Franz, Dhingra concede primary defeat in U.S. House, AG races

OLYMPIA — Two key primary races in Washington took further shape Wednesday evening when trailing candidates conceded their races.

Democrat Hilary Franz conceded in the primary for the open seat in Washington’s 6th congressional district on the Olympic Peninsula, currently represented by Democrat Derek Kilmer.

Franz was trailing Democrat Emily Randall and Republican Drew MacEwen, both state senators.

In a statement posted to X, Franz said she called Randall “to congratulate her on her historic primary win.”

“I’m especially grateful to the over 40 unions, firefighters and first responders and 17 tribes that stood with me in this race,” she said. “Unfortunately, this incredible coalition was not enough to overcome the $2.4 million of super PAC spending that flooded into this race at the last minute.”

There was another concession Wednesday evening, in the race for state attorney general, by Democrat Manka Dhingra, a state senator and former prosecutor from Redmond. She was behind Republican Pete Serrano and another Democrat, former U.S. Attorney for Western Washington Nick Brown.

“Obviously the results are disappointing, but I am so proud of the campaign we ran to lift up critical issues like abortion rights, worker protections, and the needs of marginalized communities,” Dhingra said in a statement. “Congratulations to Nick Brown on his victory. I am resolved to continue fighting for the rights and protections of all Washingtonians in the State Senate.”