WASHINGTON, D.C. — State Sen. John Braun inched past U.S. Rep Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in primary returns Thursday in Southwest Washington’s 3rd Congressional District after the vast majority of votes were accounted for.
Gluesenkamp Perez, the two-term Democratic incumbent, received nearly 37% of votes as of Thursday night. Braun, her Republican challenger and state Senate minority leader, received about 40%.
The ratio suggests that Gluesenkamp Perez may be in a somewhat strong position headed into the fall, political observers said. But another number may prove just as important: the share of Democratic primary voters who backed a progressive challenger over the incumbent. Brent Hennrich, who argued Gluesenkamp Perez no longer represents Democratic voters, received 17%, a slim but significant showing in one of the nation’s most competitive House races.
Voters who supported Hennrich will have to make a choice, said Mark Stephan, a political-science professor at Washington State University Vancouver. “Do they support the incumbent, even given their misgivings about her, or do they step away and don’t vote at all?”
Ballot counting will continue in the coming days, but the two are set to square off in November in what is widely anticipated to be a fierce race as national Democrats and Republicans battle for control of the House. General election campaigning kicked off immediately following the primary, as Speaker Mike Johnson appeared alongside Braun at a Vancouver brewery on Thursday, praising the candidate for his record of military service and business ownership.
“This district is going to help us decide the fate of the Republic,” Johnson told the gathered crowd. “We are going to keep and grow the majority for the Republican Party.”
This week’s primary results are an early indication of just how close the 3rd District’s race may be this fall, according to political observers.
“A lot of what happens moving forward is about those likely voters who didn’t show up for the primaries, but will show up for the general election,” Stephan said. “That gap matters percentage-wise.”
“This year, the tide is with the Democrats. … It makes sense that Perez can hold on here. But Braun overall appears to be a better match as a candidate for Perez than the previous candidate was in his two attempts to try to beat her,” Stephan added, referring to the hard-right-wing Joe Kent, whom Gluesenkamp Perez defeated in 2022 and 2024.
Bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west and Oregon to the south, the 3rd District is one of just 18 nationwide deemed a tossup by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report and is expected to draw millions of dollars in outside spending this fall as Democrats fight to wrest the House majority from Republicans.
The district’s voters have backed President Donald Trump in each of the past three presidential elections. They also narrowly elected Gluesenkamp Perez, an auto-shop owner with no prior elected experience, who has since built a national profile as a Democrat who frequently diverges from her party.
Her centrist record drew a leftist challenge from Hennrich, who argued Gluesenkamp Perez is not a true Democrat.
While Hennrich did not advance to the general election, political experts say his share of the vote offers a test of whether Gluesenkamp Perez can reunite her coalition before November. What those voters decide to do in November — cast ballots for Gluesenkamp Perez or not at all — will be key in a district that has twice sent the incumbent to the Capitol with slim winning margins.
Hennrich declined to endorse Gluesenkamp Perez, saying he could not urge his supporters to back her, pointing to what he described as a voting record that is routinely “against marginalized communities,” including her vote for a spending package that included the Department of Homeland Security.
“She needs to earn their support,” Hennrich said. “Some people are saying that they’re not going to vote for her. And I’m seeing some people saying, ‘Hey, I’ve already switched over. I wanted something more progressive, but this is the options we have.’ I say it’s on Marie to earn the support.”
Hennrich said he will not vote for Gluesenkamp Perez.
Gluesenkamp Perez, meanwhile, spent Wednesday touring an auto-parts manufacturer in Vancouver. In a statement following her visit, she underscored the importance of maintaining manufacturing in the U.S., hearkening to her signature push for federal right-to-repair legislation.
