For all of us Republicans that lived through the primary of 2022 here in Washington’s Third Congressional District, we validated to the Democrats what they already knew — we do not unify to back a winner.
By the time we did in the general election, the full weight of the Democratic machine was too much for Joe Kent to overcome. Even though Joe lost by under 1%, the resources he needed to win the general election had all been exhausted.
Democrats have become efficient in changing how to vote in states that can become a one party rule. Once those voting rules change, Democrats are ruthless in exploiting those rules to the fullest. In Washington state, we have a jungle primary and the Democrats will always succeed as they are all in step with “vote blue no matter who.”
Republicans need to wake up to the new and current reality and organize and play the legal game that the Democrats have created. Otherwise, our Republican primary candidate battles will continue to set us up for failure.
For Republicans to win elections, including in 2024, we need to start now. Recently, the Washington state Republican Party endorsed Joe Kent for 2024. Additionally, Joe has been endorsed by five out seven counties with the last two county endorsements slated for next month. A couple of key endorsements happened with Clark County Republicans and Washington State GOP. Those two endorsements will allow all the resources to be focused solely on Joe Kent, which didn’t happen in 2022.
As Republicans, we must unify with Joe Kent to defeat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in 2024. Joe has the experience of debating her on her voting record and how to course correct once he is in D.C. He doesn’t communicate flashy platitudes without substance. Joe has shown leadership along with solutions when addressing all the issues that affect us here.
Barry Sullivan
Vancouver
