For the second election cycle in a row, former president and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has backed congressional candidate Joe Kent in his race to represent the Third Congressional District in the nation’s capital.
In a Truth Social post Sunday afternoon, Trump said Kent is a “Great American Hero” who “paid a very big price in fighting for our country.” In the endorsement, Trump notes that he carried the Third District in both the 2016 and 2020 elections and said he looks forward to “easily winning a third time.”
“Joe is a Gold Star Husband, who bravely served our country as a Special Forces Combat Veteran,” Trump wrote. “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, Secure our Border, Support our Military/Vets, and protect our always-under-siege Second Amendment.”
In a Facebook post, Kent said he was “honored” to receive the endorsement.
“Thank you, Mr. President, you had our back & we have yours!” Kent wrote.
In a subsequent fundraising email, Kent said he could “sense the tide in this race is turning.”
“Voters here in the district are rallying to my campaign. At a parade yesterday, we had over fifty people walk with us,” the Kent campaign wrote. “My opponent, Marie (Gluesenkamp) Perez, a consistent supporter of the Biden-Harris agenda, didn’t even bother to show up.”
The endorsement marks the second time Trump has backed Kent. Ahead of the 2022 election, Trump endorsed Kent as he challenged former Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who voted to impeach Trump while in office.
After falling in the 2022 election, Kent quickly announced that he would again seek to represent Southwest Washington in Congress.
Now, Kent received the backing over Republican Camas City Councilor Leslie Lewallen, who has sought to identify herself as a Republican alternative to Kent. In a statement Sunday, the Lewallen campaign said that only 36,000 ballots had been returned and that the campaign remains “wide open.”
"I am proud to stand with President Trump and support his campaign to Make America Great Again and save our country from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' radical agenda," Lewallen said in a statement. "Joe Kent is the wrong candidate for the Third Congressional District and he proved it in 2022 by losing a winnable race in a district that President Trump carried. Washington's Third Congressional District deserves a strong, conservative candidate who represents their values, beliefs and knows how to win - I am the only option."
Officials for the Lewallen campaign have previously cited Kent’s underperformance in the district relative to other Republicans in recent elections, including Trump, and noted that candidates seeking a rematch against the winning candidate are seldom successful.
For months, Kent has solely focused his attention on Gluesenkamp Perez, telling the audience at a May 28 campaign event in Chehalis that he had “no desire to get into a back and forth with another Republican.”
At a Republican candidate forum in Mossyrock Thursday, Kent did not mention Lewallen once during the two-hour event.
“Last time, she could say whatever she wanted to. She’s a lumberjack, she’s a mechanic, whatever. She could create stories because she didn’t have a voting record,” Kent said of his rematch with Gluesenkamp Perez. “This time, she has a voting record, and it’s the last thing she wants to talk about.”
In the endorsement, Trump wrote that Kent is “America First all the way, AN ABSOLUTE WINNER” and said that “HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”
Registered voters should have received their ballots for the Aug. 6 primary by Friday. Completed ballots must be postmarked or returned no later than 8 p.m. on election day.
The top two candidates in the August primary will advance to the general election in November.
