Despite voting with his party nearly 100 percent of the time during his seven terms in office, U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA, 9) is a moderate, and a good fit for his district, which stretches from Renton to Olympia—covering  SeaTac, Lakewood, Ft. Lewis, and Yelm.

Back in the '90s, Smith was known as a "New Democrat"—a Bill Clinton triangulator. And while he's signed off on the Obama agenda (yes on Wall Street bailouts, yes on financial reform, no on Don't Ask Don't Tell, yes on cap and trade, and yes on health care reform),  he didn't toe the party line during the health care reform debates. Instead, Smith voiced concern over the cost and complexity of the bill. At the same time, though, Smith leaned to the left, supporting the public option.

Unlike his Puget Sound colleagues Jim McDermott and Jay Inslee, Smith, a senior member of the House armed services committee, is not demanding withdrawal from Afghanistan (weapons makers Lockheed, Raytheon, and Rolls Royce are all top contributors this cycle).

Smith's record gives him the ability to attack from the left and the right. It allows him to do things like co-author budget transparency bills with his GOP seatmate U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA, 8 ) to help prevent earmark abuse (it failed, but it was worth a try) while tallying up high ratings from lefty social issues groups like NARAL, the Human Rights Campaign, and the ACLU.

But mostly, what Smith does is focus on foreign affairs and terrorism. He's an expert on these issues, and we need more of those in Congress

Of Smith's three challengers, one of two Republicans will probably appear on the November ballot. Both support policies that are nothing short of alarming. Dick Muri, a six-term member of the Pierce County Council, says he'll dismantle the federal Department of Education and turn control of basic education over to the states. Self-financed candidate Jim Postma says he'll make the Bush tax cuts permanent, privatize K-12 education, and repeal the health care reform law.

PubliCola picks Adam Smith.