Marie Gluesenkamp Perez wins District 3 over John Braun
Nov 6, 2026, 12:37 PM | Updated: 12:42 pm
From left, headshots of Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez and John Braun. (Photos courtesy of U.S. House of Representatives, Washington State Legislature)
(Photos courtesy of U.S. House of Representatives, Washington State Legislature)
Democratic incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez defeated Republican challenger John Braun in the race for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Associated Press called the race. Gluesenkamp Pérez received 53.6% of votes, compared with 45.5% for Braun.
“It’s clear we’re going to win this race,” Gluesenkamp Pérez said in a news release Tuesday night. “Thank you to everybody who knocked on doors in wet socks, who made the calls, wrote the postcards, and had the difficult conversations with their neighbors. You took time out of your one precious life to do this work alongside me, and I’ll be forever grateful.”
NPR called the District 3 race a must-win, as the Democrats needed Gluesenkamp Pérez to hold the district to capture the House majority, while Republicans needed Braun to win it to retain power within the party.
The district has voted for President Donald Trump three times while also electing Gluesenkamp Pérez twice, who defeated Trump-backed candidate Joe Kent in 2022 and 2024.
In last August’s primary, Gluesenkamp Pérez won 54,132 votes (38.9%), 263 more than Braun (38.7%). Progressive Democrat Brent Hennrich finished third with 15.3% of the vote.
Gluesenkamp Pérez, originally from Texas, was a business owner for nearly a decade before entering politics. She defeated Joe Kent, who later became the director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center for the Trump administration for six months, to win the District 3 seat in 2022 and 2024.
Earlier this year, the district suffered a devastating tragedy when 11 employees of a paper mill in Cowlitz County were killed in an implosion. Investigators said the incident happened when a vessel containing “white liquor,” a highly corrosive chemical used in the paper-making process, reportedly imploded at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview.
In response, Gluesenkamp Pérez called on the owners of the Nippon Dynawave mill in Longview to provide a written guarantee that workers will continue receiving pay and benefits following the deadliest industrial accident in Washington state history.
In a letter sent to the company, Gluesenkamp Pérez said she was concerned Nippon Dynawave may be backing away from an earlier commitment to continue paying employees during the investigation into the May 26 implosion that killed 11 workers.
Braun, a Navy veteran and Washington state senator, earned Donald Trump’s endorsement earlier this year. He was first elected to the Washington State Senate in 2012, representing Southwest Washington’s 20th Legislative District. Since 2020, Braun has served as the Washington State Senate Minority Leader.
Additionally, Braun is president of Braun Northwest, a family-owned company that constructs emergency vehicles. He received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Washington (UW).
On the issues
Gluesenkamp Pérez campaigned on housing as a top priority, citing her work to help pass the Build Now Act to build more homes, while also blaming President Donald Trump’s war in Iran for why everyday items, from groceries to gasoline, are more expensive.
“The war in Iran has been a disaster,” Gluesenkamp Pérez said during a debate hosted by KATU 2 in October. “The administration has failed to articulate a clear goal or strategy to achieve it, and I voted against it six times.”
During the debate, Braun blamed local and state policies for the affordability crisis.
“There are only a few things that you can do at the national level,” he said. “Taxes. And we’ve made some progress in the last year and a half to get taxes lower, competitive, stable. We have more work to do.”
Gluesenkamp Pérez raised about $6 million during the election. Braun raised approximately $2 million, while No Going Back PAC Inc., a Trump-tied super PAC, spent $1.7 million in Braun’s favor.
This story was originally published on Nov. 3, 2026. It has been updated and republished since then.
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