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Multiple Northwest media organizations declared U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, the winner of Washington’s 3rd Congressional District on Thursday night following the latest release of counted votes.

Those results showed Republican Joe Kent making little progress in closing a gap in the race that’s existed since Election Day. As of Thursday evening, Gluesenkamp Perez held 51% of the vote while Kent trailed at 48%. Both The Columbian and The Oregonian declared the contest over following the latest results.

As of 7:15 p.m., neither candidate had declared victory or conceded the race.

Washington’s 3rd District is a key race for Democrats who lost control of both the presidency and Senate during Tuesday’s election. As of Thursday night, Republicans were also closing in on control of the U.S. House of Representatives, but 25 seats remained without a clear winner.

Gluesenkamp Perez’s success is evidence of the moderate Democrat’s strong connection to Southwest Washington communities, an extensive get-out-the-vote campaign, and her willingness to work across party lines in Congress.

“Her voting record, her rhetoric, who she meets with — which is pretty much anybody that will meet with her from her district — all are ways for her to say, ‘I care about the whole district,” said Mark Stephan, a professor of political science at Washington State University’s Vancouver campus. “Democrats need that because otherwise in rural areas, there’s a certain distrustfulness.”

That strategy helped Gluesenkamp Perez in her bid to hold onto a seat she flipped in 2022. The district is largely made up of counties that voted for President-elect Donald Trump this year.

During an election night party in Vancouver on Tuesday, Gluesenkamp Perez emphasized her campaign’s focus on bread-and-butter economic issues that affect the lives of residents of Southwest Washington over culture war topics.

“It is possible to take a different path. Step away from the national talking points and the hyper-partisanship, and run a campaign based on respect for working people and the issues that directly impact us here at home,” Gluesenkamp Perez told supporters.

In an effort to distance herself from potentially polarizing issues, Gluesenkamp Perez did not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris or other Democrats in Southwest Washington. At the federal level, she sometimes split with her party, voting against student debt forgiveness and showing support for Israel. While those votes frustrated some Democrats, it showed her independence.

“She won. She knows her district better than anybody else, and so we have to let her lead,” said Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington state Democrats.

Kent ran a campaign more focused on national priorities of the Republican Party, including securing the southern border, reducing inflation, and achieving energy independence.

In the weeks leading up to the election, Kent — a former Green Beret who lives in the town of Yacolt — received support from a number of prominent Republicans hoping to help flip the district back to GOP control.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2024/11/07/marie-gluesenkamp-perez-projected-win/