from Congress after his seventh term.

In June 2023, Reichert filed paperwork to run for Washington Governor in 2024.

Reichert was born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, the son of Marlys Ann (née Troeger) and George F. Reichert.

He is the eldest of seven children and a grandson of the town marshal.