Marie Gluesenkamp Perez declared the winner in U.S. House District 3 race

Welcome back. It is 1030 right now on Good Day Seattle and a key race called just moments ago in southern Washington. The Associated Press now has incumbent Democrat Marie Glusenkamp-Perez winning re-election for the U.S. House in District 3 after securing a double-digit lead over Republican challenger John Braun. And A.J. Janneval in Vancouver this morning with the latest and this race has been closely watched all across the country. A lot of money poured into this race But Marie Glusenkamp-Perez holds on to the seat. Sorry, Bill, and it was a close race in the primaries, too, as the two were neck and neck. So to see that double-digit lead that Representative Glusenkamp-Perez got later in the evening as those ballots were starting to drop was something that we were discussing. Now, it wasn't official, but Marie Glusenkamp-Perez gave— Somewhat of a victory speech last night as this was a race that had implications not just here in southwestern Washington, not just in the state, but across the entire country because this district is a toss up. It could have gone either way. There was a lot of money put into this area. There was a lot of attention put onto this race because of the impact it could have on the House. Now we know that we've been talking about this blue wave, the Democrats taking over both. Control of the House as well as the Senate. So that was the focus, that was the storyline, that was the narrative that a lot of people were putting on these races. But getting a chance to speak to Representative Marie Glusenkamp-Perez, she said that wasn't her focus. She is a Democrat. However, she says she doesn't always align with the political party because her primary Her focus is the voice of this community. That's what she says she wants to go into the House this next term and really provide that difference of just aligning with one political side or another, instead representing the community here in District 3. This is what she had to say. That they actually reflect our values and not this strict, very plastic idea of the R versus D, but instead look towards the quality of the candidate and the loyalty of the candidate to serve in their district. And I'm profoundly excited about the opportunity here to pass strong ethics reforms to end the war in Iran, to make it easier to own a home and level the playing field for small businesses. That's the work that matters is rebuilding that agency in the middle class. I did reach out to Senator Braunstein for a comment in regards to the AP releasing these results. I have not heard back yet. As soon as we get a statement or a comment, we'll keep you up to date. Back to you guys.