(The Center Square) – Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, and state Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, held another debate Tuesday night hosted by KATU-TV in a District 3 Congressional contest getting plenty of national attention.
The candidates fielded questions seen in other recent debates, including the high cost of living, the war in Iran, data centers and tariffs, but it was a moment near the end of the debate that was the most contentious and memorable.
It started when the candidates were asked about the Longview Nippon Dynawave incident earlier this year.
As previously reported by The Center Square, eleven workers were killed and seven more workers at the facility and a firefighter responding suffered burns and inhalation injuries when a 900,000-gallon tank of white liquor suffered a catastrophic failure.
After questions about workplace safety issues related to the incident, Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez brought up a deadly accident two years ago at Braun Northwest, when an employee of the plant owned by Sen. Braun where emergency response vehicles are built was run over by a co-worker and killed.
She started running a campaign ad Tuesday featuring the son of the man involved in the fatal incident.
“John Braun never called, never asked how my family was doing or how the company could help. Six weeks later, they just wanted to know when I’d be back,” said Colten Keller, a former Braun Northwest employee, whose father Karl Keller was killed in the August 2024 incident, in the campaign ad.
She continued the attack at Tuesday’s debate.
“I think everything that you need to know about how Senator Braun will respond, how he’ll write rules, how he’ll listen to people who have actually been involved in accidents, you can see in how he treated the family of a man who was killed in an accident at his own company,” said Gluesenkamp Perez during the debate.
Braun pushed back, calling the ad and the congresswoman’s suggestion that he didn’t respond with heart, “a new low for Marie.”
“Here’s the reality. I talked to the son twice that day. I didn’t call him. I talked to him in person. I talked to him in person ’cause he also worked for us at the time. So, this is just an example of what Marie, a DC politician, will do to keep her seat in Washington, D.C.” said Braun.
According to The Chronicle, the Braun campaign stated the company provided ongoing personal support to Colten and his family.
“Braun Northwest provided Colten Keller with paid time off, daily face to face support from leadership/human resources and unlimited counseling services following the incident and organized a family meal train to support him and his family,” the campaign stated.
“Braun also personally delivered a meal prepared by his wife, Marlo, for Colten and his family. Colten later returned their dishes and thanked Braun. Colten continued working for Braun Northwest until May 2025 and continues to provide services as a vendor through his sandblasting company.”
Last July, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries sent an email to The Chronicle stating that their review concluded “The company was meeting the requirements under state law, and there was no violation of safety standards.”
Washington’s 3rd Congressional District is considered one of the most competitive and closely watched toss-up races in the country. Voting begins Oct. 16 and continues through Election Day on Nov. 3.