Newly elected Schrier on whether she'll support Nancy Pelosi: 'Oh boy. I don't know'

With a lead over Republican Dino Rossi in the 8th Congressional District, first-time candidate Dr. Kim Schrier is poised to be involved in some big national decisions. She spoke with KUOW’s Angela King the morning after the election.

King: Last night you said you're in this to put some checks and balances on the president and his administration. What do you think needs the most scrutiny?

Schrier: I just think that it is time for Congress to do its job of oversight. I think it is critical that we have a Congress that works for the benefit of the people, people in this district and people all over the country. And that means a Congress that works to get affordable health care for everybody and to work for the middle class and to fight corruption. There's a lot of work to be done.

We do have some Democrats listening right now and they want lawmakers to block the Trump agenda on immigration and social issues. Others want investigations and impeachment. What should they expect?

They should expect that we will pursue comprehensive immigration reform. And I think it's really critical that we understand that this is not a zero-sum game, that we can secure our borders. We can do it without a wall. We can have a path to citizenship for people who are here and keeping our economy afloat and bettering the culture of our district. We can have a path for the Dreamers. We can do all of those things.

Getting back to the investigations, are we going to be in gridlock or do you think that there's going to be progress on that front?

First of all I think we all deserve investigations. I think when foreign countries meddle in our elections, when there's questions about conflict of interests, we need to pursue that. And right now what we have seen is a Congress that overlooks and does not offer oversight. And I think it is really important that for the benefit of the country that we look into what happened in the 2016 elections and we protect ourselves against future meddling. This is critical. It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican. We should all be concerned.

One question about Democratic leadership in the House if you do get to Washington, D.C.: Do you think you'll be supporting Nancy Pelosi for speaker?

Oh boy, I don't know. I'd like to see who's running. I will hear from them and decide who best represents and shares the values of the people in the 8th District and vote accordingly.

What message did you hear from voters yesterday?

What I heard is that people are tired of the same old same old career politician who's in with the special interests. They are ready for a fresh voice. They want somebody who is going to go in, roll up their sleeves, get involved. Fight for health care and affordable prescription drugs, pursue campaign finance reform. Get the special interests out of our politics and support women's right to make their own health care decisions.