LONGVIEW, Wash. — Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and challenger Joe Kent will square off again in a rematch for Washington's 3rd Congressional District — a closely-watched race that could help shift the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The familiar opponents debated Wednesday night in a packed Rose Center auditorium at Lower Columbia College in Longview, presenting their opinions on topics ranging from abortion, immigration and foreign aid to the I-5 Bridge Replacement, gun laws and tax policy.
Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat who owns a car repair shop, is seeking reelection in a district that leans Republican and voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.
She argued that her blue-collar background makes her well-equipped to represent the interests of her district ahead of partisanship.
"You don't get good policy without having people who have turned wrenches, changed diapers, and driven trucks at the table writing legislation," Gluesenkamp Perez said in a post-debate interview with KGW. "I'm going to keep being myself, representing my community, but it's going to be a dogfight."
Kent, a special forces Green Beret and Gold Star husband, said he expects another close race for the WA-03 seat, and he's counting on higher Republican turnout in a presidential election year.
"Look, it's close, we don't take anything for granted. I think we're in a strong position," Kent said in an interview with KGW. "I'm focused on staying dialed in on local issues, but yeah, obviously this could be a deciding factor ... President Trump has done very well in this district historically, so we've got an opportunity to flip the seat and actually give President Trump a Congress to support his agenda."
Gluesenkamp Perez beat Kent by 2,629 votes in 2022, with a total of 160,314 votes to Kent's 157,685.
Mark Stephán, an associate professor at WSU Vancouver, said the race is drawing national attention and significant financial investment from both major political parties because voters could swing either way.
“The fact that this is such a competitive district makes it special because there's really not that many across the country," Stephán said.
On Wednesday, Gluesenkamp Perez frequently pointed to her bipartisan voting record and endorsement from local law enforcement leaders and WACOPS.
She referenced specific legislation and hyperlocal issues — boosting the southwest Washington timber industry, advocating for trades programs in schools, river and bridge management — arguing that focusing on specific local needs is the best legislative strategy.
"I know what my community thinks about and what we need. You know, my reputation at the grocery store and daycare drop-off, that's what matters to me," she said. "I'm proud of my bipartisan voting record to represent local values, local culture, and not have D.C. insert itself into our community."
Kent said he's also focused on what matters most to the local community. However, his statements pointed to the macro-level in what he identified as the biggest problems facing all Americans, such as inflation and immigration.
"It's pretty safe for us to say why are we worried about table saw regulations when most Americans can't afford groceries, when we literally have toddlers dying from fentanyl overdoses after she voted to leave the southern border wide open," Kent said.
In the debate, Gluesenkamp Perez criticized Kent for shifting his stance on abortion. In 2022, Kent said on KGW's Straight Talk with Laural Porter that he would support a federal abortion ban.
"Joe Kent has played both sides of this card," Gluesenkamp Perez said. "He’ll say what the pollsters tell him he needs to say to get power, because that’s what’s important to him."
Kent said he now support the rights of states to make their own abortion laws after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.
"I 100% support the Supreme Court's decision to return the divisive issue of abortion back down to the state level," Kent said. "I would not support a federal abortion ban; I support full access to IVF and contraception."
He criticized Gluesenkamp Perez for supporting government spending on wars in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine ahead of domestic concerns, such as the surge of fentanyl.
"My number one priority before we fund other countries borders is that we fund our own borders," Kent said. "We've got to start prioritizing American citizens ... I'm not afraid of a fight, the only place we should be looking for a fight right now is on our southern border."
Both candidates said they opposed President Biden's "failed border policies" and both said they support gun rights and the Second Amendment. Gluesenkamp Perez previously opposed an assault weapons ban.
When asked about the I-5 Bridge Replacement project, Kent called for a new plan that would add another bridge between Washington and Oregon and avoid tolling on a new I-5 bridge.
"We need an actual third bridge ... the current plan replaces a three-lane bridge with a three-lane bridge, that does nothing to actually alleviate congestion," he said. "And by the way, we're going to get light rail that dumps downtown Portland's problems into downtown Vancouver ... light rail and tolling is a great deal for Oregon, it's a horrible deal for Washingtonians."
Gluesenkamp Perez touted the $2 billion in federal funding she helped secure to replace the "decrepit" I-5 bridge and criticized Kent's idea of a third bridge to reroute traffic.
"Joe said he was going to have it dump out around Ridgefield, somewhere around Ridgefield is farmland, so what Joe is actually proposing is eminent domain-ing farmland," Gluesenkamp Perez said. "That's crazy, my work is to ensure that our federal tax dollars come home."
In his closing statements, Kent shared how he's seen inflation hurt his local community and blamed Gluesenkamp Perez for "out of control" crime and the negative impact of illegal immigrants.
Gluesenkamp Perez criticized the Kent campaign's hiring of a member of the far-right Proud Boys and said Kent is running to ensure Republican control instead of the 3rd district's concerns.
"I've spent the last two years doing exactly what I said I would do, which was going to vote for the independent values of southwest Washington, not play partisan football," she told KGW. "When we have a real loyalty to rural communities, we can change national politics."
The debate was sponsored and moderated by the Cowlitz Civil Dialogue Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting civil discourse and sharing relevant information with voters.
The crowd at Lower Columbia College seemed to favor Kent, with many Kent shirts spotted in the audience.
In the few moments in which people broke the rule of the organizers to hold their applause and noise until the end of the debate, those people were either cheering Kent or jeering Gluesenkamp Perez, and they were quickly admonished by moderators.
Gluesenkamp Perez and Kent will debate again on KGW's Straight Talk with Laural Porter on Thursday, October 17 at 7 p.m.