In a purple Pacific Northwest pocket, three Latina candidates face tough House races

NPR Staff

November 01, 2024 / 10:05 am

If you look a typical political map of the United States, Oregon and Washington look safely blue — neither state has voted for a Republican for president since 1984.

But Oregon Democratic Congresswoman Andrea Salinas says it’s a different story down ballot.

"We are all feeling like we’re scraping tooth and nail to get ahead," Salinas told NPR while campaigning for reelection Oregon's 6th Congressional District.

It's a familiar theme here. The Pacific Northwest is often presumed be an easy win for Democrats, but down-ballot races are actually a much stronger shade of purple. And it makes for a series of pretty close contests.

"The distribution between the two parties is close” in this region, said Richard Clucas, a politics professor at Portland State University. “You get a sense in statewide elections we're going to be a blue wall, but we're like so much of the country. The rural parts are dang red and the urban parts are dang blue.”

In 2022, the region sent a trio of freshman Latina members to Congress from both parties, who were part of a record Hispanic class. And they’re now part of a record number of Latinos running for Congress this election cycle – even as they still lag Hispanics’ share of the U.S. population.

In Washington and Oregon, these Latina members argue that paths to victory mean breaking through to voters on local issues and connecting on identity, rather than party loyalty.

Out on the campaign trail, Salinas visited with Latino-owned businesses as part of her strategy to connect with a key demographic in her district. It's home to the state's largest concentration of Latino residents.

Yet, Salinas is facing one of the closest races in the country in a rematch against Republican Mike Erickson. And she’s fighting for resources to keep her seat.

“We are not a battleground state. And so when you have a presidential election happening, the battleground states really get the most attention,” said Salinas, who says it gets harder to break through without a governor or U.S. Senate race this year for Oregon.

She’s not alone.

She’s also part of bipartisan duo who made history in 2022 as the first Latina members to represent Oregon in Congress.

The Republican member of that duo, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, is facing nearly identical dynamics to Salinas.

At a recent rally in Oregon's 5th Congressional district, Chavez-DeRemer was met with a hyped-up crowd.

"LCD, LCD, LCD," the crowd chanted from the Tumwater Ballroom in Oregon City, a popular site for political rallies here.

Chavez-DeRemer had a grave warning for these energetic supporters.

"This race is going to be close, within the margin of error," she said. "Don't think for one minute it's not going to come down to just a few thousand votes that are going to separate us."

She flipped her district red in 2022 — making it a key target in Republicans’ aim to keep control of the U.S. House.

She’s facing off against a popular Democratic state lawmaker, Janelle Bynum, who wants to flip the district back as part of her party’s goal to take back control of the lower chamber.

But Chavez-DeRemer notes she’s used her time in Congress to deliver money and jobs to this district.

"Yeah it’s important …for Oregonians, so they’re going to get out and vote," she told NPR. "I’m looking forward to visiting with everybody and we’re going to win this thing."

She also has a major ally backing her at this rally: House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has made multiple visits here.

"The most important races where I am is reserved for the end of the cycle. And I want you know, I've been here a couple of times because Lori is so important to us," Johnson told the crowd. "And so important to the future of the country. "

Johnson made another stop an hour north in Washington’s 3rd Congressional district, where a similar dynamic is at play.

It’s represented by another Latina freshman incumbent, but she’s a Democrat that Johnson hopes is ousted by a Republican opponent in a rematch race.

caption: Marie Gluesenkamp Perez speaks during a community forum in Grays Water, Washington, on Oct. 22, 2024 during the race for Washington's 3rd Congressional District.

Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez staged one of the House’s biggest flips in the last election cycle in deep Republican country near Vancouver, Washington.

"This seat was drawn to be a red seat," she told NPR during a stop on her RV tour at a political forum along the state's coastline in Ilwaco.

Her contested seat in Southwest Washington shares another trend in this area: a district closely divided along urban and rural lines.

Her Republican opponent, retired Army green beret Joe Kent, says the party is on track to take district back with help from having Former President Donald Trump on the ticket.

"The Republican party learned a lot of hard lessons here in 2022," Kent told NPR during a recent break from a candidate forum in Grays River a few miles from the coastline.

Unlike the last election cycle, Kent says Republicans have presented a unified front. In 2022, Kent who won a bitter primary that forced the ouster of former Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who had voted for former President Donald Trump's impeachment.

"If we spend... an exhausting amount of time and money destroying each other ...that can cost us," he said. ““And we did not have that at all this time.”

For example, Kent said he recently attended an event with Herrera Beutler and other ex-GOP opponents.

For her part, Gluesenkamp Perez has kept her own party at arms length, issuing early warnings about President Biden’s failed reelection bid and avoiding endorsement talk on Vice President Harris.

She argues too often, national politics eclipses local needs in her district – a common refrain here.

“In rural communities we have felt really frustrated about how much oxygen these national races get,” she said, “and it feels like it’s at the expense of local issues.”

By Claudia Grisales, NPR

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