Gluesenkamp Perez and Braun advance in Washington House race

Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican state Sen. John Braun will face each other in November in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, setting up a high-stakes contest in a district that voted for Donald Trump while sending a Democrat to Congress.

CBS News projected that Gluesenkamp Perez and Braun secured the top two spots in Washington’s nonpartisan primary, where all candidates appear on the same ballot and the two leading vote-getters advance regardless of party. They defeated seven other candidates in the crowded race, including progressive Democrat Brent Hennrich, who challenged Gluesenkamp Perez from the left.

The southwestern Washington seat is expected to be one of the most closely watched House races of the cycle and could help determine which party controls the chamber early next year. The district was one of 13 that voted for Trump in 2024 while also electing a Democrat to the House. The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics rates the race as leans Democratic, while the Cook Political Report rates it as a toss-up, CBS News reported.

Gluesenkamp Perez, a two-term Democrat, has represented the district since 2023 after flipping the Republican-held seat in 2022. She has emphasized her background as co-owner of an auto repair shop and has built support among moderates, independents and some Republican voters. In 2024, she ran roughly seven points ahead of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the district, which Trump carried by about three points.

Her record has also drawn criticism from within her party. Progressive critics have argued she has too often sided with Republicans and the president, while supporters say her independence reflects the politics of a district that has repeatedly backed Trump for president. She has broken with Democrats on high-profile issues including immigration, transgender rights and Trump’s voting legislation known as the SAVE Act. CBS News reported that she voted against President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, supported military aid to Israel and backed a previous version of Trump’s voting regulations bill, now known as the SAVE America Act.

Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, defended Gluesenkamp Perez after the primary result. “Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is an authentic, independent leader who is fiercely loyal to south-west Washington,” DelBene said in a statement. “Marie is focused on the issues that matter most to her community, like lowering costs for families, revitalizing Washington’s timber economy, and investing in rural schools and infrastructure.”

Republicans see the seat as a prime pickup opportunity. Trump endorsed Braun in April and called Gluesenkamp Perez “a true radical left extremist,” according to CBS News. Braun is a Navy veteran who runs an emergency vehicle manufacturing plant and has served in leadership roles in the state Senate since his election in 2012.

Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement: “John Braun is a navy veteran and job creator, and in November south-west Washington will send Perez’s sputtering political career straight to the scrapyard.”

Braun has also publicly differed with Trump on some issues. In an interview with local news station KGW, he affirmed that Biden won the 2020 election. “That’s correct,” Braun said when asked to clarify that Biden won. He also criticized Trump’s sweeping tariffs, saying the “broad, sometimes indiscriminate use of tariffs can be very harmful,” including for his own manufacturing business, while adding that tariffs can be appropriate “when you’re talking about some of the threats from China and from Russia.”