WATCH: Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez still mum about WA’s new income tax

By Carleen Johnson
The Center Square

In a closely watched congressional race in southwest Washington’s 3rd District, where Republicans hope to flip a seat, campaign dollars are pouring in for both candidates, with a large portion of those donations coming from out of state for the incumbent.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez raised $1.3 million in the first three months of this year per filings with the Federal Election Commission.

This is more than three times the amount brought in by the leading Republican challenger, Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia.

The redrawn 3rd district was marginally more favorable for Republicans ahead of redistricting in 2020. The district voted for Trump in 2020 by a margin of 4.2%, as opposed to the old district’s 3.7%. Gluesenkamp Perez narrowly defeated Republican nominee Joe Kent by 2,629 votes in 2022. She beat him again in 2024, but Republicans believe she is vulnerable.

“She talks about not taking money from corporations, but if you look at her FEC filing, you have a particularly large bundle – over $600,000-from financiers in New York City,” said Braun in an interview with The Center Square. “You know, this strikes me as a Congresswoman who is bought and paid for by the Democratic machine in DC and the East Coast.”

When looking at her total fundraising for the quarter, only about 7.8% of the donations to the Congresswoman’s campaign came from within the state of Washington.

As reported by the Federalist, Republicans have also criticized Gluesenkamp Perez for financial backing she received from a Super PAC funded by billionaire Reid Hoffman, ($48,000), whose past associations with Jeffrey Epstein have come under scrutiny.

A spokesperson for the Gluesekamp Perez campaign declined an interview request, but emailed a statement refuting the suggestion that her donors are primarily from out of state.

“Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez is focused on working people in her district and doing everything in her power to represent them as an independent voice. She’s committed to fixing what’s broken in this country and is working hard in D.C. to lower taxes on Washington families,” wrote the spokesperson.

The incumbent’s campaign also noted that Braun is getting funding from wealthy donors as well.

“Our average Washington contribution was $130. Braun’s was $868. Braun is spreading lies that are easily disproven by public filings, to distract from his own weak campaign,” wrote the campaign spokesperson.

Braun, who is the Republican Senate minority leader, received Trump’s endorsement last week. According to FERC filings, in the first quarter of this year, he brought in $356,000. He reported just under $1 million on hand at the end of March.

“We’re working hard and whether you like it or not, funding is part of politics, particularly at the congressional level,” said Braun. “We’re one of the top fundraisers for challengers in the country, and the thing I’m most proud of is that almost all that money is coming from the state of Washington. Most of it comes from the 3rd congressional district. Put that in contrast with my opponent, when you look at where that money comes from, only about 7% is coming from in the state. The rest is coming from the DC crowd.”

Braun said on the campaign trail, Washingtonians in the southwest Washington district are extremely concerned about the lack of affordability and the new income tax signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson last month.

“The top issue people bring up is the state’s income tax and we haven’t heard a peep from my opponent on this tax, and what she thinks about it, and whether she’s willing to push back with her colleagues in the Democratic Party and say this is wrong for the state of Washington,” Braun said.

Upon declining our request for an interview, The Center Square just two topics for the Gluesenkamp Perez campaign and quotes from Braun to respond to: one about campaign donations and the other about the income tax.

The Center Square did not receive a response from the Gluesenkamp Perez campaign to our request for comments about the new millionaire’s tax.

“I can tell you, overwhelmingly, this is very unpopular,” said Braun. “Nobody believes that it’s going to stay on high earners. Everybody understands that this is the first step and the next step is to reduce the deduction so that everybody pays this in the future.

The incumbent has a new Democratic challenger heading into the primary. In early April, progressive candidate Brent Hennrich joined the race. He ran for the seat in 2022 but pulled out just ahead of the primary, citing concerns about dividing the Democratic ticket. He had just under $40,000 in his campaign war-chest as of April 1.

Braun also has a challenger on the Republican side. Antony Barran is running on the Cascade Party ticket and had about $5,000 on hand at the end of the first quarter campaign filing.

The August 4 primary election is a top two primary, meaning the top two vote-getters, regardless of party ,will advance to the November general election.