Marie Gluesenkamp Perez represents Washington’s 3rd District, which encompasses Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum, and Skamania counties and a smidge of Thurston County.

It’s a relatively rural district that has voted for President Trump three times. 

Somehow, she has been able to convince a good number of those Trump voters to ALSO send her, a Democrat, to Congress. 

And that’s put Gluesenkamp Perez in a unique and small club of Democrats being asked to diagnose their party’s problems and come up with a vision for the future.

So what does it take to lead from a vulnerable seat, and what are the lessons Democrats can draw from what’s happening in Southwest Washington?

One of those might be – figure out the solution to the gerontocracy in Congress.

GUEST: Rep. Marie Gluesenkam Perez

RELATED LINKS:


House Democrat floats radical solution to Congress' age problem 
Gluesenkamp Perez Statement on Senate Passage of Budget Reconciliation Bill
How a Red-District Democrat Is Navigating Trump | The Ezra Klein Show
Yes, Car Headlights Are Too Damn Bright

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez represents Washington&rsquo;s 3rd District, which encompasses Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum, and Skamania counties and a smidge of Thurston County.
It&rsquo;s a relatively rural district that has voted for President Trump three times.&nbsp;
Somehow, she has been able to convince a good number of those Trump voters to ALSO send her, a Democrat, to Congress.&nbsp;
And that&rsquo;s put Gluesenkamp Perez in a unique and small club of Democrats being asked to diagnose their party&rsquo;s problems and come up with a vision for the future.
So what does it take to lead from a vulnerable seat, and what are the lessons Democrats can draw from what&rsquo;s happening in Southwest Washington?
One of those might be &ndash; figure out the solution to the gerontocracy in Congress.
GUEST: Rep. Marie Gluesenkam Perez
RELATED LINKS:
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/14/congress-age-mental-marie-gluesenkamp-perez">House Democrat floats radical solution to Congress' age problem</a>&nbsp;
</li>
<li><a href="https://gluesenkampperez.house.gov/posts/gluesenkamp-perez-statement-on-senate-passage-of-budget-reconciliation-bill">Gluesenkamp Perez Statement on Senate Passage of Budget Reconciliation Bill</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/LpGhXKf3-qo">How a Red-District Democrat Is Navigating Trump | The Ezra Klein Show</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.thebulwark.com/p/yes-car-headlights-are-too-damn-bright">Yes, Car Headlights Are Too Damn Bright</a></li>
</ul>
Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to <a href="http://kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes">kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes</a>
Soundside&nbsp;is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

Soundside

Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is a Democrat from a pretty Republican leaning district. She joins Soundside to talk about voting for what her constituents want, and what the BBB means for her district.

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