Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican Joe Kent finished first and second in the primary race for Washington state’s 3rd Congressional District. Go head-to-head in November.
Washington State uses a top-two primary system in which all candidates, regardless of party, appear on the primary ballot, along with the top two candidates.
As of 2022, Grusenkamp-Perez represents Washington State’s 3rd Congressional District, which consists of Lewis, Pacific, Wakiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, and Skamani Counties It is composed of southwestern counties such as Asia County and a small portion of southern Thurston County.
Two years ago, Gluesenkamp Perez emerged from nowhere to win a congressional seat over Kent, who gained traction in a district that hadn’t been in Democratic hands in more than a decade. Trump’s support. She takes over the seat occupied by a more moderate Republican who lost the primary in part because of her vote to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
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Washington state adopts top-two voting system (Getty Images)
Kent, who narrowly lost to Grusenkamp-Perez in 2022 by less than a percentage point, recently received Trump’s endorsement for the second time.
“Joe was a Gold Star husband who courageously served our country as a Special Forces veteran,” Trump wrote in his endorsement.
“His opponents cannot compete with Joe in any way, shape, or form! In Congress, Joe will work tirelessly to grow the economy, stop inflation, uphold the rule of law, protect our borders, support our military/veterans, and protect our forever people.
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WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 27: Rep. Mary Grusenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) poses for a photo on Capitol Hill on Thursday, July 27, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Grusenkamp-Perez, named by the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy as one of the top bipartisan voters in the U.S. House of Representatives, has yet to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy President and his office Tell Fox News Numbers Late last month, she had “no plans” to do so.
Republican Leslie Lewallen and independent John Saulie-Rohman are also running in the 3rd Congressional District primary.
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Republican congressional candidate Joe Kent speaks during a campaign event in Morton, Washington on October 5, 2022. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
Kent faces stiff competition from Lewallen, a former King County prosecutor, as she draws strong support from conservatives hoping to flip the seat back to more moderate Republicans.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
