House Speaker Mike Johnson returned to Washington state on Wednesday to campaign alongside Republican John Braun, a sign of how important the state senator’s bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is for the GOP’s hopes of keeping its majority.
Johnson came to Braun’s business in Chehalis to headline a rally attended by an estimated 550 people held outdoors. He was joined at Braun Northwest by four other Republican members of Congress including U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Johnson, as he did earlier this year in Vancouver, framed the contest between Braun, the state Senate Republican leader, and Gluesenkamp Perez, the two-term incumbent, as “a contrast election between common sense and crazy.”
He warned the crowd that Democrats in Congress, and many of those running for seats, are pushing a policy agenda to “abolish everything” achieved by the Republican majorities there now. He acknowledged that in nearly every midterm election sitting presidents lose seats, but insisted this year will be different if Republicans turn out.
“I’m absolutely convinced we’re going to defy history and hold the majority, “ he said.
Republicans outnumber Democrats 218-214 in the House and the Braun-Gluesenkamp Perez match-up is among a handful of competitive races nationwide.
Wednesday’s event marked Johnson’s second public event and third commute to western Washington this year as he seeks to maintain GOP control of the House and continue his reign as its leader. Johnson also made a brief stop in Olympia on Sept. 29 and met privately with Braun donors after a planned rally was canceled.
“The Speaker of the House doesn’t fly across the country twice for a seat he thinks is safe. He’s coming because he knows this race is close, and he wants a vote he can count on,” Gluesenkamp Perez told supporters in a fundraising email sent Wednesday morning.
Democrats’ grip on this seat frustrates Republicans because Donald Trump won in this district in each of his campaigns for president. GOP operatives were excited when results of a recent poll affirmed the race is close, with the candidates statistically deadlocked.
In the months since Johnson’s Vancouver visit in August, the electoral climate has soured for GOP candidates due to high gas and diesel prices, growing enmity toward the Iran war and cratering public support for President Donald Trump.
Johnson roared past those political realities Wednesday, telling the crowd that House Republicans have delivered tangible tax cuts and more secure borders, and the president took steps to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
“We have a great record to run on,” he said.
Braun, until this campaign, sought to steer clear of the president and the political dramas of the other Washington. He’s focused instead on pushing back on a slate of taxes — including a new state income tax on high earners — and expansion of social programs enacted by Democratic majorities in the state Legislature and Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson.
After securing Trump’s endorsement, Braun has sought to distance himself from the president and his policies. On Wednesday, he didn’t mention the president and cast himself as a change agent for the district.
“This is an opportunity, an opportunity to change the direction for our state and our country,” he said.
As he has throughout the campaign, he poked the congresswoman for passing a bill to name a post office. And then posed the rhetorical question: “Has Marie done a single thing for you or your family, a single tangible thing to make your life better?
Gluesenkamp Perez, meanwhile, has repeatedly sought to link Braun with the president.
“The senator has taken the endorsement of President Trump and the millions of dollars that come with it, and he will say yes to whatever this president wants him to do,” she said in their Oct. 13 debate.
Braun’s use of his business as a backdrop for Wednesday’s rally comes as the company’s safety record, and his interaction with workers, have been interjected into the campaign.
Gluesenkamp Perez is airing an ad in which the son of the man who died in a workplace accident in 2024 says that Braun “never called” him after the tragedy. The son worked for the company at the time but has since left. In a recent debate, she said her opponent owed the family an apology.
Braun has said he spoke with the man twice in person and his family delivered food to their home. “This was a terrible tragic accident,” he said in the debate. “We did everything we could to do this right. To say we didn’t try, it’s heartless.”
Following the rally, Braun said the business was chosen as the site because it “was a good location, given the number of people we had. Simple as that.”
“My opponent has been frankly ruthless in attacking me, my family, our company, and the people here, and I think frankly dishonest,” he said. “But we’re not going to let that cower us into not running the race and showing who we are.”
With voters casting ballots and the election a dozen days away, speakers hammered on how the outcome hinges on which candidate turns out their voters the best.
It’s a message that Anthony Mixer of Chehalis, said he’s been telling people he meets while canvassing on behalf of Braun.
“This is a swing district. It will be very close,” said Mixer, a conservative political activist and former government affairs director for the Young Republicans of Washington. “The road to keeping the majority does run through Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.”
This report was first published by the Washington State Standard.
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