Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
Kristina Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez (; born June 4, 1988), also known by her initials MGP, 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. Early life and career

Gluesenkamp Perez was born on June 4, 1988. Her father immigrated from Mexico. She graduated from Reed College in 2012 with a degree in economics. She and her husband own an automobile repair shop in Portland, Oregon. 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. In the general election on November 8, she lost to Mahar with 46.3% of the vote. Gluesenkamp Perez has served on the Washington State Democratic Party executive committee since 2020. Prior to her election to Congress, she was a member of the Underwood Soil and Water District Conservation board of supervisors since 2018. In the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Gluesenkamp Perez supported Bernie Sanders. U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022 

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. 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. The general election's rating varied from "Lean R", according to The Cook Political Report, to "Solid R" in FiveThirtyEights House of Representatives forecast. 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. Her subsequent victory received widespread national attention, with The Seattle Times calling it "the most stunning political upset in the country this year," and as "a microcosm of the midterms". Kent conceded on December 21, following a recount. Committee assignments 

 Committee on Agriculture
Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development
Subcommittee on Forestry
 Committee on Small Business
Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Regulations
Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Supply Chains (Ranking Member)

Caucus memberships
Blue Dog Coalition (co-chair)
Congressional Hispanic Caucus

Political positions 

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. 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 along with the moderate New Democrat Coalition. Her bipartisan record has been criticized by abortion activists and student debt activists, and her business has received negative online reviews in protest. Abortion rights 
Gluesenkamp Perez supports abortion rights, citing her personal experience having an abortion after a miscarriage. KGW described her support for abortion rights as "a tenet of her campaign". She voted against failed Republican legislation which would criminalize healthcare providers in failing to provide care for an infant born alive after an abortion attempt. Inflation 
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. Elections 
Gluesenkamp Perez believes that vote by mail is safe and has refuted unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud among mail-in ballots. She has condemned the January 6 United States Capitol attack and criticized Kent for not doing so. Gun control 
Gluesenkamp Perez opposes an outright ban on assault weapons, but has expressed interest in raising the age required to purchase an assault weapon from 18 to 21. She has also called for increased hiring of police to handle a surge in property crime. Right-to-repair 
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. 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. At the time, she said, "expansions of student debt forgiveness need to be matched dollar-for-dollar with investments in career & technical education. I can’t support the first without the other. The severe shortage of trades workers needs to be seen & treated as a national priority." NDAA 
On July 14, 2023, Gluesenkemp Perez voted to pass the annual National Defense Authorization Act that included provisions to bar Pentagon spending for abortion and transgender surgeries. She called the bill "deeply flawed" due to the Republican amendments, which she had voted against, but said that she voted for the bill to "protect our citizens, our borders, and our brave service members". Personal life 

Gluesenkamp Perez lives near Stevenson, Washington, in Skamania County. She is married to Dean Gluesenkamp, and has one child. Gluesenkamp Perez is nondenominational. 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. Electoral history

See also 

 List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
 Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

External links

 Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez official U.S. House website
 Marie Gluesenkamp Perez for Congress campaign website
 
 

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1988 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
American politicians of Mexican descent
American Protestants
Christians from Texas
Christians from Washington (state)
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state)
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Reed College alumni
Women in Washington (state) politics
Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
Living people
People from Harris County, Texas
People from Skamania County, Washington
Protestants from Washington (state)