Two Republican candidates are challenging incumbent Emily Randall, a Democrat, for the state Senate District 26 seat in the Aug. 2 primary.

Randall was elected in 2018 to represent the people of Gig Harbor, the Key Peninsula, Port Orchard and Bremerton. She is being challenged by Republicans Jesse Young of Gig Harbor, who is a state representative and David Crissman of Bremerton, a political newcomer.

Recently, the League of Women Voters of Kitsap County invited all three candidates to an election forum, but it was canceled when the Republicans failed to accept invitations to participate.

These candidate profiles came from the Voter’s Pamphlet:

Randall’s professional experience includes positions at Planned Parenthood, Boston Children’s Hospital and Wellesley College helping people access healthcare. Holding a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley, Randall is the first person in her family to receive a college degree.

Randall’s community service includes Kitsap Community Resources and Access Women’s Health Justice.

Her statement says: Emily put politics aside to represent the entire community. She is an effective leader who stands up to extremists on both sides. Emily believes in our community’s strength and is committed to making it a better place to live and work. She knows that we can build strong, safe and healthy communities — with great public schools, affordable and locally available healthcare, good jobs, traffic relief, and support for small businesses. Emily has reduced costs by cutting Tacoma Narrows Bridge tolls, providing tax relief for working families and small businesses, reducing prescription drug prices and healthcare costs — while expanding funding for law enforcement and local schools.

She says government needs to stay focused on priorities, not those of special interests. “To do this we need to move beyond divisive politics and work together,” Randall said.

Randall is endorsed by Congressman Derek Kilmer, Kitsap County Sheriff John Gese and others.

Crissman has no previous elected experience, “I haven’t been elected to any position since grade school. Anything’s got to be better than my current job though, including being a politician, so I might as well give it a shot,” he says in the voter’s pamphlet.

Crissman earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University and is an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I’m not a politician, but I’m tired of the way politics is going right now. I want to bring small, sensible government solutions to our problems, both at the state level and the district level.” He also supports modern family values “and keeping the government out of your bedroom.”

Young is the state Representative for District 26, Position 1, serving since 2014. He holds a bachelor’s degree of Business Administration in Management Information Systems from the University of Notre Dame and is a software engineer and business owner, who advises companies in the finance, healthcare, aerospace and technology industries.

His community service work includes Harbor Hope Center and Rotary.

Young states he is running for Senate because, “everyone deserves a thriving economy, transparent government and the right to be safe from crime and fear.” He promises “to stand up for our rights, our children’s future, and our first responders.”

Growing up on the streets of Tacoma and experiencing homelessness, Young learned to take nothing for granted. Despite a rough start to life, “I was blessed to have the opportunity to apply hard work and street smarts to become valedictorian” at Woodrow Wilson High School in Tacoma.

“I care about making sure those opportunities exist for everyone. Unfortunately, we’ve seen those opportunities diminish under the radical policies enacted by our current senator to defund our police, legalize drugs and let criminals out of jail — while also raising our gas taxes, property taxes and passing an unconstitutional state income tax,” Young said. “Whether I’m standing against ineffective government or corporate interests, working to strengthen our schools, or applying my career experience to help get this economy going, I’ll continue working hard to serve you.”