Washington will hold its primary election on Tuesday, August 4, 2026.
Washington uses a Top Two primary system. All candidates appear on the same ballot. Voters do not register by party for the primary ballot, and the two candidates receiving the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of party preference.
CIVPAC endorses Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District primary.
This endorsement goes to the heart of CIVPAC’s view of practical politics.
If Democrats want to win everywhere, they need candidates who fit their districts. They need candidates who can speak to voters who do not identify with the national progressive left. They need candidates who understand work, small business, rural and small-town life, public safety, trade skills, local institutions, and the day-to-day concerns of people who do not live inside political media.
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is one of the clearest examples of that approach in Congress.
She is a fifth-generation Washingtonian, former small-business owner, and working mother who built an independent auto repair and machine shop with her husband before coming to Congress. That background is not decoration. It shapes the way she talks about work, trades, repair, local economies, and practical representation.
Gluesenkamp Perez has won in difficult political territory because she does not sound like a national ideological brand. She sounds like someone from Southwest Washington. That is not a weakness. It is exactly why she is valuable.
She has also drawn criticism from the left for her moderation, bipartisanship, and willingness to take votes that do not always satisfy national Democratic activists. CIVPAC does not regard that as disqualifying. In a district like WA-3, it is part of the job.
A representative from a competitive district should not behave as if she represents only the most ideological voters in her party. She should represent the district. That means making judgments, taking heat, and resisting pressure to turn every issue into a purity test.
CIVPAC does not endorse every vote Gluesenkamp Perez has cast or every position she has taken. She is a center-left Democrat, and CIVPAC would have predictable centrist disagreements with parts of her agenda. But that is not the standard. The standard is whether she is the right candidate for this district and this moment.
She is.
The broader lesson is important. A true win-everywhere strategy is not simply a promise to run candidates in every district. It requires nominating and supporting candidates who can actually represent those districts. In some places, that means a more progressive Democrat. In districts like WA-3, it means a practical, locally grounded Democrat with enough independence to earn trust outside the Democratic base.
Gluesenkamp Perez fits that model.
CIVPAC endorses Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District primary.
CIVPAC welcomes comments, corrections, and opposing views. Please share your thoughts on our Contact Us page. If you are commenting on a particular candidate or race, please include that in your comment.