| Marie Gluesenkamp Perez | |
| State: | Washington |
| Term Start: | January 3, 2023 |
| Predecessor: | Jaime Herrera Beutler |
| Office1: | Co-Chair of the Blue Dog Coalition |
| Alongside1: | Jared Golden, Mary Peltola |
| Term Start1: | May 24, 2023 |
| Predecessor1: | Jim Costa |
| Birth Name: | Kristina Marie Pérez |
| Birth Date: | 4 June 1988 |
| Birth Place: | Harris County, Texas, U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Spouse: | Dean Gluesenkamp |
| Children: | 1 |
| Education: | Reed College (BA) |
Kristina Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (; born June 4, 1988) is an American politician and businesswoman. A member of the Democratic Party, she has been the U.S. representative for Washington's 3rd congressional district since 2023.
Gluesenkamp Perez was born on June 4, 1988.[1] Her father immigrated from Mexico while her mother's family has roots in Washington. Gluesenkamp Perez grew up in Houston, where her father served as a pastor at an evangelical church. One of four children, she grew up in a family where her mother home-schooled them for their early education years. After high school, Gluesenkamp Perez initially attended Warren Wilson College but then later transferred to Reed College.[2] She graduated from Reed College in 2012 with a degree in economics.[3] She and her husband own an automobile repair shop in Portland, Oregon.[4]
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.[5] In the general election on November 8, she lost to Mahar with 46.3% of the vote.[6]
In 2018, Gluesenkamp Perez lost a race for Skamania County Public Utility District Commissioner.[7]
Gluesenkamp Perez served on the Washington State Democratic Party executive committee 2020-2022.[8] [9] Prior to her election to Congress, she served as a member of the Underwood Soil and Water District Conservation board of supervisors.
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.[10] 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.[11]
The general election's rating varied from "Lean R", according to The Cook Political Report, to "Solid R" in FiveThirtyEights House of Representatives forecast.[12] [13] 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.[14] Her subsequent narrow victory received widespread national attention, with The Seattle Times calling it "the most stunning political upset in the country this year,"[15] and as "a microcosm of the midterms".[16] [17] Kent conceded on December 21, following a recount.[18] [19]
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.[28]
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. Her record has been criticized by pro-choice activists and student debt activists, and her business has received negative online reviews in protest.
In the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Gluesenkamp Perez supported Bernie Sanders.[29]
Gluesenkamp Perez supports abortion access, citing her personal experience having an abortion after a miscarriage.[30] [31] [32] KGW described her support for abortion rights as "a tenet of her campaign".
In January 2023, 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.[33]
Gluesenkamp Perez believes that vote by mail is safe and has refuted unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud among mail-in ballots.
Gluesenkamp Perez opposes an outright ban on assault weapons, but supports raising the age required to purchase an assault weapon from 18 to 21.
In June 2023, Gluesenkamp Perez voted against a bill to repeal a pistol brace ban. The ban would later be deemed unconstitutional by a federal court in 2024.[34]
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.[35]
She has touted her role in securing $600 million in federal funding to rebuild the Route I-5 bridge.[36] Gluesenkamp Perez, citing the economic losses experienced in her district from landslides, co-sponsored the renewal of the National Landslide Preparedness Act in 2024.[37]
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.[38] She defended her vote by saying the Senate would "clean up" the bill.[39]
In early 2024, Gluesenkamp Perez introduced the Rural Veterans Transportation to Care Act that would expand transportation to veterans attempting to access medical care. In July, after a letter she had sent earlier received no response, she hand delivered a petition to the head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requesting the reopening of a VA clinic in Lewis County. The prior clinic was closed in 2021 and replaced with a limited mobile care unit, requiring approximately 3,000 veterans in the county to travel out of the area to Olympia, Washington.[40]
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.[41]
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.[42] 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."[43] [44]
Gluesenkamp Perez lives near Stevenson, Washington, in Skamania County. She is married to Dean Gluesenkamp, and has one child.[45] The couple owns Dean's Car Care, INC in the Portland metro area.[25] Gluesenkamp Perez is a nondenominational Christian.[46] [47]
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.[48]
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