“I think that we’ve had enough of this sort of hyper partisanship + ugliness, the isolation of extremism … we’re all really tired of feeling like being a patriot means being mean to people on Facebook…And I think that people are just tired of it + they want to find candidates that have the same lived experience they do, that share the same goals they do.

 

We’ve got to do the work to come together + deliver on things that measurably make people’s lives better: the cost of living increase for seniors on Social Security, having a more equitable tax structure, ensuring that small businesses have the actual support they need to get their foot in the door of the real estate market… “ (Interview on Oregon Public Radio with host David Miller, Jan. 12, 2023)

 

“We are moderate and we are people that work for a living. We are people that pay our taxes and want good schools and want a functioning society. We are tired of politicking + we are tired of extremists, and we just want to know that our kids are going to have the same or better shot at a good life as we did.” (Seattle Times 11/12/22)

 

BACKGROUND + EXPERIENCE

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez was born in Texas in 1988. She is in the fifth generation of working-class Washingtonians on her mother’s side. Her father emigrated  from Mexico to attend college at Western Washington University, where her parents met. Marie graduated from Reed College in Oregon with a degree in economics. She + her husband, Dean Gluesenkamp, co-own an auto repair shop in Portland with eight employees. They live in rural Skamania County with their one-year-old son.

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Perez first entered politics in 2016 when she lost a race for County Commissioner. She was elected to the Underwood Soil + Water Conservation District in 2018 + became a member of the Washington State Democratic Committee in 2020. In a crowded nonpartisan top-two primary in ‘22, she won first place over Joe Kent, a Trump-endorsed election denier (31% vs. 22.6%). Moderate Republican incumbent, Jaime Herrara Butler, one of the few Republicans who had voted to impeach Trump, lost the renomination contest in the primary.

 

ON THE ISSUES

Gluesenkamp Perez worked for Bernie Sanders in 2016 but now describes herself as a moderate Democrat. She:

• Supports small businesses + worker’s rights.

• Supports reproductive freedom (One of her first votes in the 118th congress was “no” on the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Act.)

• Encourages protecting women’s access to healthcare.

• Opposes bans on assault weapons but supports raising the age of legal gun purchase to 21.

• Supports investing in clean energy.

• Works to lower cost of healthcare, childcare + prescription drugs.

• Supports overturning Citizens United to limit the influence of big money.

• Supports investing + expanding apprenticeships + skills training

• Tackling rising cost of food, gas + housing.

 

POLITICS

WA 03 is in the southernmost part of western Washington, sharing a border with Oregon. Clark County, including the city of Portland, comprises two-thirds of the district. The rest of the district includes Lewis County, considered the most conservative in the state + Pacific, Wahkiakum + part of Thurston county. Demographically, the district is 77.8% white, 11.1% Hispanic, 3.6% Asian, 1.7% Black, 1.2% Native American. Median household income is $69,543 + 91.6% of residents have high school diplomas + 27.1%  college degrees.

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The district has always been competitive, with Bush winning in ’04, Obama in ’08, Trump in ’16 + ’20, but more recent assessments suggest a move to the right. As of November 2022, Cook ranked WA 03 Lean R;  Sabato Crystal Ball said it was Likely R + 538 called the district Solid R.

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But the election results were a surprise. The down ballot vote, including many Clark County Republicans, showed an aversion to extreme MAGA candidate Joe Kent, with several prominent Republicans endorsing Gluesenkamp Perez.

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Perez positioning as a moderate ,who disliked extremist rhetoric +  focused on issues that concerned everyday small business owners like herself, was an attractive fit for her district. While the overall WA 03 race was very tight, Perez had an 11 point margin over Kent in Clark County. The crossover vote for her in that county was strong. Gluesenkamp Perez won 55%, which suggests that 4-5 % of Republicans voted for Republican Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley + then voted for Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.

 

COMMITTEES + CAUCUSES

• Small Business Committee

• Agriculture Committee