Kent and supporters down but not out in race for Congress

Joe Kent remains hopeful in close race for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District despite trailing incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez after initial results. — Joe Kent speaks to his supporters Tuesday night at the Clark County Republican Party Election Night Party in Hockinson. Kent is trailing in his campaign for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District but he said there is still a path to victory as late ballots will be counted in the coming days. Photo by Paul Valencia

Democrat incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has the lead after the initial results were released, but GOP leaders say there are a lot of ballots left to be counted, and they hope to close the gap

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

The initial results were met with disappointment Tuesday night, but Joe Kent and his team were not defeated.

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, meanwhile, was optimistic but not celebrating a victory.

The race for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District might take another day or two before a winner is declared.

Clark County Today was at the Clark County Republican Party Election Night Watch Party in Hockinson, observing the reactions as results from a number of campaigns were announced.

There were some big moments for the GOP — President Donald Trump was on his way to victory — but also some frustrating moments.

The last update of results Tuesday, at 8:59 p.m. from Washington’s Secretary of State, showed Perez leading Kent by more than 11,000 votes. But the local GOP leader reminded the crowd that there were a lot more votes to be counted in the coming days.

Kent, the Republican candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, was a late arrival to Tuesday’s party because he was visiting with voters who were still in line, waiting to vote, in downtown Vancouver.

“I’m really inspired by everyone who is out here waiting in line,” Kent told KOIN-TV in a live interview that was shown on the big screen at the party, which was held at the Cloverlane Event Center. The GOP-centric crowd roared with its approval when they saw Kent on the screen.

After that appearance in Vancouver, as Kent was on his way to Hockinson, Perez’s speech to her supporters was shown on the big screen at the GOP event, as well.

“If we win again, it is a signal to the rest of the country that it is possible to take a different path. Step away from the national talking points,” she said.

Again, she was not celebrating, and she used the word “if.”

Kent arrived in Hockinson around 9:30 p.m. He thanked his supporters.

“I think right now we’re doing pretty well in Cowlitz County, doing well in Lewis County,” he said, adding that he believes he is doing better at this point in Clark County than he was two years ago when he lost to Perez by a margin of less than 1 percent.

Kent said that he was doing “back-of-the envelope” math and believed there were as many as 90,000 more ballots to count. Matthew Bumala, the chair of the Clark County Republican Party, noted that he thought the number might be closer to 120,000 ballots.

“So we’ll see,” Kent said. “We’re down by about 4 percent right now. Don’t have too much fun tonight. We have to cure ballots tomorrow. It’s not over until it’s all over. Stay in the fight. I appreciate everything you guys are doing. Let’s just stay motivated. Keep your spirits high. Be prepared to go cure some ballots tomorrow.”

Bumala said he predicted that most of the ballots left to be counted will go Kent’s way.

“Don’t hold your breath, but don’t give up, either,” Bumala said. “I think the race is too early to call. Marie is not celebrating at all. She is not getting excited at all. We’ll see what happens. I’m excited to see what the numbers bring.”