Crowded Primary Tests Democrat's Crossover Appeal in Trump Country

Voters in Washington's 3rd District faced a nine-candidate top-two primary on August 4, 2026 — a contest where the two highest vote-getters advance regardless of party. Incumbent Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who won re-election in 2024 with 52%, outperformed her party's presidential nominee by seven points in a district Trump carried three times.