NBC News projects that Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez has won a second term in a Republican-leaning district in Washington state, defeating Republican Joe Kent in a rematch.
A centrist Blue Dog Democrat who beat Kent by just 2,629 votes in 2022, Gluesenkamp Pérez was considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the House. She broke with her party at times, receiving criticism from progressives for siding with Republicans on a bill to repeal President Joe Biden’s student loan relief efforts.
The owner of an auto repair shop in Portland, Oregon, Gluesenkamp Pérez touted her blue-collar bona fides and pragmatic politics in her campaign, casting Kent as an extremist who didn’t appreciate the reality of legislating.
At a televised debate in October, Gluesenkamp Pérez said that she favored tough immigration laws, such as requiring asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico during processing, but argued that Kent’s support for limiting immigration was an attempt to “re-establish a white majority” in the country.
Kent, a retired Green Beret endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump, may have lost in 2022 because of his ties to extremism, which include speaking at a rally in 2021 supporting people charged with nonviolent crimes in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and campaign payments to a consultant who was a member of the Proud Boys. Kent has said that he is “not a white nationalist.”
Local issues also came into play. Gluesenkamp Pérez bragged that she helped secure $1.5 billion for a new bridge over the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon. Kent opposed the project because it would extend a light rail line from Portland.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.