In the rugged southwestern corner of Washington State, two candidates who resist easy categorization have earned the right to face each other in November — a moderate Democrat who has defied her own party to survive in conservative terrain, and a Trump-endorsed Republican who nonetheless affirms basic electoral truths his patron rejects. Washington's 3rd Congressional District has long been a place where the usual political maps fail, and the primary result only deepens that complexity. What unfolds here this autumn may quietly decide which party holds the gavel when the next Congress convenes
Gluesenkamp Perez, Trump-backed Braun advance in competitive Washington House race
A place where Trump voters and Democratic House voters coexist
Mark
Why does this one race matter so much? There are 435 House seats.
Mimi
Because control of the House comes down to a handful of districts like this one. If Democrats lose here, they lose the chamber. If they hold it, the math gets harder for Republicans.
Mark
But Gluesenkamp Perez has voted against her own party repeatedly. Isn't she vulnerable from the left?
Mimi
She is. But she's betting that in a district Trump won, those votes make her electable. It's a calculation that worked twice before against Joe Kent.
Mark
And Braun—he's endorsed by Trump but then contradicts him on the election and tariffs. How does that work?
Mimi
It suggests he's his own man, or at least wants to appear that way. In a swing district, that independence might matter more than party loyalty.
Mark
So who's favored to win in November?
Mimi
Nobody knows. One forecaster leans Democratic, another calls it a tossup. That's how close this district really is.
Mark
What happens if Republicans take this seat?
Mimi
They move closer to controlling the House outright. If Democrats hold it, they've survived in Trump country. Either way, this race will help write the story of who runs Congress.
The Pulse
- One of only thirteen districts in the nation that voted for Trump in 2024 while sending a Democrat to Congress, this seat sits at the precise fault line of American political identity.
- Gluesenkamp Perez has survived by breaking with her own party — opposing student loan forgiveness, backing military aid to Israel, and supporting Trump-aligned legislation — drawing progressive ire but rural credibility.
- Braun, despite carrying Trump's endorsement, has publicly confirmed Biden won in 2020 and warned that sweeping tariffs 'can be very harmful,' carving out independence that complicates the race's partisan framing.
- Forecasters cannot agree: UVA leans Democratic, Cook calls it a true tossup — a split verdict that mirrors the district's own unresolved tension between its Trump-voting instincts and its Democratic representation.
- With House majority control potentially hanging in the balance, both parties are watching this corner of the Pacific Northwest as a bellwether for whether moderation or alignment wins the argument in November.
In the rugged southwestern corner of Washington State, two candidates who resist easy categorization have earned the right to face each other in November — a moderate Democrat who has defied her own party to survive in conservative terrain, and a Trump-endorsed Republican who nonetheless affirms basic electoral truths his patron rejects. Washington's 3rd Congressional District has long been a place where the usual political maps fail, and the primary result only deepens that complexity. What unfolds here this autumn may quietly decide which party holds the gavel when the next Congress convenes.
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and John Braun emerged from a nine-candidate primary field to claim the two spots on November's general election ballot in Washington's 3rd Congressional District — a race that political forecasters regard as one of the most consequential House contests in the country.
The district itself defies easy description. It voted for Donald Trump in 2024, yet it has twice elected a Democrat to Congress. Only thirteen districts nationwide produced that split, and this one ranks among the most genuinely competitive. Gluesenkamp Perez, now in her second term, has built her political survival on strategic independence — voting against Biden's student loan forgiveness, supporting military aid to Israel, and backing legislation aligned with Trump's agenda. Those choices have alienated progressives but kept her viable in a rural, conservative-leaning district.
Her opponent presents his own contradictions. Braun is a Navy veteran and emergency vehicle manufacturer who received Trump's endorsement in April, yet he has publicly confirmed that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and criticized Trump's broad tariff approach as potentially damaging — including to his own business. The endorsement and the independence coexist uneasily, and voters will have to decide what to make of both.
The University of Virginia leans toward the Democrat; Cook Political Report calls it a tossup. That split forecast captures something true about the district — a place where cross-cutting loyalties run deep, and where November's outcome may say as much about the limits of partisan gravity as it does about any individual candidate.
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and John Braun will face each other in November's general election for Washington's 3rd Congressional District seat, according to CBS News projections from Tuesday's primary. The two emerged from a field of nine candidates in a state that uses a nonpartisan primary system, where the top two vote-getters automatically advance to the general ballot regardless of party affiliation.
This southwestern Washington district has become one of the most closely watched House races in the country—the kind of seat that will help determine which party controls the lower chamber when the new Congress convenes next year. The political landscape here is genuinely split: the district voted for Donald Trump in 2024, yet it also sent a Democrat to Congress. Only thirteen districts nationwide pulled off that particular trick, and this one is among the most competitive.
Gluesenkamp Perez, now in her second term, has built her political identity on defying expectations. She has voted against President Biden's student loan forgiveness initiative, supported military aid to Israel, and backed a version of what became Trump's SAVE America Act—positions that have drawn criticism from the progressive wing of her own party. Yet these votes have also made her viable in a rural district that leans conservative. She won her first two elections by defeating Joe Kent, a far-right candidate who later became Trump's counterterrorism chief before departing over disagreements regarding Iran policy.
Braun, her opponent, is a Navy veteran who owns an emergency vehicle manufacturing company and has held various leadership positions in the state Senate since his election in 2012. Trump endorsed him in April, describing Gluesenkamp Perez as "a true radical left extremist." But Braun has shown a willingness to break with the former president on significant matters. In a recent interview with Portland's KGW television station, he affirmed that Joe Biden won the 2020 election—a straightforward acknowledgment that contrasts sharply with Trump's continued claims of a stolen election. When asked directly to confirm Biden's victory, Braun simply said, "That's correct."
The two men also diverge on trade policy. Braun has criticized Trump's broad tariff approach, warning that sweeping import taxes "can be very harmful," particularly to his own manufacturing business. He acknowledged that tariffs can serve a purpose in specific contexts—such as addressing threats from China or Russia—but rejected the indiscriminate application of them across the board.
Political forecasters are split on the race's trajectory. The University of Virginia's Center for Politics leans toward the Democrat, while the Cook Political Report calls it a genuine tossup. That uncertainty reflects the district's genuine unpredictability: a place where Trump voters and Democratic House voters coexist, where a moderate Democrat can survive by breaking with her party, and where a Trump-endorsed Republican can maintain independence on fundamental questions. The general election will test which of these cross-cutting currents proves stronger.
Notable Quotes
When asked to confirm Biden won the 2020 election, Braun said simply, 'That's correct.'— John Braun, in interview with KGW
Braun warned that sweeping import taxes 'can be very harmful,' particularly to his own manufacturing business.— John Braun, on Trump's tariff policy
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Politics & Governance