2022 Election Preview: Joe Kent vs. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez

Washington’s 3rd Congressional District Preview:

After incumbent representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R) fell in the primaries, Washington state’s 3rd district has developed into one of the most coveted seats for the House of Representatives this election. Now Democratic candidate Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez takes on Republican candidate Joe Kent in the 2022 midterm election.

Kent and Pérez advanced from August’s primary election race, garnering 31.0% and 22.8% of the vote, respectively. Herrera Beutler received 22.3% of the vote.

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Herrera Beutler previously voted to impeach former President Donald Trump alongside Reps. Peter Meijer, R-Mich. and Dan Newhouse, R-Wash. In response, Trump targeted each of these congressional races with public endorsements for their opponents, including MAGA-supporter Kent, a former Green Beret.

Herrera Beutler was a six-term representative before this year’s loss.

“The reason Jaime Beutler lost is not because she doesn’t have majority support in her district. It’s because Republicans were split here,” Michael Medved, host of The Michael Medved Show, said on The Gee and Ursula Show. “Democrats were united, there was only one Democratic candidate, who I believe has to be considered the front runner right now in that district.”

The midterm election is being held Nov. 8. Follow MyNorthwest’s coverage as the results are compiled.

Joe Kent

Kent is a former Green Beret who served 11 combat deployments before retiring from Special Forces to join the CIA before pivoting to politics. He has campaigned on the ideology of the U.S. becoming energy independent, with goals and plans to make this country a net exporter of energy.

Kent has also been one of the biggest proponents of Trump’s claims that the 2020 election contained massive voter fraud that led to President Biden’s victory.

He has recently been under fire after claiming to be a “project manager” for the tech-startup American Enterprise Solutions, according to an article by The Daily Beast, but the article stated it could not find any record of the company’s existence.

Get caught up on Joe Kent’s campaign leading up to the midterm election:

Joe Kent advances to November, stresses energy, inflation as biggest immediate problems

Dori: Joe Kent on Biden impeachment, Seattle Times bias

In a tight race, Congressional candidate Kent’s own ballot almost didn’t count

Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez

Pérez was born in Texas and earned her bachelor’s degree from Reed College in 2012. Before this election, the first of her political career, she was a business owner for nearly a decade.

Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-02), Congressman Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Senator Patty Murray, and Former Clark County Republicans Vice Chair Kathy McDonald are among Pérez’ endorsements.

Her campaign has focused on limiting special interests groups and holding “party bosses” accountable for failing to solve the state’s biggest challenges.

“I’m running to take on politicians who are bought and paid for by large corporations who refuse to pay their fair share while working families who follow the rules fall further behind,” Pérez said on her campaign website. “I’m not taking a dime of Corporate PAC money and will put people over profits. I like to get my hands dirty fixing things, not working the system.”

She also has stressed pro-abortion rights, affordable childcare, inflation, and taking on Big Pharma when campaigning.