A large crowd turned out Friday morning to support 47th District State House candidate Nancy Wyatt at her campaign kickoff.

More than 150 attended the early morning event at Emerald Downs.

“I’m grateful and humbled by the outpouring of support,” said Wyatt, a Kent Republican who is pursuing the district’s Position 1 seat currently held by Rep. Geoff Simpson. “A winning campaign needs an army of supporters, and that grassroots army came out in force (Friday) morning.”

Attorney General Rob McKenna, who endorses Wyatt, served as the keynote speaker at the kickoff. The speakers, which included King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn and Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis, emphasized the need for a new state representative devoted to growing jobs in the district.

“Nancy has spent her career working to attract new jobs for our area. Having someone like Nancy in Olympia, someone focused on job growth, will make a big difference,” Lewis said. “We’re in tough times right now. We need policies that encourage businesses to start hiring again and get people back to work.”

Wyatt, president and chief operating officer of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce, emphasized job growth as a priority in her campaign.

“I am all about partnerships,” Wyatt said in her remarks, which emphasized her economic development experience. “I am pro-business, and about giving entrepreneurs the freedom to grow our economy and create jobs.”

Wyatt highlighted entrepreneurs in the district who are struggling to add jobs in the economy, and some small business owners in attendance noted state policies, including a recent hike in unemployment taxes, are making it less likely they’ll hire new workers.

Problems with the state budget were on the mind of many in the audience.

“My opponent recently stated that cutting state government would hurt the economy. That’s exactly the wrong attitude,” Wyatt said. “Our families have cut back, our businesses have cut back and our cities have cut back. It’s time for the state to get serious about tightening its belt, too.”

Prior to her job at the Auburn chamber, Wyatt, 51, was president of the Covington Chamber of Commerce. A former PTA president in the Kent School District, she serves on the advisory board of Green River Community College.

For more info, please visit www.nancywyatt.com.