This working class auto-repair shop owner has suddenly been thrust into a competitive race because the incumbent was knocked out of the Top 2 primary. Her new opponent, Joe Kent, is a real piece of work with ties to right-wing extremists. Majority Savers heads to southwestern Washington to profile Mary Gluesenkamp Perez, our candidate for the 3rd district!
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Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for Washington-3!
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Candidate Background
Since finding information about Marie Perez is difficult, I decided to let her do the talking:
Here are some additional facts pulled from her campaign website:
- Her family has deep roots in Washington state. Her great great grandfather helped build the state capitol building, and one of her grandmothers was born in a logging camp. Her parents met at Western Washington University.
- She and her husband run an independent auto-repair shop, and finally own their building with the help of the Small Business Administration. Despite having some success and paying a living wage, she still struggles sometimes to make ends meet just like you or me.
Signature Issues
Marie Perez definitely has a mix of views that are different from an ordinary politician. Certainly, there are some common themes that are present that I’ve written about dozens of times now. She’ll be a solid vote for abortion rights and increased health care. She’ll take care of the environment and climate change. She’ll defend our democracy.
Instead of writing about those for the hundredth time, let’s look at some of her other positions that make her unique.
Self-Sufficiency and Intellectual Property: It seems that you need a subscription for everything these days, including items and things that were once free. Perez supports “right to repair” legislation, which would allow people with the technical know how to repair their own things instead of buying brand new things. This includes cars by the way, which is likely why she feels so strongly about this.
Manufacturing and Small Businesses: Perez believes that American know-how could make us the best in manufacturing again. She would write and support legislation similar to the America Competes Act so that our industry is competitive with China once again. She also would streamline services that small businesses need to navigate in order to be successful.
Promote the Skilled Trades: In educational circles, the skilled trades are often an afterthought, and the people who go down that path are often thought of as ‘they couldn’t make it in college’. Perez (and I) both know that this is hogwash. Our trades will hit a crisis point in 10-15 years, as many who run small businesses in the trades are in their 50s and 60s.
Perez would expand career and technical training at the high school and community college level. She also has ideas on how to make the trades relevant to younger generations. This is critical if we are to maintain our infrastructure and build a green future. I am passionate about this issue too, but now I will step off of my soapbox and let you read the rest of this article.
Elections History
Recent Elections —
2020 President: TFG (R-inc) 50.5%, Joe Biden (D) 46.3%
2020 House: Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-inc) 56.4%, Carolyn Long (D) 43.4%
2022 Race Rating: Leans Republican
2022 PVI: R+5
Southwestern Washington has been a swing area of the state for nigh 60 years now, and it usually supports the party in power. Clinton won it twice with the help of Ross Perot, but GW Bush also won it twice very narrowly. Obama carried the district in 2008, but redistricting in 2010 turned it more conservative. That allowed Romney to carry it in 2012 and TFG to win it easily in both 2016 and 2020. However, it isn’t quite yet out of reach for the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party held the seat from 1960 to 1994, when the Republican Revolution swept away Rep. Jolene Unsoeld. Rep. Linda Smith did not last long in the seat due to the fact that she tried to jump to being a Senator in 1998. That allowed Rep. Brian Baird to win back this seat for Democrats. Baird held the seat until 2010, when he decided to retire. That was a poor year to choose to retire.
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler easily captured the seat during the 2010 red wave, and she didn’t have any competitive races except for the one in 2018. She did well playing the “moderate” in spite of her positions being quite conservative. However, voting to impeach TFG was apparently a bridge too far for conservatives in the district. They chose to oust her for far-right Joe Kent, which gives Marie Perez an opening to win. It is up to us to try and fund her so that she has a chance.
Political Tour of the District
This district has shifted significantly to the right since 2008, and it will be an uphill fight to win even with extreme opposition. The Portland suburbs found in the state are important to both sides, but they aren’t big enough to dominate the district and ensure that we will win. We have to court ancestrally Democratic voters that have flipped if we are to win in this district.
Here’s where this race will be won in the 3rd district.
- Portland Suburbs: Many of the people along the Columbia River settle here to avoid taxes. Clark County isn’t big enough or blue enough to dominate the district, but it is the only reliable source of votes now. Perez will have to find every amenable voter and then some to have a chance of winning.
- Longview: This small city turned sharply to the right, and the county it is in is fairly hopeless for our side. However, there are still Democratic precincts in the city itself, and Perez has to win the city if she is to win the district in the fall.
- Pacific County: Here is where the legacy Democratic voters can be found — the ones that have recently started voting GQP. Perez has to win this swing county by a fair clip to even entertain thoughts of winning. Her blue collar image hopefully will play well in this area.
Here’s where we need to keep the margins down, or we lose.
- Lewis County: This county is seriously the biggest problem with the district. It isn’t an especially large county, but it is large enough to punch above its weight. It usually goes 2-1 for GQP candidates, and that is the reason it will be a thorn in our side.
- Wahkiakum and Cowlitz Counties: These two counties used to be Democratic leaning, but they have trended sharply to the right in recent times. Other than the city of Longview, there isn’t much to celebrate in either county. I expect Kent to do very well in these parts of the district.
Activism — Help How You Can!
Marie Perez needs help, and I hope that my regular readers can spread the word. She raised a paltry $138k in Quarter 2, which isn’t enough to run a competitive race in the Citizens United era. We need to rush donations her way. Joe Kent raised a much higher but still limited $302k during the same time period.
In terms of cash on hand, both candidates need to replenish their coffers. Marie Perez has $102k to spend, while Joe Kent has a better $545k to spend, though he likely burned through that to oust Herrera Beutler. In order to make this a race, Perez needs your donation. Please donate now or otherwise Joe Kent is certain to win!
DONATE TO MARIE PEREZ HERE
It is equally important for Perez to build her volunteer army, because volunteers can make up for shortcomings in fundraising. If you live in Portland or southwestern Washington, the place to sign up to volunteer for this race is https://marieforcongress.com/volunteer. Please do so soon!
Her social media profile is in the building stages currently. She definitely has a ring of authenticity about her, but she lacks followers like most challengers do. She joined in February 2022, obviously for her campaign. She has found 2.3k followers since then. She’ll need more in order to beat Kent. She is always gracious, even to people she doesn’t always agree with!
She is also active on Facebook at MGPforCongress, and Instagram at mgpforcongress. Go ahead and check them out!
To be honest, I wasn’t planning on writing about this race at all. I thought that the Top 2 Primary would shield Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler from her MAGA challengers. Obviously, that was not the case, and the lack of incumbent means there is an opening for Marie Perez to exploit. Majority Savers hopes that she has the skills to do so, because Joe Kent in Congress would be dangerous.
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Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for Washington-3!
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