Summary
- John Braun announces 2026 congressional run.
- Will challenge Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.
- Emphasizes conservative values and fiscal responsibility.
- The district is swing, won recently by Democrat.
- The GOP aims to flip the seat.
As a businessman and Navy veteran, Braun, R-Centralia, enters the contest with legislative experience, having served in the state Senate of Washington since 2013. In 2020, he was chosen to lead the Republican Senate.
In his statement, Braun stated that if elected to Congress, he will prioritize national defense and border security.
“I know how to fight bad policy — and how to craft good policy that makes a difference for people here in Southwest Washington,”
Braun said in a statement.
“I look forward to working with President Trump on a positive agenda that gets America back on the right track.”
In 2022, Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat from Skamania, was elected to the 3rd Congressional District seat in Washington. She helped unseat longstanding district representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican who voted to impeach Trump during his first term, and defeated Joe Kent, a career soldier who supported President Trump's wing of the Republican Party. Trump promoted Kent to head the National Counterterrorism Center this year after he lost a rematch with Gluesenkamp Perez in 2024.
Kent's attempt to bring national political concerns like immigration and foreign aid to Ukraine into the local race was undermined by Gluesenkamp Perez's victory over him in a 2024 election that backed Trump for a second term.
Voters in Southwest Washington may find someone with greater expertise managing local political challenges in Braun's 2026 campaign. Local problems like supporting school transportation and advocating for Republican-favored budgets that limited tax rises were among his legislative achievements during the 2025 session.
As he attempts to win over Trump supporters, Braun has also started to comment on national politics. Most recently, he called criticisms of the president's reconciliation package "false" and asserted that it would not jeopardize access to food or health care in Washington.
“I just don’t think we’re getting the type of representation from the incumbent that we deserve,”
Braun told the Chronicle during a July meeting with the Centralia-based paper’s editorial board. “Not just here in our local community, but broadly around the 3rd Congressional District. It’s a Republican district. A moderate Republican district, but it’s a Republican district, and that’s not what we’re getting from Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.”
The Trump administration's federal policies have infuriated some voters, making the midterm election battle expected to be fiercely competitive. Washington's 3rd District is one of 18 "toss up" districts nationwide that might decide control of Congress, according to the Cook Political Report.
According to the Chronicle, at least two other candidates have already announced their intentions to run in 2026: Willapa Bay Republican Antony Barran and Vancouver Democrat Brent Hennrich.
What are the main differences between Braun and Gluesenkamp Perez on key policies?
Braun campaigns as a fiscally conservative, security-focused candidate looking to bring a more traditionally Republican and practical approach to the district—emphasizing budget discipline, job growth, and defense—while Gluesenkamp Perez represents a moderate Democrat with bipartisan tendencies who has worked to maintain her seat by appealing to a diverse and competitive electorate.
Braun specifically highlights that his experience and conservative principles better align with the district's values, whereas he sees Gluesenkamp Perez as not fully addressing the district's conservative priorities despite her bipartisan outreach.
This contrast frames the race as a clear ideological and policy choice between conservative fiscal and security policies (Braun) and a centrist Democratic approach (Gluesenkamp Perez) in a district trending politically competitive.