Early Political Career
In 1970, McDermott made his first run for public office and was elected to the state legislature as a representative from the 43rd district. He did not seek re-election in 1972 but instead ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Washington. In 1974, he ran for the state senate, and subsequently was re-elected three times, to successive four-year terms. During this time, he crafted and sponsored legislation that would eventually be called the Washington State Basic Health Plan, the first such state program in the country, which offers health insurance to the unemployed and the working poor. In 1980, while still a state senator, McDermott defeated incumbent Dixy Lee Ray in the Democratic primary for governor, but lost the general election to Republican John Spellman. He ran again in 1984, losing the primary to Booth Gardner, who then went on to defeat Spellman in the election.
In 1987, McDermott briefly left politics to become a Foreign Service medical officer based in Zaire now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo, providing psychiatric services to Foreign Service, USAID, and Peace Corps personnel in sub-Saharan Africa.
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