(The Center Square) – In Washington’s 3rd Congressional District race between incumbent Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Senator John Braun, R-Centralia, it appears Gluesenkamp Perez will keep her seat, based on initial election returns posted Tuesday evening.
After first returns came in, Braun was leading by more than 10,000 votes, but after the largest counties in the district reported results, Gluesenkamp Perez took the lead by a wide margin.
The incumbent had 55% of the votes to Braun’s 44% with only Wahkiakum County not yet reporting as of 9 p.m. Tuesday night.
The race has been considered one of the pivotal contests for control of the U.S. House, as one of only 18 House seats nationwide considered to be a toss-up.
Southwest Washington’s 3rd Congressional District has historically been held by Republicans before Gluesenkamp-Perez flipped the seat in 2022.
Gluesenkamp Perez, an auto repair shop owner from Washougal, is hoping to retain the seat, while Braun, a state Senator and Navy veteran from Centralia, is aiming to gain it back for the GOP.
Gluesenkamp Perez has not taken a public stance on Washington state’s new income tax, repeatedly declining to state whether she supports or opposes it during debates and press inquiries, typically by responding, “I don’t work in Olympia”.
Her campaign did not respond to repeated requests for interviews made by The Center Square, related to the income tax or several other campaign issues.
Braun, and Republican organizations including the RNC and NRCC, noted that in the Congresswoman’s past role as a drafter of the 2020 Washington State Democratic Party platform, she called for a “fair and just tax system” and taxing high incomes, suggesting those positions are an indication she supports Washington’s income tax on millionaires.
In a Tuesday evening interview just ahead of initial results coming down, Braun told The Center Square he was feeling optimistic.
“I don’t really think Democratic trends across the country affect our district all that much. It’s a very independent district. I think we’re going to stand alone there. I still think it’s going to be very close, but I am optimistic,” said Braun.
Just after first returns came out, Washington’s GOP Chair Jim Walsh told The Center Square he was holding out hope Braun could still pull out a win but suggested it may take several days to declare a winner as more ballots are counted.
“It’s not going to be decided tonight,” said Walsh in an 8:30 interview. “It’s on track for what we were expecting. There’s not really a blue wave here in Washington.”
Washington Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad told The Center Square they were thrilled to see Congresswoman Gluesekamp Perez leading by a wide margin Tuesday night.
“We were nervous about that. It’s always been our closest Congressional district in the state, and it was statistically tied in the polls. I’m thrilled that we’ve held onto that seat,” said Conrad.