England, Krantz, McMahan get GOP nod in 26th

Republicans of the 26th Dis-trict spread across Kitsap and Pierce Counties voted last week to back Lois McMahan, Becky Krantz and Trent England for the District’s Senate and two House of Representatives seats in the Washington State Legislature.

McMahan, running for the Senate seat left vacant by retiring Sen. Bob Oke (R-Port Orchard), squared off against Republican challenger Jim Hines, earning 32 delegate votes in Kitsap County and 10 in Pierce. Hines earned 19 votes in Kitsap County and 21 in Pierce, losing the endorsement race with 40 overall votes to McMahan’s 42.

England lost to Ron Boehme in Kitsap County with 23 votes to Boehme’s 28, but finished strong in Pierce, earning 27 votes to Boehme’s four and the endorsement with an overall 50 delegate votes to Boehme’s 32.

“I’m very gratified by the show of support in my home area,” Boehme said. “I’m a newcomer to the party and their backing will help propel us into the broader campaign.

“I wish Trent well in the primary,” he said. “As Americans, we believe that good competition makes for a better product. Personally, I’m excited about moving the playing field into the overall community that I have served for over three decades. I believe they’ll choose the best candidate to represent them in Olympia.”

Since none of the four candidates are incumbents, party rules adopted this year dictated that the candidates needed to secure 25 percent support to compete in the primary election on Sept. 19.

Depending on the results of the primary, McMahan or Hines will run against Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor) for Oke’s Senate seat and England or Boehme will run against Gig Harbor Democrat Larry Seaquist for Position 2 in the House.

Krantz is running for Position 1. She currently has no Republican opposition for the Sept. 19 primary election, although candidates have until July 28 to file for office.

She will face incumbent Pat Lantz (D-Gig Harbor) in the Nov. 2 general election.

“I’m very grateful for the support of the Republican Party in the 26th District,” said Krantz. “This means a great deal to me. I will do my best to run a clean and effective campaign against Pat Lantz that defines the differences between us on the issues. I guarantee you, the voters of the 26th, will have a clear choice in November.”

Although this will be Krantz’s first run for office, she has long experience in Republican politics.

Before announcing for the race, Krantz was 26th District Republican Chair and in the 2004 election, Krantz was

Republican poll-watching coordinator for Pierce County.

She has worked in numerous previous political campaigns.

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