Gluesenkamp Perez was born on June 4, 1988.[2] Her father immigrated from Mexico,[3] while her mother's family has roots in Washington.[4] Her great-great-grandfather was a quarryforeman in the state,[5] and her grandfather, Herbert Gilmore, was a carpenter in Bellevue.[4] Her parents met at Western Washington University and then moved to Texas where Gluesenkamp Perez was raised.[5] Her father was a pastor at an evangelical church. One of four children, she grew up in a family where her mother home-schooled her children for their early education years.[4]
After high school, Gluesenkamp Perez initially attended Warren Wilson College and then transferred to Reed College in Portland, Oregon.[4] She worked in a cafe and at a manufacturing plant to pay for tuition.[4] Gluesenkamp Perez graduated from college in 2012 with a degree in economics. She met her husband, Dean Gluesenkamp, while working as a bike mechanic.[5] They opened an automobile repair shop and moved to rural Skamania County in Washington, where they built their own home.[6][7]
Gluesenkamp Perez outside the United States Capitol before her congressional inauguration
In 2022, Gluesenkamp Perez ran for the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Washington's 3rd congressional district. She advanced from Washington's nonpartisan blanket primary in which candidates from all parties are listed on the same primary ballot, and the top two finishers, regardless of party, move on to the general election.[12] Gluesenkamp Perez finished first in the primary with 31% of the vote, while Republican Joe Kent came in second, narrowly defeating the incumbent, Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler, by 0.5%. Another Republican, Heidi St. John, finished fourth with 16.0%, and the second Democratic candidate, Davy Ray, garnered 2.2%. Before the primary, Brent Hennrich, a Democrat who had led in two early polls, withdrew from the race and endorsed Gluesenkamp Perez.[14]
The general election's rating varied from "Lean R", according to The Cook Political Report, to "Solid R" in FiveThirtyEight's House of Representatives forecast.[15][16]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; both were within the margin of error.[17] Her subsequent narrow victory received widespread national attention, with The Seattle Times calling it "the most stunning political upset in the country this year",[3] and "a microcosm of the midterms".[18][19] Kent conceded on December 21, following a recount.[20][21]
In 2024, Gluesenkamp Perez defeated Kent in a rematch.[22] As both a freshman and a representative of a crossover district, the 3rd district received national interest from both sides, and so Gluesenkamp Perez was the only crossover freshman Democrat to be re-elected.
Gluesenkamp Perez campaigned as a moderate Democrat, supporting both abortion rights and Second Amendment rights. She emphasized her focus on small businesses, job training, local issues such as the timber industry, and expressed opposition to political extremism.[3][31] 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.[28]
Abortion
Gluesenkamp Perez supports abortion access, citing her personal experience having a dilation and curettage procedure after a miscarriage.[32][33][34]KGW described her support for abortion rights as "a tenet of her campaign".[32] 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.[35]
Gun control
Gluesenkamp Perez opposes an outright ban on assault weapons but supports raising the age required to purchase an assault weapon from 18 to 21.[36][32] She voted against a bill to repeal a pistol brace ban in 2023. The ban was ruled unconstitutional a year later.[37]
Immigration
Gluesenkamp Perez supports the reinstatement of Title 42 expulsions and the Remain in Mexico policy to curtail illegal immigration.[38] In July 2024, she cast one of five Democratic votes to condemn the Biden administration's handling of the United States border.[39]
Inflation
Gluesenkamp Perez blames inflation on companies outsourcing jobs, and states that is the top issue affecting voters in her district.[32] 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.[40]
Infrastructure
Gluesenkamp Perez speaking about the I-5 Bridge replacement project after helping secure $2.1 billion of funding
Gluesenkamp Perez has emphasized her role in securing $2.1 billion in federal funding to rebuild the Interstate Bridge, which carries Interstate 5 across the Columbia River.[41][42] Citing the economic losses experienced in her district from landslides, she co-sponsored the renewal of the National Landslide Preparedness Act in 2024.[43]
Military and veterans
On July 2023, Gluesenkamp Perez voted to pass the annual National Defense Authorization Act that included provisions to bar Pentagon spending for abortion and transgender surgeries.[44] She defended her vote by saying the Senate would "clean up" the bill.[45] 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.[46]
Right-to-repair
Gluesenkamp Perez visits Burton Mill Solutions
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.[47]
Student debt
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.[48] At the time, she said that "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."[49][50]
Voting rights and electoral reform
Gluesenkamp Perez believes that vote by mail is safe and has refuted unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud among mail-in ballots.[32] In July 2024, she was one of only five out of 198 Democrats who voted with the Republican majority to pass the SAVE Act (H.R.8281, Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act), which would require those registering to vote to provide documentary proof of United States citizenship. [51]
^"Issues". Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for Congress. In February of 2020 I miscarried at 16 weeks, and was told my life was at risk without an immediate abortion, or dilation and evacuation.
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