Marie Gluesenkamp Perez

A member of the Democratic Party, she has been the U.S. representative for Washington's 3rd congressional district since 2023.

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
Official portrait, 2023
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 3rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Jaime Herrera Beutler
Co-Chair of the Blue Dog Coalition
Incumbent
Assumed office May 24, 2023 Serving with Jared Golden, Mary Peltola
Preceded by	Jim Costa
Personal details
Born	Kristina Marie Pérez (1988-06-04) June 4, 1988 (age 35) Harris County, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Dean Gluesenkamp
Children	1
Education	Reed College (BA)
Website	House website

Gluesenkamp Perez was born on June 4, 1988. Her father immigrated from Mexico. She graduated from Reed College in 2012 with a degree in economics. She and her husband own an automobile repair shop in Portland, Oregon.

In 2016, Gluesenkamp Perez lost a race for Skamania County Commissioner. She received 32.79% of the vote in the August 2 primary election, finishing second behind Republican Richard Mahar. In the general election on November 8, she lost to Mahar with 46.3% of the vote.

In 2018, Gluesenkamp Perez lost a race for Skamania County Public Utility District Commissioner.

Gluesenkamp Perez served on the Washington State Democratic Party executive committee 2020-2022. Prior to her election to Congress, she served as a member of the Underwood Soil and Water District Conservation board of supervisors.

In the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Gluesenkamp Perez supported Bernie Sanders.

Elections

2022

 

Gluesenkamp Perez advanced from a nonpartisan blanket primary, which was implemented in Washington state starting in the 2008 election. In this format, all candidates of all parties are listed on the same primary ballot, and the two who get the most votes advance to the general election. In the primary, she finished first out of all candidates with 31.0% of the vote. Republican Joe Kent finished in second place and also advanced to the general election, beating the incumbent representative, Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler, by .5%. Republican Heidi St. John finished fourth, with 16.0% of the vote. The other Democrat in the race, Davy Ray, received 2.2%. In the lead-up to the primary, Democrat Brent Hennrich, who had led in two early polls by the Trafalgar Group, withdrew from the race and endorsed Gluesenkamp Perez.

The general election's rating varied from "Lean R", according to The Cook Political Report, to "Solid R" in FiveThirtyEight's House of Representatives forecast. FiveThirtyEight estimated that Gluesenkamp Perez had a 2% chance of winning the general election over Kent, and was expected to receive 43.6% of the popular vote. She led in one of two polls and was trailing in the other, but both were within the margin of error. Her subsequent victory received widespread national attention, with The Seattle Times calling it "the most stunning political upset in the country this year," and as "a microcosm of the midterms". Kent conceded on December 21, following a recount.

Committee assignments

 

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development
  • Subcommittee on Forestry
• Committee on Small Business
  • Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Regulations
  • Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Supply Chains (Ranking Member)

Caucus memberships

• Blue Dog Coalition (co-chair)
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus

Gluesenkamp Perez campaigned as a moderate Democrat who was a "supporter of both abortion rights and Second Amendment rights". She "emphasized support for small businesses, job training and local concerns, like the timber industry" and opposition to political extremism.

Following her election, she has taken a role as a co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition and has joined the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus along with the moderate New Democrat Coalition. Her bipartisan record has been criticized by abortion activists and student debt activists, and her business has received negative online reviews in protest.

Abortion rights

Gluesenkamp Perez supports abortion rights, citing her personal experience having an abortion after a miscarriage. KGW described her support for abortion rights as "a tenet of her campaign". She voted against the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would criminalize healthcare providers in failing to provide care for an infant born alive after an abortion attempt.

Inflation

Gluesenkamp Perez blames inflation on companies outsourcing jobs, and states that is the top issue affecting voters in her district. She has called for both increased usage of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the short term and a long-term increase in the number of jobs available in green industries.

Infrastructure

She has touted her role in securing $600 million in federal funding to rebuild the Route I-5 bridge.

Elections

Gluesenkamp Perez believes that vote by mail is safe and has refuted unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud among mail-in ballots. She has condemned the January 6 United States Capitol attack and criticized Kent for not doing so.

Gun control

Gluesenkamp Perez opposes an outright ban on assault weapons, but has expressed interest in raising the age required to purchase an assault weapon from 18 to 21. Although she doesn't support an assault weapon ban, she voted against a bill that would repeal a deemed unconstitutional pistol brace ban. She has also called for increased hiring of police to handle a surge in property crime.

Right-to-repair

In May 2023, Gluesenkamp Perez helped introduce the REPAIR Act and the SMART Act, two bipartisan right-to-repair bills that seek to require auto manufacturers to share parts, tools, and data needed for repairs at lower costs.

Student debt

Gluesenkamp Perez voted against a student debt relief plan proposed by the White House in 2023. She was one of only two House Democrats to do so, along with Jared Golden of Maine. At the time, she said, "expansions of student debt forgiveness need to be matched dollar-for-dollar with investments in career [and] technical education. I can't support the first without the other. The severe shortage of trades workers needs to be seen [and] treated as a national priority."

National Defense Authorization Act

On July 14, 2023, Gluesenkamp Perez voted to pass the annual National Defense Authorization Act that included provisions to bar Pentagon spending for abortion and transgender surgeries. She defended her vote by saying the Senate would "clean up" the bill.

 

Gluesenkamp Perez lives near Stevenson, Washington, in Skamania County. She is married to Dean Gluesenkamp, and has one child. The couple owns Dean's Car Care, INC in the Portland metro area. Gluesenkamp Perez is a nondenominational Christian.

Gluesenkamp Perez failed for more than six months to pay 2022 property taxes on her Portland auto repair shop. She then paid them after being contacted about it by The Oregonian.

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