Emily Elissa Randall (born October 30, 1985) is an American politician and activist who is a U.S. representative for Washington's 6th congressional district and a former member of the

Washington State Senate The Washington State Senate is the upper house of the Washington State Legislature. The body consists of 49 members, each representing a district with a population of nearly 160,000. The State Senate meets at the Washington State Capitol, Legis ...

."New Washington state legislators headed to Olympia in 2019"
''MyNorthwest'', December 31, 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, she succeeded

Derek Kilmer Derek Christian Kilmer (born January 1, 1974) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Washington's 6th congressional district from 2013 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party ...

in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early life and education

Randall was born in the Kitsap Peninsula to a white mother and a

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

father. She grew up in Port Orchard and graduated from South Kitsap High School in 2004. She graduated from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

. Her sister, Olivia, was born with severe developmental and physical disabilities.

Earlier political career

Prior to serving in the Washington State Senate, Randall worked as a

community organizer Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community buil ...

, where she focused on issues related to public education and health-care.

Washington Senate

In 2018, Randall was elected to the Washington State Senate, defeating Republican challenger Marty McClendon by 104 votes. In 2022, Randall won re-election to the Washington State Senate with around 51% of the vote. As senator, Randall focused on increasing access to better

behavioral health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

and

reproductive health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's Human reproductive system, reproductive system and sexual well-being during all stages of their life. Se ...

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

, and

public safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

. She served as whip for the state senate majority. In March 2022, Randall sponsored a bill to lower the toll to cross the

Tacoma Narrows Bridge The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin bridges, twin suspension bridges that span the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County, Washington (state), Washington. The bridges connect the city of Tacom ...

by 75 cents. The bill was passed and took effect in October of the same year. Alongside Senator Claire Wilson, Randall was one of two openly LGBTQ+ women serving in the

. Randall served in the senate’s Higher Education committee, Workforce Development Committee, and on the Health and Long Term Care and Transportation committee.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2024

After U.S. Representative

announced his retirement from Congress, Randall entered the race to succeed him. Washington's 6th congressional district covers the

Olympic Peninsula The Olympic Peninsula is a large peninsula in Western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the ...

, the Kitsap Peninsula, and the majority of Tacoma. During her primary campaign, Randall was endorsed by several prominent Democrats including U.S. Senator Patty Murray, U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland, U.S. Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, and former governors

Christine Gregoire Christine Gregoire (; née O'Grady; born March 24, 1947) is an American attorney and politician who served as the List of governors of Washington, 22nd governor of Washington, from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), D ...

and

Gary Locke Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician, attorney, and former diplomat from the State of Washington. Locke served as the 21st governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, where he was the first Chinese-American governor ...

. In the 2024 open primary for Washington's 6th congressional district, Randall finished first. State senator Drew MacEwan finished second, joining Randall on the general election ballot. Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, who was endorsed by incumbent

, did not advance to the general election. She was endorsed by incumbent Derek Kilmer during her general election campaign. Randall defeated MacEwan in the 2024 general election. On January 3, 2025, Randall became the first queer Latina to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Tenure

Before the start of the 119th Congress, Randall unsuccessfully ran for freshman class representative for the Democratic Caucus, placing third in a three way race that included California freshman U.S. Representative-elect Luz Rivas and Maryland freshman U.S. Representative-elect

Sarah Elfreth Sarah Kelly Elfreth (, ; born September 9, 1988) is an American politician who is serving as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 3rd congressional district since 2025. She previously served as a member of the Maryland Senate representing the M ...

. On January 22, 2025, Randall voted against the passage of the Laken Riley Act. In response to the Protecting Women's Private Spaces Act, Randall posted an "All Gender Bathroom" sign outside of her office welcoming everyone to use her private restroom "regardless of gender identity or expression, political ideology or shoe size." In her first speech on the House floor, Randall denounced House bill 28, the "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025" that sought to ban

trans women A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

from playing on women's sports teams. Randall walked out of President Trump's Address to Congress on March 4, 2025 while Trump was speaking. Randall was one of the four Democrats who did not vote on the $9 billion spending cuts put forward by the

Department of Government Efficiency The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is an initiative by the second Trump administration within the federal government of the United States. Its stated objective is to modernize information technology, maximize productivity, and cut ...

; house Republicans passed the rescission package by 2 votes.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Natural Resources ** Subcommittee on Federal Lands ** Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs *

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...

** Subcommittee on Government Operations ** Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Equality Caucus (Co-chair) * Congressional Progressive Caucus * New Democratic Coalition

Personal life

The Pew Research Center reported that Randall responded "none" to their religion survey. Randall owns a home in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, Kitsap County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city ...

with her wife Alison Leahey.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randall, Emily 1985 births 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Washington State Legislature American lesbian politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) Democratic Party Washington (state) state senators Female members of the United States House of Representatives Hispanic and Latino American politicians Hispanic and Latino American women in politics LGBTQ members of the United States Congress LGBTQ state legislators in Washington (state) Living people Wellesley College alumni Women state legislators in Washington (state) People from Bremerton, Washington People from Port Orchard, Washington