Crucial House Races: Washington s 3rd and Oregon s 5th Could Decide Congressional Control

In the Pacific Northwest, two highly competitive U.S. House races in Oregon’s 5th and Washington’s 3rd Congressional Districts are crucial in determining control of the House of Representatives.

Both districts, considered political battlegrounds, feature first-term incumbents who narrowly won their seats in the 2022 midterms, drawing significant attention from both national Republicans and Democrats.

In Washington’s 3rd District, Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez faces a rematch against Trump-backed Republican Joe Kent.

The district, which has rural farmland and Portland suburbs, leans Republican and narrowly went for Trump in 2020. Gluesenkamp Perez is portraying herself as a bipartisan moderate, while Kent has sought to tie her to policies of the Biden administration, focusing on issues like immigration and inflation.

Kent, known for promoting the lie of the 2020 election being stolen, has moderated his stance on certain issues like aborti

In Oregon’s 5th District, Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer is defending her seat against Democrat Janelle Bynum.

This district, which was redrawn after the 2020 census, includes a mix of Portland suburbs and rural regions. Chavez-DeRemer flipped the seat in 2022 after it had been held by Democrats for 25 years.

Bynum, a state representative, aims to win the seat with promises of codifying federal abortion protections. Both candidates have tried to appeal to moderate voters in the district, which has a large number of unaffiliated voters.

Both races are attracting substantial funding, with millions in campaign contributions and advertising from both parties, as they could play a decisive role in the control of Congress.

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