State Sen. Emily Randall announces she will run for Congress in 2024

Washington state Sen. Emily Randall announced Thursday that she will run for Congress in 2024 to replace U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, who said last week he would be stepping down from the position.

Randall, a Bremerton Democrat who is the Senate Deputy Majority Leader, told McClatchy she made the decision to run after several conversations with her family, colleagues, neighbors and friends.

“It was a hard decision because I really like my job right now,” Randall said. “We’ve done so much for Washingtonians — we’ve passed policy that makes a real meaningful impact in a really short time, and in some cases on everyday people’s lives.”

The 6th Congressional District, which Kilmer has represented for over a decade, covers the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas as well as part of Tacoma.

When asked what she thinks needs to be changed in Congress and how she would address those issues, Randall said one of the frustrations she hears “over and over” is with toxic rhetoric between political parties. She believes the work she has done alongside her Republican colleagues in Washington state puts the needs of people first.

Randall, who was born on the Kitsap Peninsula, said that’s where she “learned the value of service and hard work.”

Currently, Randall is the chair of the state Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee, and sits on the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee as well as the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

She pointed to lowered drug prescription costs, the creation of the Universal Health Care Commission in 2021, and the laws protecting reproductive freedom in Washington as some of the efforts she has worked for “tirelessly.”

Randall was first elected to her seat in the 26th Legislative District in 2018, replacing former Sen. Jan Angel, a Republican. Angel did not seek re-election in 2018, and instead endorsed Republican Marty McClendon.

The tight race between Randall and McClendon ended with Randall 104 votes ahead of McClendon.

In 2022, she ran against former House Rep. Jesse Young, R-Gig Harbor, for the Senate seat in one of the most expensive races in Washington state that election cycle, beating him by more than 1,000 votes.

“I feel really confident that our team has a strong plan and the experience of building grassroots support and ensuring that we know how to talk to every neighbor in the community and to knock on doors and connect with voters at coffee hours,” Randall said. “And that infrastructure, those skills, are going to be really helpful in making sure that we’re not only bringing the voices of our neighbors to the table but doing everything we have to to win. So, I’m excited to dust off my door knocking shoes.”

Randall has so far been endorsed by several state Democratic Senators including Joe Nguyen from White Center, T’wina Nobles from Fircrest and Karen Keiser from Des Moines. Steve Hobbs, the Washington Secretary of State, has also endorsed Randall.

Others have already signaled their interest in Kilmer’s seat.

Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz announced Friday she would run for the position after dropping her bid for governor. Franz, who was first elected to her current office in 2016, has already been endorsed by Kilmer.

Additionally, Sen. Drew MacEwen, a Republican who serves Mason County and parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties, said in a social media post Friday that he is forming an exploratory committee as he considers a run for the Congressional seat.