VANCOUVER, Wash. — Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez led Joe Kent, the Donald Trump-backed Republican candidate, in election night returns in Southwest Washington's 3rd Congressional District.
On Tuesday night, Gluesenkamp Perez was at 52.6% while Kent came in at 46.8% in the race to succeed Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground. Herrera Beutler was ousted in the primary by Republicans angered by her vote to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol.
The 3rd District had been considered an easy win for Republicans. But after Herrera Beutler's loss in the primary, Democrats saw a chance at turning the race against Kent into a competitive one, saying his far-right views don't match the conservative-to-moderate district in Southwest Washington.
Hundreds of thousands of votes across the state will be counted in the coming days as later-arriving ballots are tallied in the all-mail election. And some Republicans strategically waited until Election Day to turn in their ballots.
Kent would need about 55% of the estimated remaining votes, instead of the 46.8% he received so far, to break even, according to a Seattle Times analysis of voting patterns in this race.
Kent also trailed Herrera Beutler after the first votes were counted in the August primary, only to chip away at her lead and eventually defeat the incumbent as more votes were tallied.
"You know, there's a lot of numbers that still need to come in," Gluesenkemp Perez said Tuesday night. "But I think that what's clear is this is a district that is working to put patriotism above partisanship. That this is a district that believes in candidates who are here for the middle, we're here to do the work that it takes to support small businesses and working families and working moms, rural communities."
Kent did not let reporters enter his election night party. His campaign has yet to respond to a request for comment on the results.
Some Republican leaders publicly backed Gluesenkamp Perez, but most party organizations and leaders unified behind Kent, citing the importance of taking the U.S. House majority away from Democrats.
Kent, 42, an Army Special Forces veteran who lives in Yacolt, ran as an "America First" candidate, channeling anger over immigration and crime, opposing U.S. intervention overseas, and embracing false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump by massive fraud.
He has backed a national abortion ban and said at a recent debate he'd favor allowing Americans to own any guns available to the U.S. military, including machine guns.
If elected, Kent has vowed to reject compromises with Democrats and establishment Republicans, instead saying his agenda would be to hamstring President Joe Biden's administration with investigations and seek to impeach Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
"Impeachment, oversight, obstruction," is how he summed up his priorities earlier this year. If Trump is elected in 2024, Kent said the America First movement would then shift to a legislative agenda of blocking most immigration to the U.S. and revitalizing domestic manufacturing.
Gluesenkamp Perez, 34, lives in rural Skamania County and owns a Portland auto-repair shop with her husband. She has been active in politics, including serving as a member of the Democratic National Committee and running unsuccessfully for county commissioner.
In her campaign, Gluesenkamp Perez sought to emphasize that she's a small-business owner and to distance herself from the liberal wing of the party, saying she'd focus on solving local problems, expanding job-training programs and tackling high food and gas prices.
Gluesenkamp Perez also repeatedly criticized Kent for his associations with white nationalists and violent extremist groups, as well as his talk about conspiracies from the 2020 election to the COVID-19 pandemic vaccines.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, like Herrera Beutler, also voted to impeach Trump, but he survived the August primary, and on Tuesday he led Democratic challenger Doug White, with 67.2% of the vote in Central Washington's 4th District.
Since the primary, Newhouse has emphasized his conservative views, talking about standing up to the "radical left" and building a border wall.
Other Washington congressional incumbents were comfortably ahead in election night returns.
District 1: Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Medina, was leading Republican challenger Vincent Cavaleri 63.6% to 36.3%.
In a speech to supporters at the Washington Democrats election party in Bellevue, DelBene said she's ready to "focus on moving the country forward."
"I'm going to continue to fight for our reproductive rights, for voting rights, for climate action, for a fair future for our children, and for an economy that works for everyone in our country," she said.
District 2: Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, was ahead of Republican Dan Matthews 61.5% to 38.3%. Larsen thanked his supporters, staff and family in a Facebook post Tuesday night, and said "there is a lot of work to do" in shutting down election denier conspiracies and expanding voting rights.
District 5: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, was well ahead of Democrat Natasha Hill 59.1% to 40.7%.
District 6: Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, was up on Republican Elizabeth Kreiselmaier 61.8% to 38.1%.
District 7: Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, was beating Republican Cliff Moon 84.3% to 15.3%. "You heard all this talk about a red wave," Jayapal said in a speech Tuesday night. "Let me tell you, that's not what I see happening."
District 8: Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, claimed 52.7% of the vote against Republican Matt Larkin, who was at 47% on Tuesday.
District 9: Rep. Adam Smith, D-Bellevue, was beating Doug Basler, a Republican, 71% to 28.8%. "I've never been more proud to be a Democrat than I am tonight," Smith said in a speech Tuesday night.
District 10: Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Tacoma, was up on Republican Keith Swank 57% to 43%.
Strickland posted a message of unity on Facebook Tuesday night, urging voters of all party affiliations to reach out to her office. "We need to work together to lower costs for families and small businesses, create good jobs, address public safety, and support our service members and veterans," she wrote.
