New polling from a political action committee that helps elect House Democrats shows that Project 2025 is unpopular in multiple swing districts, including Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.
Project 2025 is a proposed presidential transition project published by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
It includes a nearly 900-page policy book that lays out an overhaul of the federal government. Multiple former allies of former president and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump, and more than 100 conservative organizations contributed to the document.
Project 2025 has been widely criticized by Democrats, and Trump has distanced himself from it, claiming on social media he has “no idea who is behind it.”
Among many recommendations, Project 2025 lays out plans for curtailing abortion rights, criminalizing pornography, disbanding the federal commerce and education departments, and shedding climate protections. The platform also proposes replacing many federal civil servant jobs with political appointees who would be loyal to the president.
House Majority PAC conducted a survey of 1,253 likely voters throughout multiple battleground districts between July 30 and Aug. 4. Respondents were asked to share their views on multiple issues via online panel interviews.
A memo from the political action committee states Project 2025 ranks as the least popular policy in battleground districts. Half of voters polled stated they are unfavorable to Project 2025, including 27 percent of self-identified Republicans.
The polling is an indication that House Democrats will try to tie Republican lawmakers to the plan.
3rd District
In Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, only 9 percent of likely voters said they support Project 2025, while 50 percent of respondents said they view the initiative unfavorably.
The rematch between incumbent U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, and Republican challenger Joe Kent of Yacolt has garnered national attention because the seat could decide control of the U.S. House. The 3rd Congressional District is one of five competitive Pacific Northwest races that could tip the scales in one party’s favor.
Perez defeated Kent by less than 1 percent of the votes in the 2022 general election. Kent has received Trump’s endorsement.
“The numbers here suggest that Kent’s continued support for Trump and the Project 2025 agenda pose major vulnerabilities,” Ceara Gilmartin, a House Majority PAC spokeswoman, said in an email. “Project 2025 would disproportionately target Washingtonians just trying to get by with help of social services the federal government provides.”
When asked about Project 2025 at a recent town hall event, Kent said that it is being used as a “fear-mongering tactic” by Democrats.
“The Democrats have no accomplishments to run on. Our economy is being destroyed, our borders are open and we’re on the verge of World War III,” he said. “And then, they’re going to run on Project 2025 like it’s going to be ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’”
He added that there are hundreds of think tanks in Washington, D.C., that have “something like Project 2025 they are trying to sell to the government.”
“They want the government to hire their people in the next administration,” he said.
Kent has been a frequent policy panelist for Heritage Action, the backers of Project 2025.
“I think there’s some good folks at Heritage,” he said.
He said he has read the document’s section on foreign policy.
“There’s some good policies in there, and there’s probably some bad policies,” he said.
A spokesman for the Perez campaign said the results of the survey are “no surprise.”
“People in Southwest Washington don’t like it when politicians push extreme and unpopular political agendas, like Joe Kent does,” Emmett Avery said. “People want independent leaders like Marie, who stand up for the little guy and use common sense to solve problems.”
