Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has once again defeated Republican Joe Kent, earning her a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives after a tense 3rd Congressional District race.
“It’s just a profound honor to get to continue doing this work and fighting to represent our values,” she said Friday.
Thursday evening results from the Washington Secretary of State’s Office show Perez with 184,767 votes, or 51.33 percent of the vote, and Kent trailing with 173,770, or 48.28 percent of the vote.
Given that 61 percent of remaining ballots to be counted would have to go to Kent for him to pull ahead, The Columbian called the race for Perez on Thursday night.
Kent did not respond to requests for comment.
The 3rd Congressional District race was one of the most closely watched races in the nation, as parties battle for the U.S. House of Representatives. When Perez and Kent faced off in 2022, Perez won by just 2,629 votes.
Influential Republicans, including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and now President-elect Donald Trump backed Kent — a former Green Beret who served as foreign affairs adviser for Trump in 2020.
“I’ve known it was going to be a dog fight, so I never took this for granted,” Perez said.
But this time, Perez appears to be leading by about 11,000 votes, having drummed up more support even though most of her district voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Perez attributes the increase to her time in Congress. When she ran in 2022, she was a political newcomer, spending most of her days with her infant son and running an auto-repair shop with her husband in Northeast Portland.
“I think a lot of people were skeptical about whether or not somebody with my background could be effective in Congress,” she said. “Those folks were able to look at my record and see I wasn’t kidding about my work ethic. I wasn’t kidding about my independence and my sense of accountability.”
At a Democratic election night party at the Hilton Vancouver Washington, Perez condemned political division and embraced bipartisanship.
Her first term taught her the importance of being “a normal person” in Congress, she told The Columbian.
“When terrible things happen to your colleagues, bring them groceries. Help them out. Don’t isolate each other on an ideological basis. Just be a good person to people,” she said.
Her neighborly attitude will help her in Congress, she said.
“I have a job to do there, and I need to be aware of every partnership I can exercise — who merits trust and who might not,” Perez said.
Just weeks ago, Perez introduced a bill with Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina to remove regulatory barriers preventing the preparation of fresh fruits and vegetables in child care facilities.
“I heard from a constituent that she was not legally allowed to peel a banana in her classroom,” Perez said. “She could open up a bag of chips for toddlers, but she couldn’t peel a banana.”
Her No. 1 priority in the next session will be bringing support to the 3rd Congressional District by introducing bills and fighting to make other bills more reflective of her community, Perez said.
“I think that what we have here is worth fighting for,” she said. “It is kind of a bulwark of what I think makes our country great: our independence, our natural resources, our kids.”
