(The Center Square) – Republican state Sen. John Braun and Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez met in a debate Wednesday night and clashed over the war in Iran, health care, taxes, immigration, election rules and the economy.
The two candidates faced off in a televised debate in one of the nation’s most closely watched congressional races, and with less than five weeks before the Nov. 3 election, the race for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District remains deadlocked.
The race is considered a toss-up and could help determine which party controls the U.S. House.
Braun, a Centralia Republican and Washington Senate minority leader, has been endorsed by President Donald Trump. Gluesenkamp Perez, a two-term Democrat, has represented the district since 2023. The 3rd District includes much of Southwest Washington, including Clark, Cowlitz and Lewis counties and portions of other surrounding counties.
The two candidates opened the debate’s foreign policy discussion with different positions on the ongoing war in Iran.
“I would not support an open-ended war with no clear objectives to end it,” Braun said, arguing the United States should not extend the conflict without a clear path to ending it.
Gluesenkamp Perez said she has voted against the war six times.
“There’s no point of murkiness or complication,” she said, calling the war a disaster for American families, military families and U.S. geopolitical security.
The issue also came up later when the candidates discussed gasoline prices.
“Fuel prices are out of control,” Gluesenkamp Perez said, arguing the war has contributed significantly to higher fuel costs.
Braun pointed to legislation he sponsored in the Washington Legislature that would eliminate the state gas tax when prices are high. At the federal level, he said he would support eliminating the cap-and-trade system, which he argued adds costs without adequately reducing carbon emissions.
Affordability and health care was a hot topic as well, as the candidates offered competing approaches to the cost-of-living crisis.
Braun said tax policy should be a primary federal tool for improving affordability, arguing the country needs stable and competitive tax policies for both individuals and businesses.
He also pointed to energy policy, saying an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy has helped lower gas prices in Washington.
Gluesenkamp Perez said the country needs to end the Iran war, reverse what she called disastrous health care cuts and increase the supply of housing.
She also pointed to her efforts involving antitrust policy and right-to-repair legislation as ways to help small businesses compete.
Gluesenkamp Perez criticized Braun over his support for the federal budget law H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, arguing that its changes to Medicaid would result in people losing coverage and drive up insurance costs.
“I voted against these disastrous healthcare cuts,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
Braun rejected the characterization of H.R. 1 as a cut.
“First of all, it’s not a cut, it’s actually a reduction in growth,” Braun said.
He argued Medicaid had grown substantially in recent years and said reforms were necessary given the federal deficit.
On immigration, Gluesenkamp Perez said securing the border is necessary but argued federal immigration enforcement should be held to high standards.
She said she supports requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to wear body cameras and supports limiting immigration enforcement in sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals.
“It was an easy vote for me to vote against the big budget bill that pre-funded ICE for eight years,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
She added that she supports secure borders and knowing who is entering the country.
Braun called for state and local law enforcement agencies to be able to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
“I think we should focus on folks who have committed criminal acts,” Braun said, while also criticizing the Biden administration’s handling of immigration.
The candidates also sparred over election security and the SAVE Act.
Gluesenkamp Perez voted for the SAVE Act, legislation supported by President Donald Trump that seeks to require proof of citizenship for voting.
She defended that vote, saying only U.S. citizens should vote in federal elections.
“It is really important that only U.S. citizens are casting ballots in our elections and that is current law,” she said.
But she opposed the newer SAVE America Act, which includes additional identification requirements.
“I’ll affirm loudly and repeatedly that voting is for citizens,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
Braun said he supports the SAVE America Act and argued voter identification requirements can strengthen public confidence in elections.
“I think that voter ID is an important issue,” Braun said, pointing to other states where he said similar requirements have been implemented without reducing voter turnout.
Both candidates said they support Washington’s vote-by-mail system.
Braun called vote-by-mail popular in Washington while saying voter ID requirements could improve trust in the state’s election system.
Gluesenkamp Perez called vote-by-mail the “gold standard in election security.”
The rapid growth of data centers was another point of disagreement.
Braun said he would not support a statewide moratorium or ban on data centers, noting that companies must comply with state and federal regulations.
Gluesenkamp Perez raised concerns about the effects of artificial intelligence and data centers on communities.
She cited potential noise pollution, increased energy costs and the broader impact of AI, particularly on children.
She said data center moratoriums “can make sense” in some circumstances.
The candidates also agreed that Washington has a spending problem, but disagreed over the state’s newly enacted income tax.
Gluesenkamp Perez criticized state lawmakers for spending too much money and said adding another source of revenue would not solve the underlying problem.
Braun called the tax “wrong-headed” and “unconstitutional,” arguing Washington should live within its means.
“I talked to Republicans, Independents, Democrats across the district, they don’t like it,” Braun said.
Near the end of the debate, both candidates were asked to name their biggest accomplishments in office.
Braun pointed to a 2015 bill he sponsored in the state Legislature that lowered tuition costs for higher education.
Gluesenkamp Perez said her biggest accomplishment has been maintaining what she described as an independent voice for the district. She pointed to federal funding she helped secure for rural schools.