Past Gluesenkamp Perez voters in Kelso eye new candidates ahead of midterms

About a dozen protesters held signs Thursday outside the Kelso office of the area’s congressional representative, demanding to know the Democratic lawmaker’s views on last week’s fatal shooting of a citizen in Minneapolis by a federal immigration agent.

Just before the noon protest began — but eight days after the killing — Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, posted on her website a statement requesting a bipartisan investigation into the “preventable death” of 37-year-old Renee Good, which federal officials maintain was an act of self-defense by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

ICE is “necessary,” Gluesenkamp Perez’s statement continues, but the agency’s deployment across the U.S., as well as “the posture and bravado of this Administration, is eroding public confidence in the agency’s legitimacy.”

Ahead of the midterm elections, the working-class Democrat — who twice beat President Donald Trump-backed candidate Joe Kent — is fighting to maintain her own party’s voters, or pick up disappointed moderates or conservatives.

A Trump endorsement hasn’t secured wins in Southwest Washington’s 3rd District, like in other notable national races — including in 2024 Ohio, where longtime working-class Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown lost to Trump-backed Bernie Moreno.

But while a Trump stamp of approval may not resonate with as many Southwest Washington voters, it’s unclear whether Gluesenkamp Perez’s moderate leanings can maintain her seat in November amid rising tensions along party lines.

Wavering opinions

Her Thursday statement on Good may have been too late for some voters, like 77-year-old Vickie Reif of Kelso.

Reif said she volunteered to make calls and mail postcards in support of Gluesenkamp Perez in previous elections, voting for her in each of her two bids for Congress.

But for November’s midterms, Reif hasn’t made up her mind.

“The way she’s voting this time, she’s not the representative I voted for,” she said Thursday while holding a sign with Good’s photo.

The Democratic representative has been increasingly turning purple during her second term under a majority Republican-led House — but first under a Republican president — catching flak from progressive constituents and accolades from conservative and moderate voters.

Gluesenkamp Perez was among six Democrats to vote to end the government shutdown in November, while the majority of her party fought to extend health care subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

She also spearheaded and voted in November to censure fellow Democratic Rep. Chuy Garcia for what Gluesenkamp Perez called election subversion.

Now, constitutes like David Chiles, 70, of Longview, disagree with the federal government’s take on Good’s killing, and Gluesenkamp Perez’s response.

“I saw the video, for one; she was just trying to leave,” Chiles said about Good.

Video taken by bystanders of the Jan. 7 shooting shows an officer approaching Good’s SUV, demanding she open the door and grabbing the handle, while her vehicle is blocking the road.

When she begins to pull forward, a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and shoots into the vehicle at close range, taking two more shots from the side.

Later, the Trump administration said the shooting officer suffered internal bleeding and was previously dragged by a vehicle while trying to make an arrest.

Jordan Reyes, 28, of Silver Lake applauded Gluesenkamp Perez on Thursday for waiting to give a statement about Good’s death until more facts were revealed.

“Temperance is really important with this,” said Reyes, who works in Kelso and was walking down the street from Thursday’s protest. “It’s a good thing to take time to be informed.”

Despite his support for her delayed response, Reyes said he did not vote for Gluesenkamp Perez in either of her 3rd District runs, and typically doesn’t vote along party lines.

November midterms

Whether Gluesenkamp Perez will earn a net gain in November, after possibly shedding some progressive voters, is unknown.

Gluesenkamp Perez faces longtime Republican state Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, as well as Democratic candidate Brent Hennrich of Vancouver, who also ran for the seat in 2022 but stepped aside to support her.

Braun said in a Thursday email to The Daily News that Good’s death, like all shooting deaths by law enforcement, should be thoroughly and completely investigated “so the facts are clear and justice can be served …

“Renee Good’s death was a tragic loss of life that should weigh heavily on all of us, regardless of anyone’s political views,” he wrote.

However, Braun adds that physically obstructing law enforcement is unlawful, and Gluesenkamp Perez has been dismissive on local concerns over immigration — particularly at the southern border during the Biden administration.

While an FBI investigation is still ongoing in Good’s death, on Tuesday Department of Justice officials said there is “no basis” for a civil rights investigation. The department has reviewed law enforcement shootings of civilians in the past for possible violations.

‘MAGA light’

Hennrich is the top choice for Teagan Hazen.

The 43-year-old from Woodland joined the Thursday protest after voting for Gluesenkamp Perez in her last two elections.

Hazen said Hennrich is against ICE occupations in U.S. cities and agrees with Democratic viewpoints, unlike the current 3rd District representative.

“We didn’t elect her to be MAGA light,” she said.

Hennrich, like some Thursday protesters, called Good’s death a “murder” in an email to The Daily News. He said ICE cannot be reformed, and is being used as the Trump administration’s personal police force.

Gluesenkamp Perez has lied to the electorate, he continues, because she does not vote like a Democrat.

“The Trump administration is tearing apart our Constitution, and she can not even come up with one word of oversight,” he wrote.

As Gluesenkamp Perez sees it, Southwest Washington voters are more interested in local issues – like the rising cost of housing and degradation of public schools – according to Campaign Manager Tim Gowen. Gowen said in an email that Gluesenkamp Perez was voted “to work across the aisle to take on the real problems that people are facing every day.”

Outside her Kelso office Thursday, protesters disagreed. Several shouted in megaphones for Gluesenkamp Perez to stop focusing on issues like studying the brightness of vehicle headlights and controlling the sea lion population in the Columbia River – issues they say pale in comparison to the Trump administration’s deployment of ICE and Good’s death.

“She wants to be bipartisan,” Reif said. “But it’s not the time for that.”