MGP: Doorbellers Target Democratic or Undecided Voters in 11th Hour Lewis County Push

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez Visits Centralia Ahead of Tuesday Election

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Editor's Note: For a story on Republican Joe Kent's recent campaign stop in Bucoda, visit https://bit.ly/3zLE3fM

Sitting behind her auto repair shop in early September, 3rd Congressional District candidate Marie Gluesenkamp Perez said she was hopeful. In the early November downpour outside Centralia Timberland Library on Saturday afternoon, she said she was “inspired.”

With just three days before ballots are due — in county dropbox locations, or via mail — the Skamania County business owner and mother joined a small crowd of Gortex-clad Centralians for a brief speech followed by doorbelling.

“I’m really inspired by the broad coalition built. This has just been a wild experience,” she said, listing the diverse backgrounds of the group around her.

The race between Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Washougal, and Donald Trump-endorsed Joe Kent, R-Yacolt, has been historical and lengthy. Kent’s platform was built on fighting incumbent Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler in 2021 after she was one of just 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Gluesenkamp Perez’s campaign sprang from Kent’s “far-right” stance, a title he proclaimed not to mind during an interview with The Chronicle.

“Joe Kent is the most extreme candidate we have ever seen nominated in Washington state,” Gluesenkamp Perez told the crowd on Saturday, adding later, “Nobody asks to be at a point in history where so much depends on so few people. But that’s the reality we’re facing. … We have to be together on this.”

While saying Kent is not a “run-of-the-mill Republican,” she doesn’t consider herself a typical Democrat, highlighting her focus on rural issues, small business and her goal to be “a voice for people who have a little bit of grease under their fingernails.”



The campaign was targeting Democratic and undecided voters for their weekend efforts. Julian Chapin, the campaign’s deputy field officer, gave visitors a rundown of the procedure for doorbelling with an emphasis on listening, telling the group their ability to engage voters in conversation sets them apart from a yard sign or a mailer.

“We are really focused on making sure that every ballot gets in,” Gluesenkamp Perez said before adding the election is forecast to be tight. “It’s critical people realize the importance of every vote and exercise the right and responsibility to cast.”

Voters are encouraged to use ballot dropboxes if possible. In the Twin Cities, there are boxes located at the Twin Cities Senior Center, at the Lewis County Courthouse in the Lewis County Auditor’s Office or along Chehalis Avenue and in the parking lot of Kemp Hall at Centralia College. For other drop box locations in Lewis County, visit https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/drop-box-locations/.

Ballots must be dropped off or mailed by 8 p.m. on election day.

For a replacement ballot, visit www.votewa.gov, log in and select “My Ballot” then “Online Ballot” to print your replacement ballot packet, call 360-740-1164 or go to 351 NW North St., Chehalis, WA on Monday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. or Tuesday between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Accessible voting units are available at the same times in the Lewis County Auditor’s Office for individuals with disabilities and the elderly.