Randall’s Congressional seat draws two more challengers
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, May 6, 2026
About two dozen people added their names to the growing lists of those seeking election this year during the second day of a weeklong filing period.
Filing week began Monday morning. By 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, 26 people had filed in Clallam and Jefferson counties to run for office through the state Secretary of State’s Office at sos.wa.gov/elections/candidates/filing-resources/file-office.
Filing week closes at 5 p.m. Friday.
For information about Clallam County elections, go to clallamcountywa.gov/162/Elections-Voter-Registration.
For information about Jefferson County elections, go to co.jefferson.wa.us/1266/Elections.
Congressional race
Two new candidates threw their hats into the ring for the U.S. Representative seat in the 6th Congressional District, which represents the North Olympic Peninsula. U.S. Rep. Emily Randall, D-Port Orchard, currently holds the seat.
On Tuesday, Leon Lawson of Aberdeen and Teresa Fox, R-Bremerton, filed to run for the seat.
They joined Brian P. O’Gorman, I-Shelton, in the race.
Lawson, who described himself as a Trump Republican, said he has a contentious history with the state of Washington.
“My history goes back to about 2016 with the state of Washington when I was a whistleblower against the state for undocumented people registered to vote,” Lawson said. “They came after me and they shut down my business, but I was able to sue them and won.”
Lawson ran for governor in 2020, for the U.S. Senate in 2022 and again for governor in 2024, he said.
“I decided I’m going to run for Congress because that was basically the only election that is up in 2026,” Lawson said. “I can have the biggest effect as far as that goes. I have a broad coherence of government. I’ll be able to identify a lot of policy gaps and get a lot of committees opened up in the House.”
Legislative race
Bradley Nemo Callaway, D-Port Angeles, filed to run for the 24th Legislative District Position 2 seat from which state Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Port Townsend, is retiring at the end of this term.
Callaway joined Patrick DePoe, D-Neah Bay, Marcia Kelbon of Quilcene and Kaylee Kuehn, D-Sequim, in filing to run for the race.
“I’m running for office because the established Democrats have shown they are incapable of ensuring appropriate continuity of services,” Callaway said. “Through failures to pass priority legislation like the Well Washington Fund to ensure continuity of state services, the Washington Health Trust to establish universal healthcare, or to propose universal childcare like what was successfully implemented in New Mexico, the democratic establishment has shown a complete disregard for the working people of our state in favor of cozying up to corporate interests that do nothing but view crises on the ground as opportunities to transfer more and more wealth to the upper classes.”
Callaway has never run for public office before but served as chapter secretary for the North Olympic Democratic Socialists of America and as the chapter’s representative to the Statewide Socialists in Office Committee.
Clallam County races
In Clallam County, three races incumbents in countywide races have filed for re-election.
Director of Community Development Bruce Emery of Port Angeles said the department still has a lot of work to be done.
“We still have issues with housing affordability, economic development and continued improvement on code enforcement,” said Emery, who has had the position since December 2022. “My first priority is economic development because that goes hand-in-hand with housing, making sure people are able to have family-wage jobs, prosperity-wage jobs. No. 2 is to work at making changes to help increase the number of housing in general, including multi-family housing, so that we can provide housing that’s affordable to everyone.”
Prosecuting attorney Mark Nichols filed to run for another four-year term. He was elected in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Nichols said public safety remains his top priority with a focus on prosecuting the most violent offenders — particularly those who prey on the most vulnerable in the community.
“We have to be able to put our most dangerous offenders into prison,” he said.
He also plans to advocate for victims’ rights and continue his push for government transparency.
Sheriff Brian King, who is completing his first four-year term, also filed for re-election.
“I have a lot of energy left and a lot of other goals I want to accomplish,” King said.
Before he was elected sheriff, King worked for the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years, rising through the ranks.
“I have a lot of priorities,” he said. “One of our highest priorities is stabilizing our staff and collective bargaining agreements and recruiting. We’ve been very successful over the last four years with our recruiting efforts. Now, we can focus on retaining all of our deputies and peace officers.”
Another priority will be to maintain professional standards. The Sheriff’s Office was reaccredited in 2025, and King said one focal point has always been to be sure the department follows all best practices.
Jefferson County
In Jefferson County, one person filed Tuesday to run for a countywide office.
Incumbent Amanda Hamilton of Port Townsend filed to run for reelection to the county clerk position. She was first elected in 2022.
“I decided to run because the clerk’s office serves as the hub for superior court activity, and I enjoy all that goes along with providing the public accessible and accurate court records,” Hamilton said. “My priorities are to promote access to justice, stay abreast of new legislation and rules affecting the clerks’ statutory duties and support the team that does this important work.”
Judicial races
Three more people filed to run for Supreme Court Justice positions.
Scott Edwards of Rollingbay filed for Position 1 while David Stevens of Shelton filed for Position 3, and Sean O’Donnell of Eastsound filed for Position 4.
In Clallam County, Judge Bruce Hanify of Forks filed for reelection to District Court 2.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Hanify said. “I like the job. I have the same priorities as ever. We’ve got a lot of mental health and addiction kind of issues at the district court level. The criminal justice system has changed quite a bit in the last 10 to 20 years with mental health issues.”
Hanify was first appointed to the court in 2021.
Public Utility
In Jefferson County, Michael Brittain of Port Hadlock filed to run for election to the PUD District 2 commissioner seat.
“I think the main thing is I had several community members who asked me to run, so I decided it was my turn to serve,” Brittain said. “I feel like my experience and background in engineering and technology would be a benefit to having a different kind of perspective than commissioners they’ve had before.”
Brittain has not run for public office before.
If elected, his priorities would be to ensure responsible financial stewardship and to encourage the continuation of the broadband project.
“I want to ensure we have good utilities for the community that operate for all members of the community and ensure we have growth and we’re responsible for the community,” he said.
Clallam County precinct races
The following people filed to run for precinct positions with the Clallam County Democratic Party: Bradley Nemo Callaway of Port Angeles 101, Paul Kolesnikoff of Port Angeles 108 and Judith M. Norris of Port Angeles 101.
The following people filed to run for precinct positions with the Clallam County Republican Party: Christine Charters of Happy Valley 237 and Glen Parker of MacLeay 247.
Jefferson County precinct races
The following people filed to run for precinct positions with the Jefferson County Democratic Party: Gary B. Larson of Port Townsend VII-1107, Claire S. Roney of North Jacob-1201, Marty Gilmore of Cape George I-2202, Diane Jones of Cape George II-2203, John W. Hamilton of Four Corners I-2204 and Lora De La Portilla of Oak Bay I-2502.
The following people filed to run for precinct positions with the Jefferson County Republican Party: Pamela Sue Thompson of Kala Point-2302, Lois Lauring of Port Hadlock and Victoria Hadley of Port Ludlow III-3603.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
