VANCOUVER, Wash. — New questions raised in a report in The Daily Beast suggested the company Republican Joe Kent claimed as the source of his six-figure salary last year doesn't seem to exist.
The article noted the Republican candidate for Washington's 3rd Congressional District has said he made $122,110.36 as a project manager for a tech start-up called American Enterprise Solutions. The problem, according to the article, is there's no record the company exists. The Daily Beast reported that by email, Kent's spokesperson said American Enterprise Solutions is a technology company registered in Delaware and operated out of Reston, Virginia.
KGW ran its own search and found that three separate databases came up empty for business entities registered in Delaware under American Enterprise Solutions. Also, a national search for American Enterprise Solutions found several businesses, though nothing in Delaware.
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In Vancouver on Monday night, Kent took the stage at a town hall event to rousing applause. What he didn't take were question from the media. KGW wanted to ask Kent to clarify who he worked for and why the company he listed wasn't showing up in any public records. He declined to answer questions and a member of Kent’s campaign said they planned to release a statement responding to the article on Tuesday.
By Kent's side on Monday was former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who recently left the Democratic Party.
"Everything I thought about [Kent] to be true is actually true," Gabbard said. "He's a great American who loves our country."
Kent is running against Democratic candidate Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who owns an auto shop. On Monday, she responded to the Daily Beast article on Twitter, posting, "My business definitely exists, not that anyone needed to ask."