TACOMA, Wash. — Two current Washington state senators and the current Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz are leading the primary race to replace Derek Kilmer as representative for U.S. District 6, which covers much of the Olympic Peninsula and most of the city of Tacoma.
Franz, who is trailing in third and at present stands to miss out on the November general election, took to social media and released a statement Tuesday night alleging out-of-state Political Action Committees (PACs) attempted to "buy" the race for one of her opponents.
Democrat and state Sen. Emily Randall who represents the 26th district currently leads after the initial round of ballot counts Tuesday night, garnering 33% of the vote. Republican and state Sen. Drew MacEwen, who currently represents the 35th District is trailing with 31%, with Franz rounding out the top three with 26% of the vote.
Results are subject to change as more ballots are counted in the coming days. Tuesday's results are mostly comprised of ballots that were turned in early. Results from mail-in ballots that were delivered on Tuesday will be counted throughout the week.
Franz struck out at "out-of-state" donors she accused of attempting to buy the seat for Randall in a statement issued to the media before polls closed on Tuesday night.
"We’re proud of our grassroots movement and the incredible work of our volunteers and supporters, and we are hopeful that voters will stand with the 40 unions, 17 Tribes, and dozens of local, state and federal leaders backing our people-powered campaign and reject this attempt to undermine our local democracy,” Franz's campaign manager, Eve Zhurbinskiy, wrote in a statement to KING 5.
Super PAC "Protect Progress," funded mostly by cryptocurrency supporters, did place ads supporting Randall to the tune of $1.4 million, according to SEC filings.
Randall, who if elected would be the first queer Latina lawmaker ever elected to Congress, posted on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday night expressing gratitude to her team and volunteers, and cautious optimism about the first round of results.
"Your vote is your voice, and the results aren't official until each and every vote is counted, but I'm feeling so so proud of all the work our team has done over the last nine months," she wrote. "Thank you."
In a statement Wednesday, Randall said if elected, she will be a "unifying and positive voice" for the 6th District.
"Since we launched our campaign last fall, I’ve been overwhelmed and overjoyed by the outpouring of grassroots support from across the 6th Congressional District," she said. "With the help of an incredible team of motivated volunteers, we’ve knocked on doors, made phone calls, and texted tens of thousands of voters – and we’ve earned the support of more than 6,800 donors. That’s people power!"
Randall said she will continue to campaign hard over the next few months to keep a Democrat in the 6th District seat, make history as the first queer, Latina member of Congress "and keep delivering results for regular, working people."
MacEwen also posted on X Tuesday night celebrating his position in the top two spot, and thanking voters for sending him on to the general election, despite more votes left to be counted.
"The working families of the 6th District are yearning for real representation and not identity politics," MacEwen wrote. "To all who have supported this campaign, thank you! I'm all in!! Are you with me?!"