OLYMPIA, Wash. — It's a competitive race between a pediatrician and a business owner that could tip the balance of power in Congress.
Matt Larkin is hoping to unseat two-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier in Washington's 8th Congressional District, a large and diverse district that covers both sides of the Cascades.
The district includes wealthy Seattle exurbs populated by tech workers and stretches across the Cascades to central Washington farmland in Chelan and Kittitas counties, encompassing Wenatchee, Leavenworth and Ellensburg.
Larkin is a father of four, a lifelong Washingtonian, a lawyer who worked for the Bush administration and currently runs his family's manufacturing business.
KING 5 interviewed Larkin about a variety of topics and what he believes sets him apart from Schrier.
KING 5 also interviewed Kim Schrier about why she’s running for a third term. Click here to watch that interview.
On why he's running
"I thought I'd be the guy on the sidelines writing speeches, and I thought I'd be a lawyer,” said Larkin. “I thought I'd be a criminal prosecutor. One day, it just kind of happened, we started to see the state deteriorate. We started seeing our crime go up. We started seeing our homeless problem get exacerbated, and raising four kids here, that's concerning."
On why he chose the campaign slogan, 'Make crime illegal again'
"Well, there's a prevailing sense that it is legal right now,” said Larkin. “Even in Woodinville, our friends texted us saying their car was stolen out of their driveway. That's in Woodinville, and this is becoming more and more normal across the state. Crime is out of control and everyone senses that. These law enforcement officers need our help. They need our support. They need federal funding. We can tie federal dollars to law enforcement, we can reconnect ICE to local and state law enforcement to actually help."
On where he stands on a national ban on abortions
"This is a deeply personal and emotional issue for people on both sides,” said Larkin. “I get why the pro-choice movement is as passionate as they are, and I get why the pro-life movement is. The most amazing thing in my life was watching my wife carry these four little miracles from conception up through delivery and that influenced my worldview on this quite a bit, watching each one of those babies enter the world. I'm pro-life and I've said that from the beginning and I think as a culture, we need to be doing as much as we can to celebrate life. I didn't say I'd vote for that. I'd want to see what's in that. I won't speculate on hypothetical legislation. I just won't."
On how to bring down inflation
"We've gotta reign in the reckless federal spending,” said Larkin. “We're spending like drunken sailors right now in Washington, D.C. Trillion-dollar spending bill after trillion-dollar spending bill. Seems like every week there's a new big bill being pushed. Whether it's doubling the size of the IRS or whether it's forgiving student loan debt. All of these things, these wish lists that Kim Schrier votes for are contributing to our inflation. Now is not the time to keep printing money. Now is not the time to keep spending money. Now is the time to tighten the federal belt."
On solving the homeless crisis
"I get asked all the time, ‘What can you do from Congress to fix the homeless problem in Wenatchee?’ There's a lot of ways,” said Larkin. “You can tighten up our southern border, which is open. We have a crisis at the southern border right now. Drugs from China are flowing up the Mexican border into our communities. So, by stopping the flow of drugs into our communities. It's not a fix-all by any means. But then we gotta tackle the mental health component to this that surrounds the addiction and surrounds the homeless population, too."
On what he wants people to know before they vote
"I want them to know who I am,” said Larkin. “I'm a concerned dad of four little kids. I'm a little league coach. I love my community. I love my state, and I'm just someone who raised their hand and said, ‘I don't like the way this is going.’ We're obviously trending in the wrong direction, and I'm fighting for this place. "