The House race for Washington’s District 3 is heading into the primary with a lengthy list of candidates.
Incumbent Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler began facing challengers for her seat months after being re-elected for her sixth term in 2020. Herrera Beutler was one of the handful of Republicans who voted to impeach President Donald Trump after the Jan 6. attack on the U.S. Capitol.
That vote quickly created a field of Republican challengers for the seat who have campaigned for more than a year, most notably the Trump-endorsed veteran Joe Kent and Christian author and podcaster Heidi St. John. On the other end of the political spectrum, small business owner Marie Gluesenkamp Perez emerged this spring as the major Democrat on the ballot.
To help voters prepare for the Aug. 2 primary, The Daily News reached out to all nine candidates who are currently campaigning for the District 3 seat with a list of questions about their legislative priorities and some of the biggest issues affecting Washington at the moment.
The paper received responses from seven candidates. The Daily News was in touch with St. John throughout the week but was not able to receive answers by the paper’s deadline. Washington state Rep. Vicki Kraft did not respond to requests to fill out the questionnaire. The other candidates who answered are Oliver Black of the American Solidarity Party, Republican Leslie L. French and Democrat Davy Ray.
Gluesenkamp Perez was the only candidate to answer questions in a conversation; all other candidates answered by email. Some written responses have been abridged for clarity and legibility.
Q: What should the U.S. be doing right now to address inflation?
Black: In the short term, we need to fix supply chain issues, but over the long term we need to make our local economies more robust so that global disruption have a less severe impact on prices at home. We need prosperity for all. Raising wages isn’t enough. Large corporations will just pass those off to the consumer. We need to give workers an ownership stake in their places of employment.
Byrd: Anyone who tells you there is a great solution is mistaken. Ultimately it requires a slow down of the economy, which is tricky ... I would support a temporary gas tax holiday at both the federal and state level...Fuel costs are related to supply and demand. Both of these need to be addressed. As a society we need to move away from our high rate of consumption of gas and diesel.
French: The root cause of inflation is the Biden administration’s war against oil and gas energy production. America’s vast energy reserves have been the foundation of the modern American economy for over 120 years...While electric automobiles make up about 2% of the cars on the road, the primary source of fuel for the electric energy that powers those cars is oil, gas and coal.
Gluesenkamp Perez: Interest rates have been at practically 0% for the last three years and Congress has done nothing to invest in electrifying the grid or decarbonizing our electric system. They’re just sitting on their hands and waiting for working-class people to feel the pain. When gas prices go up and food prices go up, that’s who hurts the first and the longest.
Herrera Beutler: The U.S. must get spending under control, address supply chain bottlenecks that continue to impact costs and make necessary everyday items scarce, and let people keep as much of their paychecks as possible. I’ve opposed trillions in wasteful spending that contribute to spiking prices ... I’ll also hold the line on new and higher taxes. We don’t need to chip away at people’s paychecks any more right now.
Kent: We need to get back to being a net exporter of energy, turn on the Keystone XL pipeline and get back into exploratory drilling, harness all of our nuclear power to get our energy sector back up. I would stop all of the different COVID relief plans that are out there and get people back to work.
Ray: Inflation is a funny critter and it usually occurs with significant global events ... The current government is doing what it can with interest rates but let’s face it, we’re coming out of a global pandemic causing supply chains to clog up and we have a Russian madman with delusions of grandeur whom I hope bankrupts his country. As soon as some of those things settle down I suspect we’ll see things return to equilibrium.
Q: The House of Representatives recently passed a package of gun reforms and mental health spending. What policies do you think need to change around guns to address mass shootings?
Black: These were great steps toward addressing the issue. Policies that support responsible gun ownership are an important piece of solving this issue. We also need to invest in providing healthcare, including mental health.
Byrd: We can strengthen laws so those who have threatened acts of violence are unable to acquire guns. We can then strengthen background checks to support laws designed to keep guns out of the hands of those who have broken laws related to threats and/or acts of violence. For schools, we should add professional security. We should increase funding for mental health programs.
French: As we have seen recently, mental health is the major single factor, but our laws prevent our local governments from properly dealing with criminals who are mentally at risk to kill. We need to focus on the killers, not the guns. Almost all mass shootings are perpetrated against soft targets such as schools or public venues where the killer knows there will be little or no resistance.
Gluesenkamp Perez: Hardening schools is not it. If you harden the schools, they’re going to come for the softball fields. Universal background checks are the first line of defense and that is a critical step. I think that it is multi-faceted, it is hand-in-hand with the rates of suicide and depression and hopelessness.
Herrera Beutler: I support reforms that make gun ownership safer as long as they do not inhibit law-abiding citizens from exercising their Constitutional rights. I supported the banning of bump stocks in the wake of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting...But the details of these proposals matter. Southwest Washington has a heritage of law-abiding citizens who value their Second Amendment rights for hunting, self-defense or sport shooting.
Kent: To prevent mass shootings, we need to allocate federal resources to secure schools and train and arm professional security, professional law enforcement, and then really give teachers and people that work there the ability to carry and defend children. Making schools gun-free zones has done absolutely nothing to deter maniacs from killing children.
Ray: I own guns. I’m happy that something was actually done in regards to gun safety but it was just lip service to make everyone shut up about it. It had no teeth to it ... We need universal background checks, waiting periods, raising the age limit to 21, and dare I say it, banning weapons of war and high capacity magazines.
Q: How do you feel about the House committee hearings about the Jan. 6 attack that have been taking place?
Black: It is important to know what information is being revealed. Any information that comes out should be taken with a grain of salt until it comes to a real trial.
Byrd: What happened on Jan. 6, 2021, was not normal or acceptable for our nation. The peaceful transfer of power is a cornerstone of the United States. Any attempts to block the peaceful transfer of power must be thoroughly investigated. Anything short of a full investigation is not in the best interest of the future of our country.
French: I think a committee investigation is in order regarding the Jan. 6 riots, but the current committee members are operating a sham proceeding. These public hearings are highly edited and scripted to broadcast a narrative, and do not answer the fundamental questions about what happened on that day and the days leading up. I will be hopeful that when the Republicans take charge of the committee, a fair slate of members will be seated.
Gluesenkamp Perez: I’m not sure that the people who should be watching those are. Especially in Washington state, we have the gold standard of election security. We have paper ballots and I think people who have concerns about the reliability of our election system need to go down and talk to their local auditor. These are public servants, these are patriots. These are not faceless bureaucrats.
Herrera Beutler: A lot of this evidence we’ve seen or heard about already. In early 2021, I voted on this matter in accordance with my oath of office. Now our nation has other problems that the people I talk to every day expect us to solve ... So while we should make sure there’s never a repeat of Jan. 6, folks in Southwest Washington don’t want Congress losing sight of current problems and getting tunnel vision on that event from 1.5 years ago.
Kent: Every Republican who voted for impeachment and the Jan. 6 committee must be replaced; they are incapable of leading in the current fight against the authoritarian left. We can’t back down on exposing the truth behind Jan. 6 and the election of 2020. The Jan. 6 narrative is being smeared against every conservative or anybody who has an issue with the way things are being conducted in the country or how the last election went.
Ray: I feel good about it. I actually wrote a letter to the Cheyenne and Casper newspapers asking their readers not to be too quick about throwing Rep. Liz Cheney under the bus. And I don’t agree with a single one of her policy decisions. But that took some stones.
Q: Do you plan to accept the results of the primary election in August?
Black: Yes, unequivocally. We have a robust voting system in Washington that we should be proud of and confident in.
Byrd: Absolutely.
French: I certainly do plan on accepting the results, but not blindly. President Ronald Reagan had a famous approach regarding treaty agreements, “Trust but Verify.” I have a similar expectation that the county elections officials will obey the law and preserve the voting records as required in federal elections.
Gluesenkamp Perez: I do. I have confidence in our democracy and our elections system.
Herrera Beutler: Yes. If there is clear evidence that a sufficient number of irregularities or instances of voter fraud could have swayed the results of an extremely close election, a candidate has the legal right to present that evidence in a court of law. That candidate also has the obligation to abide by the outcome of such a legal challenge.
Kent: If I am not the Republican that primaries Herrera Beutler, I will do everything I can to ensure the other candidate crosses the finish line in the general election. If it is Herrera Beutler and a Democratic candidate that advances, then I will launch a write-in campaign, which has a successful track record in Southwest Washington.
Ray: That’s how democracy works, my friend. Unless, of course, there is evidence of some hanky-panky.
Q: If elected, what is your top economic priority to support businesses in Southwest Washington?
Black: We need to fix the tax code so that small business aren’t penalized and large corporations pay their fair share.
Byrd: We need small and local businesses to be able to flourish. Streamlining the loan process for these businesses is one way we can help. In addition ... solving supply chain issues and balancing the supply and demand of fuel costs will also substantially help small and local businesses prosper.
French: My highest priorities are getting a Columbia River Crossing project agreed upon, whatever it takes, including the addition of highway toll lanes to replace HOV lanes, with the remaining lanes free use to the public ... and removal of the “homeless” drug camps which are expanding in the area. Those people cannot be allowed to live in such inhumane filth and squalor.
Gluesenkamp Perez: Right now we need to invest in kids having the skills to participate in these critical jobs. You can’t get a plumber or a carpenter or an electrician for love or money right now, the waitlists are months long. We’ve got to invest in career and technical education programs ... One of the things that Washington state can be a leader in is the production of paper products that replace ... plastic containers.
Herrera Beutler: Small and medium-sized businesses have always been the economic engine of Southwest Washington, and they are being harmed by the same affordability crisis and supply shortages as everyone else. When these employers succeed in our region, good-paying jobs follow, so we must address the hurdles that are making it harder for them to do business.
Kent: We need to bring supply chains back to the U.S. We need to tell manufacturing industries that they must come back to America or we’re going to tariff them. For the companies that want to continue to exploit slave labor in China, they need to face economic consequences. If corporations are willing to bring their business back to America, they can be rewarded with lucrative tax cuts.
Ray: I would go for some of that infrastructure money and address the traffic problems across the Columbia. Then we can address public transit into our outlying counties. Also I would try to attract some aerospace to the area.
Q: How should the federal government address COVID-19 going forward?
Black: We need to make sure testing and treatments stay readily available. It is important for us to keep looking at the data and take necessary precautions, though they should take the form of recommendations.
Byrd: If COVID cases continue to result in strains on our healthcare system then it will continue to be an issue. Public health is best addressed at the state level and not the federal level.
French: Public health matters fall under the purview of the state government, not federal, in terms of enforcement. The role of the federal government is to direct research and to acquire ample medical supplies for distribution.
Gluesenkamp Perez: I think that COVID-19 illuminated some of the biggest problems we have: supply chain issues, offshoring, the lack of trust in public agencies. Those were all pre-existing conditions that COVID identified and illuminated. We have done almost nothing to solve most of those and in fact, a lot of those problems have gotten worse during COVID.
Herrera Beutler: COVID has shown us that our nation must be better prepared to respond to the next pandemic. We have to secure supply chains so that medical equipment remains available to hospitals and clinics and families can get basic household items. Additionally, we’ve now seen the steep costs of massive government-mandated lockdowns and school closures ... Government officials must weigh seriously the costs of lockdowns on families and our economy before turning to them as a public health tool in the future.
Kent: I will do everything in my power to end the COVID lockdowns on our businesses, schools and places of worship and ensure that nothing like this occurs again. Congress must prevent federal funding from being used to bail out activist governors like Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who insist on locking down their economies.
Ray: It appears the virus is getting less virulent but I have to be careful because my son-in-law has a compromised immune system and I am not going to be the one responsible for killing my grandkid’s father. And it’s not the government that I worry about, it’s the anti-vaxxers. People who irrationally or not think getting a vaccine is denying their freedom.
Q: What is the most common concern you’ve heard from people in Southwest Washington over the last month?
Black: People in our district are understandably worried about rising inflation. Many don’t have the margin in their budgets to successfully navigate the rise in prices. Inflation also affects the lowest income Americans the most.
Byrd: The biggest concern for people in (the district) currently are gas prices and inflation.
French: The price of gas and inflation is the No. 1 issue. Unemployment is never mentioned as an issue, folks have almost forgotten about the war raging in Ukraine.
Gluesenkamp Perez: Recently, it’s absolutely Roe. The rate of volunteers that have come through the website is ... magnitudes higher. People are so angry. I think there was a sense that ‘well, Trump is gone, does it really matter?’ And now we see in those court rulings that yeah, it does.
Herrera Beutler: Rising prices of everything from gas to groceries are making life difficult for everyone. Combine that with parents having to spend time and gas money driving from store to store because they can’t get formula or other essential items, and we have an affordability crisis.
Kent: President Biden’s economic policies have put a boot on the neck of families here in Southwest Washington. His spending policies have caused rampant inflation that has robbed households of nearly 9% of their income. He has strangled our domestic energy production which has caused record-high gas prices. And enabling him every step of the way has been Herrera Beutler. She’s consistently voted for his budgets and has made no attempt to leverage these votes for relief for the families of our district.
Ray: Easily high prices.
