PORT ANGELES — Congressional candidate Derek Kilmer will kick off his campaign in his hometown tonight.
Kilmer and supporters will appear at 6 p.m. at the Elwha Heritage Training Center, 401 E. First St.
“I chose Port Angeles for the first kickoff event of my campaign because Clallam County has meant so much to me and to my family,” said Kilmer, a 1992 Port Angeles High School graduate and the son of two schoolteachers.
“This community made me who I am today,” he said in a statement announcing his campaign kickoff event.
The event also will feature the first public appearance on Kilmer’s behalf by Clallam County Commissioner Mike Chapman.
Chapman endorsed Kilmer last month.
Chapman is a three-term incumbent who has been elected twice as a Republican and most recently as an independent.
The kickoff event is open to the public and will include coffee and fruit pies. Donations will be accepted but not required.
Kilmer, who now lives in Gig Harbor, is among seven candidates — and the only Democrat — who are seeking to succeed veteran Rep. Norm Dicks, the Belfair Democrat who is not seeking re-election.
The 6th Congressional District includes all of the North Olympic Peninsula and most of Kitsap County and extends into Tacoma.
The top two candidates in the Aug. 7 primary regardless of party preference will face off in the Nov. 6 general election.
The other candidates are Bill Driscoll, Stephan Brodhead, Jesse Young, Doug Cloud and David Eichner, all of whom state Republican preference, and Eric G. Arentz Jr., who filed as an independent.
