3rd Congressional District candidates John Braun and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez appeal to middle

Candidates aim to avoid being pigeonholed into one partisan set of political beliefs

Republican challenger John Braun, left, and U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, listen to a question during The Columbian’s Oct. 5 editorial board interview of the 3rd District candidates at the newspaper’s Vancouver offices. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Republican candidate John Braun says he wants Southwest Washington to be a place where younger generations can afford to live and work. “The cost of food, housing, gas, childcare and healthcare are all increasingly unaffordable,” Braun said. “This is a seat that can … have a meaningful impact on the types of policies …” (Photos by Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, says she admires the 3rd District’s “spirit of independence” and has tried to emulate that during her two terms in Congress by “practicing a place-based politics and a fearlessness to stand up to any political party” that doesn’t align with her 3rd District constituents’ needs and values. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

State Sen. John Braun speaks June 23 at a campaign rally for at Merten Ranch in Toledo.

U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez speaks during a primary election watch party at Hidden House in downtown Vancouver on Aug. 4.

Amanda Cowan/The Columbian files Peter Pavliuk, 15, an incoming sophomore at Fort Vancouver High School, left, gives Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez a tour of the new Ed Lynch Trades Center on his school’s campus Friday morning, Aug. 14, 2026. Vancouver Public Schools celebrated the opening of the new facility with a ribbon cutting. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)

Washington’s 3rd Congressional District is an anomaly in the realm of national politics. It is one of the only districts nationwide that simultaneously voted for a Republican president and Democratic representative in 2022 and 2024. And, according to a recent Cook Political Report analysis, it is one of 18 districts that have shifted from “toss-up” to “leans Democrat” in the weeks leading up to the midterm election.

Voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to retain the two-term Democratic incumbent, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, or send Republican state Senate Minority Leader John Braun to Washington, D.C.

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