A commanding victory makes our representative look quite entrenched.
November 4, 2026 | Cowlitz County Democrats
When Marie Gluesenkamp Perez first ran for Congress in 2022, she wasn't supposed to win. Washington's 3rd Congressional District had been represented by Republicans for more than a decade, Donald Trump had carried it twice, and most political observers considered it Republican territory.
But Marie won anyway.
Then she did it again in 2024. And now, in 2026, she's headed toward a third term in Congress, leading Republican John Braun by roughly 11 points as ballots continue to be counted.
At some point, we have to stop calling this an upset.
There's a tendency in politics to treat rural communities like they're permanently assigned to one party or the other. Democrats can't win here. Republicans own that county. This district is too conservative. We hear these things so often that people start treating them like facts.
Marie has spent three election cycles proving otherwise.
And what's particularly impressive is how much her margins have grown. In 2022, she won by less than a percentage point. In 2024, she won by about four. This year, her lead is considerably larger. That's a remarkable trajectory for a Democrat representing a district Donald Trump carried in three consecutive presidential elections.
Of course, this election didn't happen in a vacuum. Across the country, Democrats won races in states and districts that have been Republican strongholds for decades. There's clearly something bigger happening in American politics, and Southwest Washington is part of that story.
But Marie was winning here before this year's national political shift. She was winning when plenty of other Democrats weren't, and she's done it by building a political identity grounded in the communities she represents.
That doesn't mean every Democrat agrees with every vote she casts. We don't, and there's nothing wrong with acknowledging that. But we should also recognize what she's accomplished. She's a small-business owner, a mechanic, and a working mother who has demonstrated that Democrats can compete in rural and working-class communities without pretending those communities are all the same.
Four years ago, Washington's 3rd District was considered Republican territory. Today, we're looking at the prospect of sending a Democrat to Congress for a third consecutive term, potentially by her strongest margin yet.
That doesn't happen by accident. It takes organizing, listening, building relationships, and earning people's trust.
Congratulations to Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, her campaign, and the volunteers and voters throughout Southwest Washington who helped make this possible.
Turns out, this is Democratic territory, too.
Election results remain unofficial as ballot counting continues.