Democrat Gluesenkamp Perez wins rematch with Kent in 3rd District

Incumbent Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has won her rematch with Republican Joe Kent for the seat in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.

The Associated Press projected Gluesenkamp Perez came out victorious in the race Saturday afternoon. Both The Columbian out of Clark County and The Oregonian/Oregonlive.com projected Gluesenkamp as the winner of the race Thursday evening.

After Saturday evening’s ballot update, Gluesenkamp Perez has 205,425 votes to Kent’s 189,095, putting her at 51.86% compared to Kent’s 47.73%.

Gluesenkamp Perez essentially sealed her victory with Saturday’s ballot update as she pushed her vote lead from 10,997 Thursday to 16,330.

The challenge for Kent lied in the fact that he performs strongest in counties with relatively small populations, limiting his ability to close the gap. Kent is winning in Lewis, Thurston, Cowlitz, Skamania, and Wahkiakum counties; however, Gluesenkamp Perez leads in Pacific and Clark counties, with Clark being the district’s most populous and leaning Democratic.

Looking at the ballots that hadn’t been counted as of Thursday, Gluesenkamp Perez seized on the opportunity to expand her lead. There were 41,838 ballots remaining to be counted in Clark and Pacific counties, where Gluesenkamp Perez leads, compared to 34,494 in the five counties leaning toward Kent.

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While additional mail-in ballots may still arrive at county election offices, the number is expected to be far smaller than what is currently outstanding.

Incumbent Democrat U.S. House candidate Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, left, and her opponent Republican candidate Joe Kent. (Getty Images)

Where the candidates stand on key issues

Gluesenkamp Perez said she has spent the last two years encouraging more education in the trades and bringing federal money to southwest Washington.

When it comes to abortion, Gluesenkamp Perez said the decision belonged to families and their health care providers, while Kent said he supports the U.S. Supreme Court turning the issue over to the states, a shift from his position in 2022, when he favored a national abortion ban.

“Getting out and talking to people, I realize that people don’t share my exact view,” Kent said. “I think the Supreme Court saying that, ‘Hey, this is a divisive issue, we’re gonna take it out of the federal government’s purview, we’re gonna put it back down at the states,’ I think that’s actually the right call.”

Kent told KGW-TV that he will never support a national abortion ban.

On foreign policy, the two agree on assisting Israel but have different views on the U.S. should be involved.

“I think that it’s critical that we support the only liberal democracy in the Middle East and ensure that our reputation is upheld,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a discussion on KGW before the election. “That is our national interest.” She broke with other Democrats this year to support aid to Israel.

Kent argued that while the U.S. should support Israel, it should be done from a distance.

“U.S. boots should not be on the ground inside Israel,” he said. “Putting boots on the ground is essentially an act of war because what happens when an Iranian ballistic missile hits them, or one of the proxy groups hits them? Then next thing you know, we’re at war that no one voted for.”

Gluesenkamp Perez is co-chair of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition. Her views countered Kent’s conservative stance by focusing on local issues and bipartisan cooperation.

Kent rallied with high-profile Republicans, Gluesenkamp Perez focused on addressing local issues like roadchoke points and the closure of a Veterans Affairs clinic.

Gluesenkamp Perez’s approach reflected her belief that most Americans agree on common sense issues.

Editors’ note: This story originally was published on Friday, Nov. 8. It has been updated and republished multiple times since then.

Contributing: Matt Markovich, KIRO Newsradio; Bill Kaczaraba and Steve Coogan, MyNorthwest