A lot of cross words were thrown at candidate Joe Kent for Congress during this heated and emotional race in the Third Congressional District before the primary. So, I was really surprised when I read that the other Republican candidate in the Third Congressional District race, Leslie Lewallen, had recently stated that she would be supporting Joe Kent for Congress after the long campaign.
Some of the local newspapers here in Lewis County had written harshly worded articles about Joe Kent while writing glowing remarks about Leslie Lewallen, and it seemed as though the battle lines were drawn — and that there was a lot of animosity in the Lewallen camp toward Joe Kent.
So, I had to reread the statement by Leslie Lewallen again. Did she really say that she was now supporting Joe Kent? She sure did.
For me, as an independent voter, I get really turned off by the bickering. So, I was really happy to see that the hatchets had been buried and that Leslie and Joe can be friends.
It goes to show you that emotions do run high with these election campaigns. But it also shows that at the end of the day, the candidates can come together and agree that it's always better to unify than to disparage one another and fracture the message.
This signals a message of unity within the Republican Party.
Samantha Erickson
Winlock
