Who will replace Kilmer in Congress? Here’s who’s leading in WA 6th District race
Republican Drew MacEwen conceded to Democrat Emily Randall on Tuesday night in the race between the state lawmakers for Washington’s 6th Congressional District representing Tacoma.
Randall had garnered 57.3% of more than 292,000 votes tallied thus far, according to results posted as of 8:59 p.m. by the Washington Secretary of State’s Office.
The votes tallied included ballots from each of the six counties in the district: Pierce, Kitsap, Mason, Grays Harbor, Clallam and Jefferson, the Secretary of State’s Office showed.
Randall, the senate’s deputy majority leader, told The News Tribune at around 9 p.m. that she was waiting for her victory to be officially called before declaring victory but that “the prospects seem pretty good.”
“I’m really proud of the work that my team and volunteers did to reach voters in all six counties of this district,” Randall said in a brief interview.
Randall said that those efforts included knocking on more than 10,000 doors, sending about 100,000 phone texts and attending community events. Her campaign, she added, received contributions from roughly 10,000 individual donors. She said she repeatedly heard from voters that they wanted to fight for reproductive freedom; lower the costs of health care, education and child care; and protect the climate.
“I’m going to bring those values with me” to Washington, D.C., she said.
Randall is a former Planned Parenthood staff member and advocates for expanding access to affordable health care for women, children and members of the LGTBQ+ community, according to her legislative biography. MacEwen served six years in the U.S. Navy and is a small business owner.
In a statement, MacEwen, who’s also a state senator, thanked his supporters and said he would take time to reflect on what he had learned over the past year campaigning and looked forward to returning to the Senate in January.
“Tonight, I called Congresswoman Elect Emily Randall and offered her my congratulations and pledge to work together on issues affecting my legislative district,” MacEwen said in a statement. “While this is certainly not the outcome we worked for, we knew it would be a tough uphill battle.”
MacEwen has served in the state Senate since last year. His 35th Legislative District includes Mason County and portions of Thurston and Kitsap counties. He was previously a state representative for a decade in the district.
Randall has represented the 26th Legislative District covering Gig Harbor, the Key Peninsula and other parts of Pierce and Kitsap counties since 2018.
She watched results trickle in Tuesday night from an election party also attended by Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, Washington speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins, Pierce County Council member and Executive candidate Ryan Mello and others. While party-goers were excited about the results in her race, Randall noted that they were still eyeing the presidential contest and “trying to figure out how to feel, frankly.”
Randall said there were many policies she was eager to get started on in Washington, D.C., but much of it depended on the outcome of the presidential election and other races at the federal level. Even so, whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris was elected, Randall said she knew that she would need to build relationships in Congress, noting that she had shown an ability to cross political aisles as a state lawmaker.
Randall and MacEwen entered Tuesday seeking to replace longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, who announced a year ago that he wouldn’t seek reelection after representing the 6th District in Congress since 2012. Prior to serving in Washington D.C., Kilmer was a state lawmaker for seven years.
The 6th District encompasses the Olympic Peninsula, the Kitsap Peninsula and most of Tacoma.
The two lawmakers advanced to the general election for the open seat by defeating three other challengers in the August primary. Randall garnered 34% of the more than 233,000 ballots cast, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office. MacEwen received about 30% of votes.
After primary results were tabulated, Randall’s campaign described her win as a “groundbreaking victory for LGBTQ+ representation” and noted that she would become the first LGBTQ+ Latina in Congress if elected.
“Since her election to the Washington State Senate in 2018, Randall has been a staunch advocate for reproductive rights, higher education access, and LGBTQ+ issues,” her campaign said at the time. “She has sponsored or co-sponsored about 200 bills, with significant achievements in expanding abortion access and creating comprehensive financial aid programs for college students.”
MacEwen’s campaign had underscored in August that it was outspent 8-1 by primary election opponents and that primary election results had shown that voters wanted “steady and tested leadership in Congress during these tumultuous times.”
“Throughout this campaign I have heard from voters time and again that this economy is not working for them. We need to stabilize the economy so working families can meet their needs,” MacEwen said in a statement at the time. “Further, we must reform our immigration system and put significant resources into our shipyards and military personnel in this time of global unrest.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 8:30 PM.
