Marie G-P widens campaign fundraising lead in 2024 re-election bid

Southwest Washington Democrat doubles up donations to challenger Joe Kent and accuses him of 'smoke and mirrors' to look stronger

Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has widened her campaign fundraising lead over her two principal Republican challengers and has more than doubled up the receipts of her leading rival, according to the latest federal campaign finance reports.

Gluesenkamp Perez’s campaign committee reported that it had raised $3 million and had $2.18 million in cash on hand as of Dec. 31, according to filings with the Federal Elections Commission.

The incumbent congresswoman raised about $854,000 in the October-December quarter, with about $641,000 from individual donors and a scant $715 from political action committees.

The campaign of Clark County Republican Joe Kent put out a press release saying it raised $412,000 in the last quarter, bringing its total receipts to about $1.5 million through December.  This includes $406,484 raised by the Joe Kent Victory Fund and $5,322 raised directly by the Joe Kent for Congress committee, according to the press release.

However, the Kent campaign’s official FEC campaign filing for the fourth quarter shows a less robust financial picture. It shows donations have totaled a little over $1 million and that fourth quarter donations amounted to only $193,000.

The report showed Kent’s campaign had a cash balance of $532,000 — about a quarter as much as Gluesenkamp Perez reported.

Kent spokesperson Erin Van Natta did not immediately return calls asking for a clarification or explanation for the discrepancies.

However, Phil Gardner, a spokesman for the Marie G-P’s campaign, took the challenger’s campaign to task: “Joe Kent's campaign uses a lot of smoke and mirrors to mislead about their fundraising totals.”

The other Republican challenger, Camas City Councilwoman Leslie Lewallen, reported raising $341,000 through December, with $140,000 in cash on hand, according to the FEC filings. 

Contributions to the Gluesenkamp Perez campaign double or triple those to Kent’s campaign. The Skamania County Democrat is seeking a second-two-year term after defeating Kent by less than 1 percentage point in the 2022 election.  

Gluesenkamp Perez’s win was the surprise of the election year, because Republican  Jaime Herrera Beutler had held the seat for the 12 previous years. She was ousted in the primary after voting to impeach former President Donald Trump for instigating the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Kent — who is backed by Trump, defends the Jan. 6 protesters and says the many court trials of the ex-president are evidence of “banana republic” politics —  alienated  many traditional Republican voters, who voted for Gluesenkamp Perez or sat out the race. 

Kent posted a Facebook message in late December pleading for supporters to boost their campaign donations, saying he was well short of goals.  In a statement issued Thursday, he put a happier face on his campaign’s finances.

“Despite the Biden Economy, I’m grateful to the over 11,000 individual donors who’ve supported my campaign so far this cycle and set us up to have a great start to 2024. This success along with the record crowds that show up for our events and the early endorsements from so many GOP organizations in the district give me confidence that we are on track to defeat Marie Perez and flip this seat RED,” he said in a statement.

His pace of fundraising — if reported accurately in his press release — is slightly ahead of the last election cycle, when he had raised $1.2 million by this point in the campaign, according to FEC filings. He raised $3.8 million and spent nearly all of it during the 2021-22 election cycle.

Gluesenkamp Perez, who began her first congressional campaign with little money or name recognition, is on a pace to easily out-do her 2022 campaign. She raised $3.9 million in the last election cycle and spent nearly all of it.

“Marie began 2024 with her campaign in the strongest position it's ever been in,” Gardner said. “She does not accept corporate PAC money and finances her campaign with the support of individuals who believe in her work. This will be a nationally targeted race with tens of millions of dollars spent in the end, but Marie will defeat Joe Kent's angry, divisive campaign with the support of tens of thousands of grassroots donors.”

The 35-year old incumbent defies easy labelling, being pro Second Amendment and pro choice. She has focused on bread-and-butter district issues and job training and job opportunities and health and child care. She is a member of the bipartisan “problem solvers” caucus. 

This year’s race is one of the key congressional contests in the nation because control of the closely divided House is up for grabs. The race will once again receive national attention, and money.