Washington’s 3rd Congressional District is set to change political party representation as Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez eked out a victory against Republican Joe Kent.
As of the latest numbers before press deadline, Gluesenkamp Perez had about 50.5% of the vote to Kent’s roughly 49%. Gluesenkamp Perez garnered about 110,000 votes in Clark County alone, for roughly 55.2% of the county vote to Kent’s about 44.2%.
Clark County ballots became the focus of attention over the weekend as other counties had largely counted all their ballots.
Kent was the favored candidate for voters in Lewis and Thurston counties.
Gluesenkamp Perez had a lead of about 4,600 votes as of Monday morning, which had dropped over the course of ballot counts from a high of roughly 52.6% on the night of the election deadline.
“We won,” Gluesenkamp Perez wrote in a social media post following Saturday’s count. “I am humbled, honored and grateful.”
The automotive repair shop co-owner from Skamania County was a relative latecomer in the race, having filed for candidacy earlier this year. After nabbing the top voter percentage in an August primary featuring several Republicans seeking to unseat current U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, her campaign saw an influx of donations, putting her ahead in fundraising against Kent.
Kent had been in the race since 2021. He was spurred on by Herrera Beutler’s vote to impeach then-president Donald Trump as a result of the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol building.
Following the latest results, Gluesenkamp Perez professed her desire to represent the district.
“I pledge to work every day to live up to the responsibility placed in me,” she said in the social media post. “I will defend our rights. I will protect our democracy. And I will deliver the help working and middle class families need.”
By the weekend, Gluesenkamp Perez was already in Washington, D.C., according to another social media post.
“Just ran into someone from our corner of the country who I respect so much: Congresswoman Mary Peltola of Alaska,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in the post. “Looking forward to working with her to deliver for our districts.”
Kent did not concede after Saturday’s updated election results. As of press deadline, he stressed the need for rejected ballots to be “cured.”
“That means that you submitted your ballot, but for whatever reason, usually a signature match issue, it’s been rejected,” Kent said in a video posted to social media.
“What the media says is irrelevant, it’s another narrative designed to stop voters from ballot curing & to force me to concede — not gonna happen,” Kent wrote on Twitter Saturday. “We’re on the streets ballot curing. The fight goes on while the talking heads talk. Power dry & check your ballot.”
Kent, formerly of the U.S. Army Special Forces and a regular interviewee on conservative news networks, has denied the results of the 2020 presidential election. In the case of his own contest, he remains dedicated to seeing out the totality of the vote.
“We won’t concede until every single legal vote is counted,” Kent said in the video.
The campaign of Gluesenkamp Perez declared victory Saturday after The Seattle Times and The Associated Press called the race in her favor.
"I am humbled and honored by the vote of confidence the people of Southwest Washington have put in me and my campaign,” she stated. “Right up to the end, far-away pundits and prognosticators said this race couldn't be won. They dismissed the possibility that a moderate Democrat focused on prioritizing the needs of this district over partisan point scoring could win in a rural, working class district. But national pundits did not know this district and its communities the way we do here on the ground. I know the people in my district are looking for representation that focuses on finding common ground and delivering results, not the extreme hyperpartisanship and clickbait politics offered by my opponent. They want their independent voice in Congress to be a small business owner and a mom who works in the trades, not an extreme politician seeking celebrity. At the outset of the general election campaign we said this race would be a bellwether for the direction of our politics and the strength of our democracy, and that remains true today. Joe Kent's candidacy gave voice to some of the darkest impulses in our politics: white nationalism, xenophobia and authoritarianism. Southwest Washington looked them straight in the eye and said no — not here, not now, not ever. The people have spoken, not just here but all around the country: they want representatives who will seek to build rather than destroy, who will listen and do the work rather than bask in celebrity, and who will focus on substance, not slogans or sound bites. To the people of Southwest Washington: I pledge to you that I will work every day to live up to the responsibility you have placed in me, and will deliver the help working and middle class families need."
The district had been seen as leaning Republican. Former Republican Rep. Linda Smith was first elected there in 1994 on a write-in campaign. She was followed by Democrat Brian Baird. Herrera Beutler was first elected to the seat in 2010.
The results of the Nov. 8 general election will be certified by the state on Nov. 29.
