Gluesenkamp Perez and Kent spar as poll shows rematch is a dead heat

Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican Joe Kent’s contrasting personalities and policies came into sharper focus during a debate Monday as a new poll showed their race to represent southwest Washington in Congress in a dead heat.

In a televised debate, the two candidates clashed on immigration, the war in Ukraine, and a new Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River while attempting to depict the other as out of step with residents of the 3rd Congressional District. They faced off in the studio of a Portland television station days after sharing a stage in front of hundreds of people in Longview.

Gluesenkamp Perez, a moderate Democrat seeking re-election in the Republican-leaning district, touted her willingness to break with her party and vote with the GOP as indicative of a pragmatic rather than partisan approach.

She said Kent, who she narrowly defeated in 2022, could not be entrusted to defend the “independent values” of constituents.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/10/08/gluesenkamp-perez-and-kent-spar-as-poll-shows-rematch-is-a-dead-heat/