Gluesenkamp Perez holds on to Washington House seat

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) is projected to defend her House seat and defeat her GOP challenger, John Braun, in the race for Washington’s 3rd District, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Gluesenkamp Perez currently stands at about 55 percent of the vote to her Republican rival’s 44 percent with 81 percent reporting, per DDHQ.

Gluesenkamp Perez holding on to her district, which voted for President Trump in 2024 per The Downballot , marks a key win for Democrats as they look to clinch control of the House. The nonpartisan political handicapper Cook Political Report rated the race between Gluesenkamp Perez and Braun as leaning Democratic .

The Washington Democrat was first elected in 2022 , when she defeated Republican Joe Kent, a retired Green Beret and CIA paramilitary officer, and flipped the seat held by former Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R). Herrera Beutler lost the 2022 GOP primary to Kent, who went on to serve in the Trump administration but later resigned over U.S. military operations in Iran.

Trump endorsed Braun, a Navy veteran and owner of the vehicle manufacturer Braun Northwest, against Gluesenkamp Perez in April. He framed Gluesenkamp Perez as an extremist opposed to his policy agenda.

“John is running against Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a true Radical Left Extremist with a Track Record that REEKS, and who does not represent the Values of Southwestern Washington,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.

Gluesenkamp Perez, a moderate, has come under scrutiny from fellow Democrats for crossing the aisle to support legislation opposed by her party .