As of Monday evening, Republican candidate Joe Kent has taken the second place position in the primary election for Washington’s Congressional District 3.
Over the weekend, he and the incumbent, U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, were neck and neck. The most recent count has 47,357 votes in Kent’s favor, or 22.74%, as Herrera Beutler has 46,544, or 22.35%.
Now with just an 803-vote gap between the two, just 10,000 ballots left to count in Clark County and later votes trending in Kent’s favor, it appears likely he will end the race in second place. Democratic candidate Marie Gluesenkemp Perez, of Washougal, has held the first place spot since election night.
Kent was endorsed by former president Donald Trump and was highly critical of Herrera Beutler’s decision to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol.
Kent’s campaign has declined to provide comment to The Chronicle, saying they will not be speaking with the media until after the election is certified.
Statewide certification of the election will take place on Aug. 19.
To see current results on multi-county and statewide elections, visit https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/.
