Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
This is a name you likely do not recognize, but I assure you that you should try and remember it, because it’s starting to get a lot more traction in political circles here in Washington State.
Because Marie is the only Democratic Party candidate on the ballot for Washington State voters in the 3rd Congressional District — outside of a candidate who will (unfortunately) be on the 2022 Midterm primary ballot as the only other (D) candidate and who has apparently raised ZERO dollars up to June 30th (in other words, not a serious candidate for this seat).
A district which voters like me (lifelong resident since 1961) know has been locked down by a Republican since the 2010 (remember the Tea Party wave election?) cycle, when she won the seat previously held by Brian Baird.
Baird was one of a list of moderate Democrats who held the seat since 1960, excepting the sole (R) who managed to win it for 4 short years, Linda Smith (1995-1999). Until the seat was won by a Republican in the Tea Party wave election of 2010, and is still held by Jamie Herrera Beutler — but this November, that is going to change…
The numbers for that primary estimate come from the Marie Gluesenkamp Perez campaign and seem a likely outcome based on the past four cycles of election results combined with the 2022 in-fighting in the Republican side between the Trump endorsed (R) Kent & incumbent (R) Herrera Beutler battling it out for months now on the GOP side of the race.
Marie will need to do a lot better in the general, but she’s a moderate candidate and this district has been moderate my entire life (60 years and counting) and the history of that US House seat since 1960 supports that view (outside of the 4 years of Linda Smith in the 1990s, she was a Tea Party extremist before anyone ever dreamed of the Tea Party).
Let Marie tell you why she deserves your vote on August 2nd and again on November 8th:
A local NBC News affiliate Interview from July 28, 2022 (this week)
The campaign just put this ad up on cable TV on CNN and MSNBC
The campaign original video out earlier this spring:
Audio ONLY interview broadcast on July 27, 2022 from OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) just over 31 minutes long.
In which Joe Kent (R) basically says Climate Change is ‘weather’ and is not an existential threat to humanity. Oh, and he got asked about a story out now that his campaign gave $11K to the Proud Boys & White Nationalism, he said “nonsense”. He kept promoting “America First” and other Trump favorite talking points.
The incumbent (R) Jaime Herrera Beutler makes zero points and mostly makes vague comments that give no information. Her biggest mistake? She made a stink about the Jan 6th Cmte Hearings not being bi-partisian and that because the Cmte is not it isn’t worth anything — completely ignoring the fact that the Benghazi hearings were 100% GOP only and which she voted FOR (https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/how-your-us-lawmakers-voted-12/). She is truly a forked-tongue Republican.
You can form your own opinion on Marie’s comments by listening to the broadcast (but I thought if it were a debate Marie would have won, hands down).
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
is a 5th generation Washington state resident and is a moderate candidate (in a moderate district which has been (R) for over a decade, that is a PLUS) from her campaign URL:
Marie’s great great grandpa Bert Gilmore helped build the Washington State Capitol building as the quarry foreman and her grandmother Carol Gilmore was born in a logging camp in Sappho, Washington. Her own parents met at Western Washington University after her father immigrated from Mexico.
Marie graduated from Reed College and owns an independent auto-repair shop with her husband Dean that has grown to 6-bays wide. They were able to purchase their building with the support of a loan from the SBA in 2018 and are proud to provide living wage jobs to their employees.
Marie and Dean face increasing healthcare costs for their family. While they pay $500 a month for health insurance for their infant son, like so many Washingtonians, they simply can’t afford an additional $1,200 to cover themselves. And like so many families today, they struggle with finding quality affordable childcare – so their son goes to the auto shop with them everyday.
In short, Marie is exactly the kind of working class Washingtonian that has been left behind in this economy and frankly ignored by the political extremes in our Nation’s Capital – and that’s exactly why she’s running for Congress in Washington State’s Third Congressional District.
Marie supports (https://marieforcongress.com/platform/):
The Right to Reproductive Freedom Getting dark and big money out of politics Forcing corporations to pay their fair share & stop price gouging Training & education programs in critical jobs in Healthcare, The Trades and Childcare Affordable and good quality childcare Affordable healthcare insurance and prescription medicines Unique needs of small business owners and their employees American manufacturing (like the America Competes Act) A path to cure the supply chain problems of the recent past (US based manufacturing) Climate Change action and Energy Independence
I offered Marie the opportunity to introduce herself to the Daily Kos community and she did a Q & A interview with me this week. At the end of the Q & A, you’’ll find a brief statement directly from Marie.
I hope that after reading this, if you live here in SW Washington State and will be voting in the primary (BALLOTS MUST BE IN the Mail or a drop box by 8 pm Tuesday August 2nd) that you’ll give your vote to Democratic Party candidate:
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
Q & A:
1.
Q) Who convinced you to run for this seat? If yourself, please give 3 reasons why, if someone else, please give some background on your relationship to that person
A) I’m a small business owner – my husband and I own a small auto repair shop – and it became blindingly obvious that Jaime has zero interest in standing up for working people like me in this district. For over a decade we’ve gotten double speak, lip service or phony telephone town halls. I was growing increasingly frustrated, so I took a close look at the race and realized the current political landscape here creates a unique opportunity for us to finally get effective representation. People like me need representation and no one is coming to save us, so I came to the conclusion that we need to stand up for ourselves.
2.
Q) Was use of your rather long name a strategic choice, knowing that name recognition is one of the major factors in voter choice on the ballot?
A) This was debated internally as we were launching the campaign, actually. “Gluesenkamp” is pretty difficult for most people to sight read (or spell), but it’s my husband and son's last name and I’ve been “Marie Gluesenkamp Perez” for years. In order to be successful with this campaign I believe I need to be honest and authentic with voters about who I am, so in the end I was adamant that we use my full name, although I often abbreviate it for daily use.
3.
Q) Do you view the rural vs urban voters as Republican vs Democratic or do you see that divide as something different, and why?
A) Viewing the rural vs urban divide as Republican vs Democrat is overly simplistic and overlooks many of the shared values of these two groups. I mean, I live in a rural area in Skamania county, just outside the scenic area boundaries, and I’m a Democrat! As a candidate, I am not going to write off any voters, no matter where they live. Working people across this district – whether they live in Vancouver or in Skamania County – have the same basic needs. They want good jobs, health care, a fair economy that creates opportunity. And they want to be treated with respect and listened to, not talked down to. To many people living here, it sometimes feels like our home is becoming a playground for the wealthy. No one wants to go from a family wage job in logging to serving cocktails at the golf course. We want thriving local economies, we want to be listened to and not patted on the head by experts and told a shift to a tourism based economy is for our own good. Some of those same experts told us offshoring would lead to world peace and democratization of China. One of the most powerful lessons I learned studying economics as an undergraduate was how easy it is to undermine a model by failing to account for all the factors, and it feels to me that rural working class perspectives are often being dismissed too hastily. If I’m elected, I’ll listen to my neighbors and work every day to ensure working families across SW Washington can live productive lives and realize their goals and aspirations.
4.
Q) How many local district volunteers do you have signed up and what projects do you have them working on?
A) We have seen an order of magnitude increase in the number of volunteers joining the campaign since the collapse of Roe. And the enthusiasm and energy they provide is huge! Our volunteers have supported us in a variety of ways including: parade participation, door knocking, phone banking, yard sign distribution, social media support, and event planning and scheduling.
5.
Q) What is your view of the DCCC in relation to first time candidates like yourself?
A) There is an amazing opportunity to pick up a Republican held seat here, but national actors have not engaged a whole lot so far. Right now, it’s my race to run, but we’re going to surprise a lot of people in the primary, and once that happens I’m anticipating a surge of national attention in the general election. It’s a huge concern to me that the Democratic Party has experienced eroding support among tradespeople, rural Americans and Spanish speaking constituents over the past decade. That has to change, and Washington 3 is a huge opportunity to demonstrate that the party can connect with working people and win their support. So I believe that the national party will have very good reasons to support our work to take back this seat, and take back control of the narrative on what it means to be a Democrat.
6.
Q) For a district like the 3rd, without local television access to the District voter base (because for the 3rd it comes out of PDX (Portland, Oregon) or the Seattle area), do you think donations are primary or are volunteers a larger benefit to candidates like yourself?
A) The sad reality is that by and large, voter communication takes money. There are guerrilla social media tactics and word of mouth, which each have an important role, but in an environment where my opponents all have millions of dollars at their disposal we need resources to communicate at a macro level. Every aspect of the campaign is expensive: sending mail, running TV ads, paying staff, entering parades and festivals, creating merchandise. That is why I am so excited to see our fundraising really start to take off recently. That said, campaigns are nothing without the support of dedicated volunteers and I am so thankful to everyone who has pitched in so far.
7.
Q) Why did you wait until the spring of election year to begin campaigning for the seat?
A) I had a 7 month old baby, and although this is something I’d been seriously considering for some time, this was not the year I was planning to run for office. However, I saw the opportunity presented by the large field of Republican extremists and recognized that – contrary to some of the national narratives – the circumstances with the political landscape here locally meant this was the year that we could flip WA03. When I realized that, I jumped into this race with both feet and we’ve been charging forward ever since.
8.
Q) With social media driving many political campaigns, and your sphere of influence there (at least on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook) being quite small, do you see that as a problem you should have worked on more earlier in your campaign OR are you concentrating on in-person events as a more valuable way to reach voters in your District?
A) I’ll be honest, I have mixed feelings about social media. I much prefer in person events and conversations. I’m deeply disturbed by the power that has accrued to people like Mark Zuckerberg, and in my personal life had chosen to mostly not engage with those platforms. The most important thing a campaign can have on their side is the truth, to run an honest and authentic race that speaks to regular working people across the district, and that’s exactly where we’ve put our focus. I don’t need to play games with my constituents to win this race, I just stick to the ethic of telling my story and sharing real solutions.
9.
Q) Daily Kos Elections has FEC donor numbers, so I won't ask about that, but do you see the much higher amounts raised and available to Joe Kent and Jaime Herrera Beutler as a disadvantage esp. in light of question number 6?
A) Fundraising is an incredibly important part of a successful campaign and gives you the ability to expand your reach and get your message in front of voters. That said, Kent and Herrera Beutler’s paid media is being used to present patently false messages – watching incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler go through an extreme political makeover to try to present herself as a moderate is something to behold – while the others are fixated on attacking each other and trying to out-MAGA each other. They’re really engaged in a race to the bottom. So, although we got started late, my campaign fundraising has really been picking up recently – we now have enough resources to send multiple mail pieces to large universes of voters and we just went up with an ad on cable tv – so we’re confident that we’ll get our message out to the voters we need to touch.
10.
Q) Why do you want to become a member of Congress?
A) It’s simple, I want to make life better for working people like me and ensure that everyone in Southwest Washington has their needs met and has access to a family wage job. I love our state and our district and want to be a part of growing our economy and working for all of us.
11.
Q) Who is the person you trust most in the world?
A) My husband Dean, who is always encouraging me to do the hard thing, pointing out the good in people, helping me find a path forward and being the kind of man I want our son to grow to be. Dean is brilliant and plain spoken; he believes in the power of hard work and the necessity of fun. In a zombie apocalypse he would be on anyone's first draft list! His composure in the mundane frustrations of daily life are an example to everyone around him, and his curiosity is a boundless teacher.
12.
Q) Are you a "family of Democrats" member of the Democratic Party or how did you find yourself aligning with the Dem Party?
A) I’m maybe a bit of a different kind of Democrat. I really believe in bringing people together, in finding common ground, and I am committed to listening to and representing working people who around here have been treated like an afterthought by their incumbent representative. Both my parents are Republicans, and I remember going to a pro-life rally as a very young kid. In high school I was actually a member of both the young Republicans and the young Democrats because I wanted to understand both perspectives. But when my brother came out as gay, it sealed the deal for me.
13.
Q) What are your long-term goals in politics?
A) I have no plans of becoming a career politician, but hope to be in office long enough to make a real difference for Southwest Washington. Our democracy is in crisis and we need advocates who can put our country above personal gain. In addition to the standard slate of Democratic goals like improving access to health care, fixing social security and addressing the climate crisis. I would love to advance ideas like ranked choice voting, right to repair laws and enhance access to career and technical education programs.
14.
Q) A crazy off the wall question: are you a Cat or Dog person? fyi: your answer won't make any difference to anyone, but Daily Kos has a Very Large and active group of people who love both politics and (their terms) Pooties and Woozles (cats and dogs in dailykos language)
A) Ha, I love both and am not going to take sides in this fight! I think it’s actually more about the animals' personality and how they’re raised than what species they are. Some dogs are annoying, some cats are jerks - but I think generally if you treat an animal with respect you’ll get a good companion. I learned a lot from a book called “How to be your dog's best friend” by the Monks of New Skete.
Candidate Statement from Marie Gluesenkamp Perez:
Working families across this district need a representative who will put their interests first, because they don't have that now. That is why I am running. So many folks around here are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of food, gas, housing and prescription drugs. But our representative, incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler -- despite her recent efforts to present as a moderate -- has a right-wing voting record. She routinely votes to oppose a woman’s right to choose, garnering an “A+” anti-choice rating. She signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief in the Dobbs case urging the Supreme Court to overturn Roe, and spoke to an anti-choice rally on the steps of the Supreme Court the day of oral arguments in that case. In recent days she sided with the far right-wing of her caucus in voting against a bipartisan effort to protect marriage equality, and even voted against efforts to protect access to contraception. Plus there’s a reason millions of dollars of corporate and special interest PAC money is flowing to try to prop her up through next Tuesday’s primary. Her main challenger on the Republican side is a MAGA extremist with ties to white nationalists.
As co-owner (with my husband) of an auto repair and machine shop, I'll prioritize standing up for working people, not special interests, corporations, or the rich. I know from my personal experience running a small business how tough it's been to navigate this economy. Like so many working Washingtonians, my husband and I do our best to stay ahead of bills, but because we cannot afford quality child care for our son, we take him to work with us. I see it every day: working families are hurting and need help. They need good jobs, so if elected I’ll make expanding career and technical education a priority. They need access to affordable housing and health care and child care, and I'll make it my mission in Congress to address those sorts of basic, kitchen table issues. And of course I’ll stand up to politicians who try to tell women what they can and cannot do with their own body. We cannot assume our rights will be protected here in Washington State any longer. It is up to all of us to fight to protect reproductive freedom.
Links:
Campaign URL: https://marieforcongress.com/ < you can find donate link here
VOLUNTEER Link: https://marieforcongress.com/volunteer/
Twitter Account: (follows welcomed): https://twitter.com/MGPforCongress
Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/mgpforcongress/
Facebook Account: https://www.facebook.com/MGPforCongress
I hope you find something of value in this story, I can’t tell you how excited I am to drop off my ballot in a drop box on Tuesday afternoon with my vote marked for
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez US House Congressional District 3
UPDATE:
I completely forgot, there is a campaign event TOMORROW, Sunday July 31st
Facebook link to event https://www.facebook.com/events/590206992779964
Event details: