Derek Kilmer

Kilmer decided to run for Washington's 26th senate district.

He defeated Republican Jim Hines 60%–40%.

Derek Christian Kilmer (born January 1, 1974) is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for Washington's 6th congressional district since 2013.

Kilmer earned a B.A. in public affairs with a certificate in American Studies from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1996.

He completed his 184-page senior thesis, "Recovering From the Addiction: The Social and Economic Impacts of the Pacific Northwest Timber Crisis; An Analysis of the Implementation of the Clinton Forest Plan on Washington's Olympic Peninsula", under the supervision of Steven R. Brechin.

He earned a Marshall Scholarship to obtain his Ph.D. in comparative social policy from the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at Green Templeton College, Oxford.

Kilmer is a former business consultant for McKinsey and Company.

He was also a business retention manager for the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County, is a trustee for Tacoma Community College, and served on the board of Peninsula Schools Education Foundation.

In 2004, Kilmer challenged incumbent Republican State Representative Lois McMahan of Washington's 26th house district, seat 2.

He defeated her 50%–48%, a difference of 1,009 votes.

A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 2005 to 2007 and the Washington State Senate from 2007 to 2012.

In 2006, Republican State Senator Bob Oke decided to retire.

In 2007, Kilmer was one of just three Democratic state senators to vote against the bill that would allow labor unions to spend non-members' bargaining fees on political causes without first getting their permission.

He sponsored the Senate bill that would increase fines to pay for a new $849 million Tacoma Narrows bridge in his district.

Business groups praised Kilmer for being one of the most pro-business Democrats in Olympia.

He is the three-time recipient of the "LEADER Award" from the Washington Economic Development Association.

He received the Legislative Business Star Award from Enterprise Washington's Business Institute.

He was named Legislator of the Year by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He was recognized by the Northwest Chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America as Legislator of the Year.

He was also named Legislator of the Year by the Washington Council of Police & Sheriffs.

He was named an Honorary Fire Chief by the Washington Fire Chiefs.

After redistricting, U.S. Representative Norm Dicks decided to retire.

Kilmer decided to run for the newly redrawn Washington's 6th congressional district.

He was endorsed by The Seattle Times, which called him "a problem solver who can be bipartisan."

The News Tribune praised him for having "an uncommon understanding of trade, business taxation, smart regulation, job creation and other fundamentals of economic growth."

Port Angeles, Kilmer's hometown and an area he was elected to represent, suffers from an unemployment rate 2.3% higher than the Washington State average, consistent with the rate of increase recorded before he took office.

In the general election, he defeated Republican nominee Bill Driscoll, 59%–41%.

He won all six counties in the district.

In 2010, he was reelected, defeating Marty McClendon 59%–41%.

Kilmer voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.

In March 2012, Kilmer announced he was running to succeed Norm Dicks to represent Washington's 6th congressional district.

On November 6, he won the general election to become the district's representative.

On November 9, 2023 Kilmer announced that he would not be seeking re-election in 2024.

Kilmer was born and raised in Port Angeles, Washington.

Both his parents were public school teachers.

Kilmer was a cosponsor of the United States–Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013.

Kilmer was part of a 37-member congressional delegation that visited Israel.

The trip was sponsored by the American Israel Education Foundation, with the goal of working to strengthen strategic economic and military cooperation between Israel and the United States.

Through his co-sponsorship of the United States–Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013, Kilmer supports supporting Israel's ability to defend itself and providing assistance for collaboration in the fields of energy, water, homeland security, agriculture, and alternative fuel technologies.

On October 29, 2013, Kilmer introduced the American Savings Promotion Act (H.R. 3374; 113th Congress), a bill that would authorize some financial institutions to conduct a contest, known as a "savings promotion raffle", in which the sole requirement for a chance of winning designated prizes is the deposit of a specified amount of money in a savings account or program, where each ticket or entry has an equal chance of being drawn.