U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, declared victory in her reelection bid for Congress Thursday evening.
She did so following a projection by The Columbian. As of Friday morning, the Associated Press had yet to call the race.
In a statement released shortly after 8:30 p.m., Gluesenkamp Perez said she was “deeply grateful for this vote of confidence in the work I’ve done to set aside national politics and represent our community in Washington, D.C.”
“I will continue to honestly reflect the independence of Southwest Washington in everything I do as our voice in D.C.,” the statement said. “Our heritage as fiercely independent, loyal fighters for our community is as clear to me as it was the day my family and I decided to ask for the privilege of working for our community.”
In a rematch of a narrow outcome two years ago, Gluesenkamp Perez led with 51.78% on election night, a lead she has maintained as the vote count has been updated. In a statement Thursday, the Gluesenkamp Perez campaign noted her margin of victory was wider than the roughly 2,600 votes that separated her and Republican challenger Joe Kent in the last election.
In Lewis County, Gluesenkamp Perez outpaced every Democratic candidate on the ballot by multiple points. Gluesenkamp Perez received 38.9% of the vote in the county, compared to the 31.77% Kamala Harris received and the 35.9% Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell received in her reelection bid.
Gluesenkamp Perez has received about 4,500 more votes in Lewis County in her reelection bid than she did in 2022. According to data provided by the Lewis County Auditor’s Office, the last federal or state level Democratic candidate to receive more support in Lewis County than Gluesenkamp Perez was Mike Kreidler in his 2020 reelection campaign.
Her victory in 2022 was seen by many national outlets as among the biggest election upsets in the cycle, a distinction she noted following her successful reelection campaign.
“But like two years ago, pundits made a fundamental mistake by viewing this race through a partisan lens,” she said. “Our community has never seen ourselves this way, and it’s not how we evaluate who merits our vote for Congress. We want representatives who know and love our land, woods, and rivers on an intimate level, scotch broom and all.”
Gluesenkamp Perez has cited her desire to work across the aisle to pass legislation and praised trade work as a viable career option for the nation’s youth. During an election watch party Tuesday in Vancouver, Gluesenkamp Perez said “90% of us agree on about 90% of the issues,” which she reiterated Thursday.
“We are not the sort of place where we define ourselves and our neighbors by our bumper stickers,” Gluesnekamp Perez said. “Our gift is too great, our heritage too proud to walk away from the cooperative spirit of those who came before us.”
While Republicans secured both the White House and Senate in the general election, final control of the House of Representatives remained undecided as of Friday.
According to CNN, Democrats have so far secured 201 seats in the House compared to the 212 won by Republicans. CNN has not projected winners in 22 districts across the country, districts that will decide which party controls the chamber.
Faced with an uncertain future in Congress, Gluesenkamp Perez said her priorities in “will be the same as the people I represent: lowering costs for working people and middle-class families, securing our Southern border and ending the flow of fentanyl into our communities, giving more people a shot at a good job that doesn't require a college degree, promoting careers and apprenticeships in the trades, establishing the right to repair our own stuff, and supporting Southwest Washington's farmers, growers, fishermen, and loggers.”
“I will fight any attempt to restrict the ability of a woman to see a doctor whenever she wants for whatever reason, and I will demand fiscal discipline when it comes to our national debt and deficit, instead of continuing tax giveaways to the top 1% and companies who ship jobs overseas and import cheap junk instead. I will put the views of Southwest Washington first in the votes I cast and the work I do, and I will stand up to political extremism, political violence, and any abuse of power or the public trust,” she said in her statement.
In a statement Friday morning, Washington congresswoman and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Susan DelBene congratulated Gluesenkamp Perez on her projected win.
“A fifth-generation Washingtonian, auto repair shop owner, and pro-choice mom, we’re so proud that Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is heading back to Congress to keep fighting on behalf of Southwest Washington,” DelBene said. “With so much on the line, she’ll keep fighting to protect the values and needs of her community, leveling the playing field for folks in the working class, and delivering quality affordable health care where it matters most. Southwest Washington re-elected her because they trust her to keep delivering for her neighbors.”
As of 9 a.m. Friday, Kent had not conceded in the race. In a Facebook post Wednesday morning, Kent wrote that the race was “far from over” and encouraged his supporters to check that their ballots were counted. In the post, Kent congratulated former President Trump on a “historic comeback” following his defeat of Harris.
While Republicans saw widespread success across the country, several Trump-backed candidates, including Jerrod Sessler, struggled in Washington. As of 9 a.m. Friday, Rep. Dan Newhouse, who drew the ire of Trump following his 2021 impeachment vote, led Sessler by nearly 8,000 votes, though the Associated Press had yet to formally call the race.
Here’s the full statement by Gluesenkamp Perez:
“Thank you, Southwest Washington. Serving you in Congress is a profound honor and a gift I will never squander. I'm deeply grateful for this vote of confidence in the work I’ve done to set aside national politics and represent our community in Washington, D.C. I will continue to honestly reflect the independence of Southwest Washington in everything I do as our voice in D.C. Our heritage as fiercely independent, loyal fighters for our community is as clear to me as it was the day my family and I decided to ask for the privilege of working for our community.
“I am deeply humbled by the tens of thousands of supporters who stood alongside me in this campaign, the patriotism and diligence of my staff, and for my friends and family – especially Dean – who have extended truth and grace to me on this challenging road. Your confidence in my ability to do this work and do it well has carried me through many long plane rides.
“I wasn’t recruited to run for this position by any Respected Politicians – quite the opposite. Instead it has always been my friends and family who have held me to a high standard and been a compass to me. I’m so grateful for the moral bulwark and pragmatism of Southwest Washingtonians who stand with me in refusing corporate PAC money, funding our campaign with their hard-earned money. Thank you all for having my back even when we may disagree on the specifics -- it means the world to me.
“Some far-away pundits and prognosticators swore I would lose this re-election campaign from the moment I took office. They dismissed our victory in 2022 as a fluke or an accident, and scoffed at the possibility that someone from the trades, the mom of a toddler, who didn’t have elected experience could effectively fight for her community in Congress, much less win re-election after being targeted as the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the country.
“But like two years ago, pundits made a fundamental mistake by viewing this race through a partisan lens. Our community has never seen ourselves this way, and it’s not how we evaluate who merits our vote for Congress. We want representatives who know and love our land, woods, and rivers on an intimate level, scotch broom and all. We want real work, real accountability and honesty about where our assets and vulnerabilities hold fast. This community was built by loggers with two-man misery whips, from trees too big to be felled alone. Today, the work in front of us is how we pass forward that gift, that spirit of cooperation to the next generation, to the kids I see in my son’s preschool class in Skamania County. It's almost laughable to me that national pundits could understand the gift and the depth of independence our heritage endows us with.
“I think ninety percent of people in Southwest Washington agree on ninety percent of things, regardless of their political identity. We are not the sort of place where we define ourselves and our neighbors by our bumper stickers. Our gift is too great, our heritage too proud to walk away from the cooperative spirit of those who came before us. We work together in our communities to solve problems and keep each other safe. I will continue working with Republicans in Congress and here at home to deliver results and get things done for Southwest Washington, and my bipartisan staff will continue helping anyone who lives here with constituent casework needs and local concerns. We've returned over $3,000,000 to the people of Southwest Washington and changed the lives of veterans, farmers, and seniors in all seven counties in our district. This is what people want to see from their elected representatives: hard work, determination, and real results.
“My priorities in the next Congress will be the same as the people I represent: lowering costs for working people and middle class families, securing our Southern border and ending the flow of fentanyl into our communities, giving more people a shot at a good job that doesn't require a college degree, promoting careers and apprenticeships in the trades, establishing the right to repair our own stuff, and supporting Southwest Washington's farmers, growers, fishermen, and loggers. I will fight any attempt to restrict the ability of a woman to see a doctor whenever she wants for whatever reason, and I will demand fiscal discipline when it comes to our national debt and deficit, instead of continuing tax giveaways to the top 1% and companies who ship jobs overseas and import cheap junk instead. I will put the views of Southwest Washington first in the votes I cast and the work I do, and I will stand up to political extremism, political violence, and any abuse of power or the public trust.
“I will always be the person I was raised to be, someone who works to fix things, not break them. It has been a profound honor to be invited into so many living rooms, shop floors and community spaces across the district and the political spectrum – I’m deeply grateful to continue in this work. It is a privilege to listen, show up, do the work, and focus on substance, not slogans or sound bites.
“To the people of Southwest Washington: I pledge to you that I will work every day to live up to the responsibility you have placed in me, I will continue to deliver results for our district, and I will continue to put the place we live above the national politics trying to divide us. It never will."
