WA GOP Senate leader Braun to challenge Dem Congresswoman Gluesenkamp Perez

(The Center Square) – It’s official: Washington state Rep. John Braun, R-Centralia, is running for Congress.

Minority Leader Braun – the top Republican in the state Senate – is challenging two-term incumbent United States Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez next year for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District Seat.

The district encompasses Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum and Skamania counties and a small part of Thurston County. It is considered a battleground or “toss-up,” where the outcome directly impacts which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.

“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 Tuesday news release announcing his congressional run. “I look forward to working with President Trump on a positive agenda that gets America back on the right track.”

The Center Square reached out to Braun’s campaign but did not get a response.

Braun was first elected to the state Senate in 2012 to represent Southwest Washington’s 20th Legislative District, which includes most of Cowlitz and Lewis counties, along with parts of Clark and Thurston counties.

He has served as Senate minority leader since 2020.

Braun is known for his efforts to “kill” what he considers “bad” legislation, especially from Democrats who control both chambers of the state Legislature.

“Although this was a bad year for affordability, with Democrats approving the largest package of tax increases in state history, it could have been much worse if not for successful Republican opposition,” Braun wrote in an opinion piece earlier this year.

“Other majority-party bills we helped derail would have made child care less affordable; imposed a pay-per-mile tax on drivers; removed the cap on college tuition increases; taxed employers to fund what amounts to unemployment benefits just for undocumented workers; and enabled property-tax increases by lowering the approval threshold for school bond elections.”

Braun is a U.S. Navy veteran and president of Braun Northwest, a family-owned manufacturer of emergency vehicles. Braun and his wife, Marlo, have been married for 37 years and live on a small farm outside Centralia. They have four adult children, three of whom have served or are serving as officers in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps.

Braun’s opposition wasted little time putting out statements characterizing him as a “swamp creature” perceived as excessively influenced by special interests.

“John Braun has proven time and again that he's out for himself and his donor friends,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Lindsay Reilley said in a statement put out shortly after Braun’s official announcement. “Voters know Braun is nothing more than a suit in Olympia who works for special interests like Big Pharma, not for working people. He’s a swamp creature who will be more of the same in D.C., championing the status quo that’s left too many Southwest Washington families behind."

Washington State Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad released a Tuesday statement echoing those sentiments.

“John Braun would be a disastrous choice to represent Southwest Washington in Congress,” she said. “Braun is a career politician who has spent years making the swamp even swampier by helping Big Pharma and special interests instead of working people. His votes against union workers, housing stability and affordability, a clean environment, as well as his support for the Congressional Republican Budget that will kick millions of Americans off Medicaid and shutter rural hospitals are disqualifying.”

Gluesenkamp Perez’s campaign said the same thing in a Tuesday news release.

“John Braun is a career politician who has spent his time in Olympia catering to special interests and jacking up property taxes instead of looking out for Southwest Washington families,” the campaign said. “Braun has taken huge campaign contributions from Big Pharma and major corporations while voting to harm families and small businesses. It’s no surprise that the D.C. swamp has recruited him to run for Congress. They know they can count on him to maintain business as usual, which is saddling future generations with enormous debt and giving even more handouts to special interests. He will continue the policies that are hollowing out our communities, like driving down wages, bankrupting our hospitals, and increasing the cost of living.”