On election night in downtown Vancouver, wearing blue jeans and a red plaid jacket, Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez defended her campaign’s approach to avoiding national partisan debates and instead focusing on local issues that affect the lives of people in her Southwest Washington congressional district.
“I think that 90% of us agree on about 90% of the issues. But [partisans] choose the 10 issues we disagree about to turn into a stake to drive into the heart of our community. And it’s not what we need,” Gluesenkamp Perez told supporters.
It’s the second time the Democrat has won in this conservative-leaning district. She first flipped it from Republican control in 2022. Her success this year is helping Democrats navigate an increasingly narrow path to control of the House of Representatives after Republicans took over the presidency and U.S. Senate.
U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez listens to a supporter at a bar in Vancouver, Wash. on Aug. 6, 2024. The incumbent won her district in this month's general election, even as it favored President-elect Donald Trump.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
Gluesenkamp Perez held onto the district by getting votes that Vice President Kamala Harris could not, leaving some political analysts to seek lessons from her victory.
“She’s able to outrun the Democrats in this more conservative leaning district without alienating Democrats by running too far to the right,” said Ben Gaskins, an associate professor of political science at Lewis and Clark College.
He said it’s not clear if she won because of support from Republicans or Independents. But there are a few reasons behind the Democrat’s win in Southwest Washington.
Partly, it’s the district, according to Mark Stephan, a political science professor with the Vancouver campus of Washington State University. It’s politically split, with Vancouver leaning Democratic and rural areas leaning Republican.
“The 3rd District, even now, remains a district that either party can struggle for and win,” Stephan said.
The other big reason Gluesenkamp Perez did so well is because she connected with her constituents on local issues through regular accessibility.
“It’s an interesting sort of group and coalition that she has built and really has become a leader and a voice for those working class, more rural voters who maybe at times haven’t seen themselves as part of the Democratic Party, but see themselves in her,” said Shasti Conrad, the chair of the Washington State Democrats.
Maureen Harkcom, who lives near Adna, Washington, in Lewis County, is one of those voters. She grew up on a large dairy in the area and as an adult raised beef cattle and hay. Today, she’s an active member of the local farm bureau chapter and a regular Republican voter. This year, Harkcom voted for both Donald Trump and Gluesenkamp Perez, who she said has convinced her that she’s an advocate for local businesses.
“In her first year, I met with her personally here in Lewis County I think five times, maybe six times,” Harkcom said.
She credited Gluesenkamp Perez’s field visits as leading to legislation aimed at helping farmers repair their own equipment and increasing oversight of foreign ownership of American agricultural land.
“I’ve never had a congressman listen to us like she does, let alone hear our concerns and act on them,” Harkcom said.
The competitive nature of the 3rd Congressional District also attracted big spending in 2024. Gluesenkamp Perez spent five times more than her opponent Republican Joe Kent, with millions more coming from outside sources, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Chair of the Washington State Republican party Jim Walsh credited Gluesenkamp Perez’s victory to that outsized spending. He said her ability to work with Republicans will be put to the test with the new administration in Washington D.C.
“She’ll either have to disagree with the Trump administration or disagree with her caucus,” Walsh said. “I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of room to wiggle between the two.”
Kent has not conceded the race. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment before publication of this story.
Republican congressional candidate Joe Kent waves to a supporter at Clark County Republican Party headquarters on July 31, 2024. Kent lost his rematch with Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for Washington's 3rd Congressional District seat.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
On a campaign attack website, Kent decried “woke and weaponized government” and during debates he focused on the need to secure America’s southern border. More often, Gluesenkamp Perez focused on bread-and-butter economic issues without getting enmeshed in such culture war topics, according to longtime Seattle political consultant Dean Nielsen.
“She’s focused on something that a lot of Democrats don’t think is possible,” Nielsen said. “[That] by focusing on working class, economic issues, that you’re gonna win. I think she’s absolutely right, smack on where the Democratic Party needs to move.”
Nielsen said her occasional votes against her own party helped attract voters who were turned off by national Democratic policies. One example he pointed to was her vote against student loan forgiveness, a policy that fell flat with working-class constituents who hadn’t gone to college.
“That really tapped into some of the undercurrents that you’re seeing with some of the national elections where, in particular, working-class voters really felt disengaged from the Democratic party,” he said.
When Gluesenamp Perez first won the district in 2022, she edged out Kent by less than 1 percentage point. This year she won by more than 4 percentage points. Stephan with Washington State University said other Democrats could learn from her success.
“It’s quite possible there’s a blueprint here for the party, for the Democratic Party, in how it wins in districts that tend to be a bit more rural,” Stephan said.
Still, she could easily lose in the future to a moderate Republican who is more involved locally, he said. There are no assurances in a district this split.