On August 3, 2022, Kent finished second in the nonpartisan primary for the congressional race, advancing to the general election against Democratic candidate Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Herrera Beutler finished third in the primary; she did not endorse Kent.[18][19]
In what was widely considered a major upset, Kent lost the election to Perez. He subsequently said he would not concede until "every legal vote is counted".[20][21] Following a recount, Kent conceded on December 21.[22]
On January 11, 2023, Kent announced he would be running again for the same House seat in 2024, saying that Gluesenkamp Perez "votes in lockstep [with] the radical left's agenda that's crushing working families" in his announcement.[8] He is one of three candidates who announced that they would challenge Gluesenkamp Perez.[27]
On August 16, 2023, The Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) Central Committee announced the early endorsement of Kent in this election, following an endorsement by the Clark County Republican Party.[28] His political action committee raised $821,000 through the third quarter of 2023, drawing donations from more than three dozen states.[29] Kent lost in a rematch with Gluesenkamp Perez.[30]
In a September 2022 debate against Perez, Kent said that he was unvaccinated and claimed that the COVID-19 vaccines are a form of experimental gene therapy.[34][35]
Kent has said he supports school voucher programs and child tax deductions in addition to prioritizing energy independence.[16][36]
Kent has labeled his political philosophy as "inclusive populism", with a spokesman stating that it "rejects racism and bigotry" while promoting an "America First agenda".[37] "If you’re a white nationalist or white supremacist, I have no time for you whatsoever" he said in an interview.[3]
He considers himself a non-interventionist, citing his military experience and the death of his wife. He said that he lost many friends and his wife due to "our ruling class - Republicans and Democrats - consistently [having] lied to the American people to keep us engaged in wars abroad".[38]
Contact with far-right groups
Kent's 2022 campaign was endorsed early on by prominent white nationalist commentator Nick Fuentes. Fuentes had partaken in a call with Kent discussing social media strategy; Kent later said that he had no further contact with Fuentes after the call and had not sought Fuentes's endorsement.[39] Kent later spoke with a member of American Virtue,[a] a little-known white nationalist group allied with Fuentes, where he expressed support for a moratorium on all immigration and stated that “the [American] culture is anti-white” and “anti-straight-white-male.”[40][41]
Graham Jorgensen, a member of the neo-fascist organization Proud Boys, was employed as a consultant for Kent's 2022 campaign. Joey Gibson, founder of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, has also been linked to Kent; Gibson heavily promoted Kent's campaign on social media and spoke at a fundraiser for Kent, in which Kent praised Gibson for "defend[ing] this community when our community was under assault from antifa".[42]
In June 2022, Kent was interviewed by Greyson Arnold, a neo-Nazi YouTube streamer.[43] Kent also posed for a photograph with Arnold that Arnold then shared on social media.[37] A spokesman for Kent's campaign said that Kent was unaware of who Arnold was and assumed he was a local journalist.[44]
^Goldberg, Michelle (September 24, 2022). "The Midterm Race That Has It All". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
