[CCCNFBW] The Columbian: Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, John Braun clash in final debate before election

[Merribeth Greenberg]

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, John Braun clash in final debate before
election
By Anumita Kaur, The Seattle Times
Published: October 14, 2026, 8:19am
Updated: October 14, 2026, 8:40am
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, John Braun clash in final debate before
election - The Columbian
<https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/oct/14/rep-marie-gluesenkamp-perez-john-braun-clash-in-final-debate-before-election/>

Alt text picture: State Senate Republican Leader John Braun and Democratic
U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez are dueling in Southwest Washington’s 3rd
Congressional District.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican
state Sen. John Braun attempted to sharpen their contrasts in a final
debate Tuesday night, each seeking to portray the other as beholden to
interests beyond Southwest Washington just weeks before the November
midterm election.

“The senator has taken the endorsement of President Trump and the millions
of dollars that come with it, and he will say yes to whatever this
president wants him to do,” Perez, the two-term incumbent, said of Braun.

“She has become the D.C. politician she claims to abhor,” Braun said of the
incumbent, “where she attacks viciously and ruthlessly, without
understanding.”

The candidates clashed on several issues, though their positions sometimes
overlapped. Both criticized the administration’s use of tariffs. The
incumbent said the Trump administration has not executed “a strategic,
thoughtful” tariff policy that supports domestic manufacturing. Braun said
that tariffs will not bring manufacturing back to the U.S.

Both also said they believe it is not fair to allow transgender girls to
play in girls’ sports, though Braun took a more forceful position, stating
that he supports a ban on their participation. Perez said “these decisions
are best made by local stakeholders.”

Regarding the Iran war,  Perez reiterated that she believes the Trump
administration’s decision has “been a disaster.” Braun sidestepped direct
criticism of the administration, instead emphasizing that Iran should not
obtain nuclear weapons and that he also does “not support a war without
clear objectives and without a clear ending.”

Neither articulated whether federal workplace safety rules or enforcement
should change following the disaster at Nippon Dynawave in Longview.

The contest is playing out in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District,
which stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Cascade Mountain and borders
Oregon, one of the state’s most competitive House races that may help
determine how much ground Democrats claim in the U.S. House in November.

Perez rose from relative obscurity as an unknown auto shop owner, building
a political identity as an independent-minded Democrat willing to break
with her party. Her campaign has centered on regional issues, including
proliferating sea lions on the Columbia River and right-to-repair
legislation.

Braun, a Navy veteran, has spent more than a decade in the Washington
Legislature, where he has focused on the state budget, taxes and fiscal
conservatism. On the campaign trail, Braun also emphasizes regional issues,
like the sea lions. He also underscores his experience as president of his
family’s emergency-vehicle manufacturing company.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report last week shifted its rating of the
House race from a toss up to leaning in Democrats’ favor, following signs
nationwide that the party is gaining ground in its bid to take control of
the Republican-held chamber. Republican candidates, including Braun, have
faced strong headwinds this election cycle, compelling them to distance
themselves from the president and national party, as voters nationwide have
expressed dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump, the ongoing war with
Iran and higher prices.

Still, Southwest Washington has a history of producing close congressional
races and of swinging between parties. Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera
Beutler represented the district for six terms. She lost the 2022 primary
to far-right challenger Joe Kent. Perez then defeated Kent in a stunning
upset that November.

Perez now faces a more middle-of-the-road opponent in Braun. Both must
balance energizing their respective bases with appealing to independents
and those willing to cross party lines in the swing district.

In a signal of a fiery few weeks before the election, Perez’s campaign
aired a commercial Tuesday that accused Braun of neglecting to call the son
of a man who was killed in workplace incident at Braun Northwest in 2024;
during the debate, she told Braun that he owes that family an apology.

Braun rejected the accusation, in a campaign statement and on the debate
stage, saying he had spoken to the son multiple times. His campaign
statement said that “Braun also personally delivered a meal prepared by his
wife” for the family of the man who died, and that Braun was unsure why the
son made this claim on his opponent’s campaign commercial.

They diverged on abortion.

Perez, who is against federal curbs to abortion access, on Tuesday
criticized Braun for comments he made to Republicans in Pacific County in
March, when he expressed support for rolling back a longtime Washington law
that legalizes abortion.

“I expressed my personal views and that I hope we can convince people over
time. I think that’s my right as a citizen,” Braun said on Tuesday. “But I
have been very clear the whole time that I respect the law of Washington
state, and I respect the initiative passed by the voters, referring to a
decades-old initiative that codified abortion rights in the state.”

Perez sought to widen the divide between her and Braun on reproductive
rights, saying that “Braun voted against requiring insurance companies to
cover contraception.” She appears to be referring to SB 6219, which
required health plans to provide coverage for all contraceptive drugs and
devices approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. Braun voted
against the bill alongside most Republicans in 2018; on Tuesday, he argued
that the incumbent is taking out of context “little bits of bills that had
enormous potential harm to women.”

Ballots will be mailed to Washington voters beginning Oct. 16, and Election
Day is Nov. 3.
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