Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) and her Republican challenger Joe Kent have advanced to the general election runoff in Washington’s congressional primary election on Aug. 6. Gluesenkamp Perez, a first-term member, is considered one of the most vulnerable House Democrats in the 2024 election cycle, representing a Republican-leaning district in southwest Washington.
The primary result sets up a second matchup between Gluesenkamp Perez and Kent in the district, which Kent narrowly lost in 2022. Gluesenkamp Perez emerged as the top primary candidate with 46.9 percent of the vote, followed by Kent in second place with 38.4 percent. Kent, a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer and Gold Star widower, previously ran against Gluesenkamp Perez in 2022.
The State of Washington employs a nonpartisan blanket primary system, where all candidates compete on the same ballot, regardless of party affiliation, and the top two candidates move on to the general election. Kent was endorsed by former President Donald Trump on July 28.
In the 2022 race between Gluesenkamp Perez and Kent, Gluesenkamp Perez narrowly won by a margin of just 0.83 percent or 2,629 votes. Gluesenkamp Perez’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source link
