The Winner

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) will represent Washington’s 3rd Congressional District for a third term, holding one of the most closely watched House seats in the country. She defeated state Senate Republican leader John Braun (R-Centralia), who conceded Thursday, Nov. 5, after the Associated Press called the race, OPB reported. ​

Gluesenkamp Perez has 160,330 votes (53.8%) to Braun’s 134,926 (45.3%), a margin of about 9 points, with about 82% of precincts reporting in the AP’s unofficial count. That’s her widest win yet. She beat Republican Joe Kent 50.1% to 49.3% in 2022 and 51.7% to 47.9% in 2024, according to Ballotpedia News.

The Race

The 3rd was one of 23 House districts Democrats defended this year that President Trump carried in 2024. Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated the race Lean Democratic heading into the final week, Axios Seattle reported. Inside Elections rated it a Toss-up.

Braun, a Navy veteran who runs a family company that builds emergency vehicles, was endorsed by Trump and has led Senate Republicans in Olympia since 2020. In the Aug. 4 top-two primary, where all candidates share one ballot, Gluesenkamp Perez finished first with 38.9% and Braun second with 38.7%. Progressive Democrat Brent Hennrich came in third with 15.3%, MyNorthwest reported.

The district covers southwest Washington, anchored by Clark County and Vancouver, and takes in Cowlitz and Lewis counties along with smaller rural counties, according to NBC News’ county results. About 788,100 people live there, the median age is about 41 and the typical household earns about $90,400 a year.

About 29% of adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Residents are about 78% white, 12% Hispanic, 4% Asian and 2% Black, unemployment is about 5.3%, and about 9% live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

Gluesenkamp Perez’s third term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, 2027, and it will be her first time serving in the House majority, OPB reported. Washington votes by mail, so ballots are still being counted, and the results stay unofficial until the state certifies them.

After her win, Gluesenkamp Perez told OPB that “when Congress shows it can be useful on the small things,” voters start to trust it with bigger ones.

---

AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.

---

Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article