With Derek Kilmer stepping down, voters in District 6 will have a new U.S. representative after the Nov. 5 General Election.

Emily Randall survived the primary election in August for the Democrats, with Drew C. MacEwen getting the nod for Republicans for the two-year term in Washington, D.C.

Along with Kitsap, the district takes in Pierce, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson and Mason counties.

Randall is a local, having graduated from South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard. She has been a state senator since 2019.

MacEwen has been a state representative and then a state senator since 2013. He served at Bangor on a U.S. Navy submarine from 1992-98.

He says in campaign materials that in this time of divisive politics leaders are needed who bring people together, which he says he did in his 12 years in state government.

Randall says she’s not like most politicians in that she works with the other party. She said she’s passed 193 bills with 85% receiving bipartisan support.

In her campaign materials, Randall says extremists are focused on banning abortion nationwide and undermining democracy instead of getting things done for communities. She vows to fight climate change and lower the cost of living.

The budget is a main concern of MacEwen’s. He says wasteful spending needs to be cut. The debt needs to be paid down. A strong economy is needed that families can rely on. Inflation is eroding family savings, and interest rates are high.

Healthcare is another concern. He said it eats up too much of the family income. Social Security must be saved for future generations, and Medicare reforms are needed. The immigration system is broken. Unsecured borders have led to a flood of illegal drugs that are killing Americans. The US needs to secure its borders, reform immigration laws and address the humanitarian crisis in Congress, MacEwen says.

Along with abortion bills like expanding access, other bills Randall has supported include capping prescription drug costs, building new housing, reducing homelessness, banning assault weapons, cutting tolls on the Narrows Bridge and improving ferry infrastructure.

She says she’s a champion of her district’s values—she’s not accepting political action committee money, and is endorsed by labor, planned parenthood and environmental groups.

If elected she said she’d be the first LGBTQ Latina in Congress.

As a military man, MacEwen supports building defense infrastructure, including investments in shipyards. He supports better wages and training more workers in the trades. Washington is a trade-dependent state, and that requires a strong Navy to offer freedom of the seas, he says.

He said he will put the residents of his district first, as he has while serving in state government.