Joe Kent officially concedes after recount returns similar results

Joe Kent (R) has officially conceded Washington’s 3^rd Congressional District seat to Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (D) after gaining just two votes in a self-financed recount.

The Democrat was declared the winner after beating Kent by approximately 2,700 votes in November’s general election. Pérez gained six votes in the recount.

“I promised during the campaign that I would accept the outcome of the election, now definitively determined as the recount has concluded,” Joe Kent’s campaign wrote in a press release. “This morning, I called my opponent to concede and offer my congratulations on her victory.”

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According to the Lewis County Auditor’s Office, Kent’s campaign spent $48,589 for the machine recount of all 323,927 ballots cast in the district.

“While I’m disappointed that we did not prevail, our campaign and our supporters have a lot to be proud of,” Kent’s campaign continued. “We defeated a 12-year incumbent in the primary and came within a single percentage point of winning the general, despite an unprecedented $14.2 million spent against me, including millions in special interest dark money.”

Kent previously came under fire over fraudulent claims with his employer, as an article by The Daily Beast stated the company Kent claimed to work for did not exist.

Kent has previously claimed to be a “project manager” for the tech-startup American Enterprise Solutions, but the article stated it could not find any record of the company’s existence.

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“My message to anyone disappointed in our loss is to hold fast to the energy and optimism that I saw at every one of the 300 rallies and townhalls we held across the district, because our campaign is not at a sad end, but a strong beginning,” his campaign continued in a statement.

Kent stated he will have more to announce in January about his future in politics.