On August 4, 2026, voters in Washington state's 3rd congressional district cast their ballots in a primary election. The race features Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat who has held the seat for two terms, running against nine other candidates. The ballot includes Gluesenkamp Perez, another Democrat named Brent Hennrich, a Republican named John Braun, and six additional candidates.

Washington uses a "top-two" primary system. That means the two candidates who get the most votes move on to the November general election, no matter what party they belong to. So in theory, two people from the same party could end up facing each other in November. The state holds its primary on the first Tuesday of August. Clark County, where most of the district's voters live, mailed out ballots on July 17. Results were posted online at results.vote.wa.gov after 8 p.m. on election night. Clark County will also double-check the results by hand on August 5 and August 13.

Gluesenkamp Perez first won the seat in 2022. She beat a Republican named Joe Kent, who had been endorsed by Donald Trump, with just 50.1% of the vote. Before that, a Republican named Jaime Herrera Beutler had held the seat for six terms since 2010. In 2024, Gluesenkamp Perez won again, this time with about 52% of the vote. That was roughly seven points better than the Democratic presidential candidate did in the same district — a district where Donald Trump won in all three of his presidential runs, most recently by about three points.

The 2024 primary saw Gluesenkamp Perez and Joe Kent advance, setting up their second straight general election matchup. This time, Hennrich's presence adds a twist: he ran for the seat in 2022 but dropped out to clear the way that year, and now he is trying again. The 2026 field also includes Kevin Waters, listed in Clark County's candidate guide, and John P. Roco, who prefers the Republican Party and appears in the county's voter pamphlet.

During the primary campaign, both Hennrich and Braun criticized Gluesenkamp Perez for her voting record. Braun argued that she has repeatedly gone against her own party. Washington's Secretary of State has certified Gluesenkamp Perez as a candidate, and the state's official website lists her as the current representative for the district.

The broader context here is about whether one person's appeal can keep beating the political trend of the area. Gluesenkamp Perez has won by running well ahead of what a typical Democrat would be expected to score in this district. Imagine a runner who consistently finishes faster than anyone predicted — she has done that across two elections. Now she faces a third contest with a crowded field of challengers from both parties, which could split the vote in unpredictable ways. The district has a history of ticket-splitting — voting for a Republican president and a Democrat for Congress at the same time. Whether that pattern holds in 2026 will tell us a lot about whether a candidate's local reputation can keep overriding national party loyalty.