U.S. Rep. Randall faces four candidates in District 6 primary

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Incumbent Emily Randall is facing off against four challengers in the Congressional District 6 U.S. Representative race in the Aug. 4 primary election.

The candidates competing against Randall, who has served as the District 6 Rep. since 2025, are Teresa Fox, Leon Lawson, Brian O’Gorman, and Macy Jones. The two candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election in November, with the winner serving a two-year term.

Randall (Democrat) is from Port Orchard and a graduate of Wellesley College. She majored in Spanish with a minor in Women’s Studies. She previously worked for Planned Parenthood and served two terms in the State Senate from 2019 to 2024.

Fox (Republican) received an associate’s degree from Olympic College and has also worked for the college as an environmental health & safety director, and as a regional safety & health coordinator with the state Department of Labor and Industries.

Lawson (Republican) is the owner of Shelton-based Dogcon Auto, a used car dealership. He is also a three-time statewide candidate, including running for governor in 2020 and 2024 and U.S. Senate in 2024.

O’Gorman (Independent) is a former field medical specialist in the U.S. Army (medical certifications have expired following his discharge from the Army). He earned a high school diploma and has volunteered with multiple local organizations, such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Jones (no party preference) is pursuing a bachelor’s in behavioral health at Peninsula College and currently volunteers with a local weekly food distribution program, as well as providing on-call elder care for community members, per the voters pamphlet.

The candidates were asked two questions to respond to. (O’Gorman and Jones did not respond to inquiries, so their voters pamphlet statements will be listed toward the bottom of the story.)

What would be your top priorities if elected?

Randall: Since my first election to represent Kitsap – back in 2018 – I have worked hard and delivered results that protect our democracy and ensure that all our neighbors have more equal access to the tools they need to build their lives and futures. I’ve fought for healthcare access in our community and nationwide, to expand college and career training opportunities, to make housing and childcare more affordable, to protect our lands and waters, and to defend our constitution.

Under this Trump Administration and Republican control of Congress, there have been constant attacks on our hard-fought freedoms and the progress we have made here in Washington. But I have not backed down. Once the American voters flip the House in November, my Democratic colleagues and I will restore the checks and balances that have been lost. As a member of the Oversight Committee, I’ll use my subpoena power to hold this administration accountable – on the White House/Epstein cover-up, on self-dealing and corruption, and on the healthcare cuts that are ravaging our already frail healthcare system.

And then we will rebuild our government and our country by passing bills that get to the heart of the challenges we’re facing – bills that build millions more homes, that stop oil companies from gouging consumers, that put an end to greedy corporate surveillance pricing, that raise wages and strengthen unions, and that ensure everyone can count on affordable healthcare when and where they need it.

Fox: Top priorities will be determined by the majority of constituents in the district. I have been listening carefully for the past several years after being asked to run for office. Since entering the race, I have actively attended meetings, met with stakeholder groups and private citizens, attended town halls and public events, and met with elected public servants — all while listening carefully and soliciting input.

The top two issues throughout the six counties fall into the broad categories of public safety and affordability. People are concerned about crime in their neighborhoods and public spaces. They are concerned about serious crime affecting businesses and harming the economy. They are also deeply concerned about the suffering of people on our streets and see that failed policies are not improving their lives. They are concerned with rampant drug use; little to no law enforcement or criminal justice for victims; human and sex trafficking; rapes, murders, torture of men, women, and children; blatant disregard for the rule of law; and much more — including criminal activity by our elected public servants. They are also concerned about high taxes and the terrible mismanagement of our public funds, along with fraud, waste, and abuse.

Additionally, they are concerned about extreme representation that runs roughshod over our constitution and individual liberties, while pillaging our family wallets. There are other issues, of course, but these are the major priorities I consistently hear. Those issues are why I entered the race. Some are deeply personal to me — I have friends who have lost children to overdose or suicide related to drugs. I see people dying on the streets of my hometown. We can, and should, do better.

Lawson: My top priorities are protecting seniors, delivering medical freedom, creating real opportunity for youth, and securing food freedom for working families. First, I will introduce the American Senior Drug Freedom & Co-op Health Act of 2027 on day one. It abolishes the Medicare Part D middlemen who drive up drug prices, replaces them with direct age-scaled subsidies deposited into a Senior Drug Freedom Account, and authorizes senior-owned health co-ops that provide zero-cost prescriptions for those 60 and older. Seniors on Bainbridge and across the Olympic Peninsula deserve real relief from big pharma price gouging.

Second, I will pass the Federal Freedom Marijuana Act, which fully deschedules cannabis, kills the 280E tax scam crushing Washington dispensaries, provides retroactive refunds, and mandates Medicaid coverage for medical cannabis. Third, I will fight for the Dogcon Youth Rehabilitation & Workforce Campus Act to redirect federal dollars into vocational training in welding, automotive, trades, and mental health support right here in our district. Finally, I will enact the Local Real Food Act and Eat to Live Act so SNAP benefits buy only real food from locally owned stores — no junk — and our schools teach kids to “eat to live, not live to eat.”

Why should voters choose you over your opponents?

Randall: In my first term – despite being in the minority party – I’ve worked across the aisle to secure nearly $18 million in federal funding for community projects across all six counties in our district. From wastewater infrastructure to emergency management funding, housing and ferry investments to making the PCS process smoother for military families, we were able to deliver real results for service members, working families, tribes, and local governments by finding common ground.I’m especially proud to have founded the Bipartisan Congressional Ferry Caucus, where we’re working hard to bring national attention to the needs of ferry systems like ours.

My commitment to bipartisanship doesn’t mean I compromise on our core values. When Trump threatened Medicaid cuts, I held town halls across the district to listen to the concerns of our communities — and in Washington, D.C., I fought back. When his administration mismanaged classified information, I demanded accountability. When ICE acted illegally, I didn’t stay quiet. When the Trump Administration put its corrupt, self-dealing agenda before our constitution, I used my position on the Oversight Committee to push back. This moment in our history requires a proven leader who can hold two truths: our country, our communities, and our laws are better when diverse perspectives come together to solve problems; hate and corruption have no place in the White House or the People’s House (of Representatives).

Fox: Now more than ever, we need serious representation. The 6th Congressional District needs leadership, not labels. I will represent the majority of constituents in our district and address our shared concerns. The incumbent has spent her first 1 1⁄2 years in Congress ‘advocating’ for a variety of narrow special and self-interests. She has ignored the public safety crisis and turned a deaf ear to our working families. I will listen and act.

I am uniquely qualified to represent our district. I am a formidable, proven leader with over 30 years of experience — including regulatory compliance at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as in private industry. I have complied with and written stakeholder legislation that affects our safety and regional industries. I successfully manage multimillion-dollar budgets. I am a consensus builder, effectively bringing citizens and stakeholders together at the regional level. I will also use technology to provide information to citizens and solicit their input before taking action that affects all of us — rather than reaching out only to special-interest echo chambers. I will hit the ground running with solutions beginning on day 1. I wish I had more space to share solutions here. I encourage everyone to visit my campaign site FOXFORWA.COM to learn more, attend an event to hear solutions, or provide input directly.

Lawson: Voters should choose me because I’m not a career politician — I’m a proven leader who has built businesses, fought the system, and delivered results without big-money backing.

As CEO and CFO of Dogcon Auto, I managed high-pressure operations under strict federal and state regulations while mentoring teams and resolving conflicts. I provided state support to DoD and NSA on cyber issues, sued Washington State under the Administrative Procedure Act, and exposed agency abuse. I’ve done all this while staying rooted in Grays Harbor and Mason counties — not from a D.C. office or Olympia.

My opponents are either the incumbent who has given us more of the same failing policies, or candidates who talk about change but lack real executive experience, or the outsider fight I bring. I’m running a zero-spend, grassroots campaign because I answer only to the people of WA-06. Even if we don’t get a majority in the House, I will not sit on the sidelines. I will hunt for policy gaps and wasteful spending, expose arbitrary and capricious regulations, and fight to get every dollar possible back to the people with full transparency. That’s the difference.

Jones’ voters pamphlet statement

Integrity, financial transparency, human dignity, and accountability are at the center of my campaign. I will never accept foreign money or AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) funding, and I will represent the needs of the people in our district, not corporate donors or political insiders. Families across our communities are struggling with affordability, healthcare costs, housing insecurity, food access, and the rising cost of living. Meanwhile, our tax dollars continue funding wars overseas while critical local programs remain underfunded. The incumbent has consistently supported these military policies while accepting support connected to pro-war lobbying interests, even as District 6 families face economic hardship at home. While she highlights federal dollars brought into the district, our community has paid far more through the financial and human costs of wars that do not improve our quality of life.

I believe in fully funding schools, infrastructure, healthcare, senior care, environmental protection, food security, and strong local economies — not endless war. Our communities deserve investment in people, not policies that prioritize military spending over basic human needs. I support universal healthcare, raising the federal minimum wage, and redefining the full-time work week as 32 hours. I support funding for Long COVID research, affordable elder care, veterans’ healthcare, clean-air standards, and restoring programs like Meals on Wheels. I stand for labor rights, gender equality, marriage equality, voting rights, privacy protections, free speech, and international human rights. I support protecting our forests and rivers in partnership with Tribal nations, regulating AI responsibly, limiting government surveillance, abolishing ICE, closing detention centers like Dilley, and strengthening relationships between community health advocates and law enforcement through accountability and public trust. Together, we can build a future rooted in care, justice, sustainability, peace, and support for all life.

O’Gorman’s voters pamphlet statement

I am running for office because both major political parties have done a disservice to the American People. Our current political situation at the federal level can be directly traced back to decisions by both parties that placed party over country. These decisions not only put us on our current track but also went against our most basic democratic ideals. Both the Dems and the Reps have chosen themselves to our detriment. Whether it be a backroom deal to secure a nomination in exchange for a congressional seat or choosing a candidate because of money, they are two sides of the same tarnished, fiat-based coin. In our lifetimes, we have lost many of our constitutional protections. These include civil forfeiture, qualified immunity, gerrymandering, and disregarding the will of the people. Congress’s impotence must be remedied.