Who's running in Washington's 3rd congressional district
2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
2 candidates · ballot order · Marie Gluesenkamp Perez currently holds this seat
High confidenceHigh confidenceBacked by government records or the candidate's own official statements, with agreement across several independent sources.What would raise it: Nothing missing — this is the strongest evidence tier.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Right-to-repair and the skilled trades, drawn from running an auto shop.
Lowering taxes for middle-income households and small businesses.
Abortion rights.
Timber, agriculture and rural economic development in southwest Washington.
Breaking with her party where she thinks the district requires it.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
U.S. Representative for the 3rd District since January 2023; re-elected in 2024 with 51.7%.
Co-owner of an auto repair business with her husband.
Supported the SAVE Act and the Laken Riley Act, and voted to censure fellow Democrat Al Green; in early 2026 she voted against the closely related SAVE America Act, saying it "would undermine our state's longstanding elections process by forcing Washingtonians to jump through nonsensical bureaucratic hoops in order to mail in their ballot."
On January 22, 2026 was one of seven Democrats to vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security, including ICE.
Took 36.4% in the August 4, 2026 top-two primary, behind Braun's 39.7%.
Reported $6,292,683 raised with $2,064,820 on hand.
Arguments in favor
She has out-raised the Republican Senate leader roughly three to one — $6.29 million to $2.05 million — and carries EMILYs List, End Citizens United, Elect Democratic Women, Latino Victory and the operating engineers' Local 302 alongside AIPAC, Democratic Majority for Israel and the International Franchise Association, an unusually wide coalition.
— Federal Election Commission filings; endorsements from the organisations named
Her campaign's advertising makes a specific case against Braun on abortion — his votes against a 2017 birth control coverage bill and a 2025 emergency pregnancy care bill, and his remark that "we should be focused… so that someday we get there" on rolling back Washington's abortion law.
— Gluesenkamp Perez campaign advertisement, reported by The Spokesman-Review
Arguments against
The NRCC has made her one of its top targets, running an ad campaign built on her own record and saying she "sells out Southwest Washington families to please her socialist party bosses" and "stood by Washington Democrats' income tax." Inside Elections moved the seat from tilt Democratic to tossup.
— National Republican Congressional Committee; Inside Elections rating change
Democrats to her left ran against her over the SAVE Act, the Laken Riley Act and her vote to censure Al Green; her January 2026 vote to fund the Department of Homeland Security including ICE drew backlash from Washington Democrats, and challenger Brent Hennrich took 16.7% of the primary vote on that basis.
— Brent Hennrich, 2026 Democratic primary; Washington Democrats' reaction to the January 2026 DHS funding vote
What we couldn’t verify
The NRCC calls her "Fraud Marie" in its releases. That is an epithet rather than a claim that can be checked and is not reproduced as an argument.
Forecasters disagree sharply: Decision Desk HQ and Silver Bulletin rate the seat likely Democratic while Inside Elections and the Cook Political Report have called it a tossup at points in the cycle.
She finished second in the primary, but the two Democrats' combined share exceeded Braun's; how that translates to a November two-way race is not established.
Opposing state and federal tax increases, the fight he led in Olympia.
Fiscal discipline in federal spending.
Leaving abortion policy to the states rather than to Congress.
Small business and manufacturing in southwest Washington.
Support for President Trump's agenda.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Minority leader of the Washington State Senate since 2020; state senator for the 20th district since 2013.
Spent 31 years in the United States Navy submarine force; built a Chehalis company with about 350 employees.
Led legislative opposition to Washington's new income tax on high earners.
Voted against a 2017 bill requiring birth control coverage and a 2025 bill on emergency pregnancy care.
Led the August 4, 2026 top-two primary with 39.7%.
Reported $2,051,284 raised with $1,120,088 on hand.
Has not held federal office.
Arguments in favor
He has the whole Republican leadership behind him — President Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, NRCC chairman Richard Hudson, the NRCC itself, Washington's two Republican House members, GOPAC and the Clark, Lewis and Skamania county parties.
— Endorsements from the officials and organisations named
He finished first in the primary — 39.7% to the incumbent's 36.4% — and brings a specific record to a district built on manufacturing: 31 years in the submarine force and a 350-employee company, plus six years leading his caucus in Olympia.
— August 4, 2026 top-two primary results; his legislative and business record
Arguments against
Gluesenkamp Perez's advertising says he is "way too extreme for Washington's 3rd District" on abortion, citing his votes against a 2017 birth control coverage requirement and a 2025 emergency pregnancy care bill, and his statement about rolling back Washington's abortion law: "we should be focused… so that someday we get there." His campaign says he believes the question belongs to the states.
— Gluesenkamp Perez campaign advertisement, reported by The Spokesman-Review
He was out-raised roughly three to one and finished the summer with about half his opponent's cash on hand, and the two Democrats in the primary took a combined 53% of the vote to his 39.7%.
— Federal Election Commission filings; August 2026 primary results
What we couldn’t verify
Joe Kent, the Republican nominee here in 2022 and 2024, declined to run this cycle. Whether his supporters consolidate behind Braun is not established.
Braun's campaign says he thinks abortion should be settled at state level rather than federally; his own legislative votes on the subject were cast in that state legislature, which is the basis of the criticism against him.
No Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee material naming Braun was found; the criticism above comes from his opponent's advertising.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Washington uses a top-two primary. In the August 4, 2026 primary, Republican John Braun took 39.7% and Democratic incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez 36.4%; a Democrat running to her left, Brent Hennrich, took 16.7%, and five others were eliminated. Braun and Gluesenkamp Perez appear on the November ballot. The district is based in Vancouver and covers Washington's share of the Portland metropolitan area. It is the most competitive district in the state, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+2, and Gluesenkamp Perez is one of the small group of Democrats holding a seat Donald Trump carried. Ratings have moved back and forth between tossup and likely Democratic through the cycle. She has out-raised Braun roughly three to one — $6.29 million to $2.05 million.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Washington ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Washington Secretary of State.