In a purple cauldron in the Pacific Northwest, three Latino candidates face tough House races: NPR

Andrea Salinas at La Onda Cafe in Woodburn, Oregon, on October 22, 2024, while campaigning for Washington's 3rd Congressional District.

Celeste Noche for NPR

Hide caption

Toggle label

Celeste Noche for NPR

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

But Oregon Democratic Congresswoman Andrea Salinas says voting is a different matter.

“We all feel like we have to fight tooth and nail to move forward,” Salinas told NPR while campaigning for re-election in Oregon's 6th Congressional District.

It's a familiar topic here. The Pacific Northwest is often thought to be an easy win for Democrats, but in elections where there is no vote, the color purple is actually much bolder. And there are a number of pretty close contests.

“The split between the two parties is tight in this region,” said Richard Clucas, a politics professor at Portland State University. “In national elections you feel like we're going to be a blue wall, but we are something like that.” Much of the country is damn red and the urban parts are damn blue.

In 2022, the region sent a trio of freshman Latina members of both parties to Congress, part of a record turnout for Hispanics. And they are now part of a record number of Latinos running for Congress this election cycle — although they still lag behind the share of Hispanics in the U.S. population.

In Washington and Oregon, these Latina members argue that the path to victory lies in reaching voters on local issues and connecting over identity, not party loyalty.

As part of her campaign, Salinas visited Latino businesses as part of her strategy to engage with a key demographic in her district. It is home to the largest concentration of Latinos in the state.

Still, Salinas faces one of the closest races in the country in the rematch against Republican Mike Erickson. And she is fighting for resources to keep her seat.

“We are not a battleground state. So when there's a presidential election, the battleground states really get the most attention,” said Salinas, who says this year it will be harder for Oregon to get through without a governor or a U.S. Senate race.

She is not alone.

Reps. Andrea Salinas (OR) and Linda Sánchez (CA) meet with Laura Flores at Santana's Mexican Restaurant in Woodburn, Oregon, on October 22, 2024, while campaigning for Oregon's 6th Congressional District.

Celeste Noche for NPR

Hide caption

Toggle label

Celeste Noche for NPR

She is also part of the bipartisan duo that made history in 2022 by becoming the first Latina members to represent Oregon in Congress.

The Republican member of that duo, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, faces nearly identical dynamics as Salinas.

At a recent rally in Oregon's 5th Congressional District, Chavez-DeRemer was met by an enthusiastic crowd.

“LCD, LCD, LCD,” chanted the crowd at the Tumwater Ballroom in Oregon City, a popular spot for political rallies.

Chavez-DeRemer had issued a stern warning to these energetic supporters.

“This race will be close within the margin of error,” she said. “Don’t think for a minute that it won’t come down to a few thousand votes that divide us.”

She has flipped her district red in 2022 — making it a key target in Republicans' push to retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

She is running against popular Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum, who is seeking to retake the district as part of her party's goal of regaining control of the House.

But Chavez-DeRemer notes that she has used her time in Congress to bring money and jobs to this district.

“Yes, it's important … to Oregonians, so they're going to go out and vote,” she told NPR. “I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and we’re going to win this thing.”

Lori Chavez-DeRemer speaks to supporters during a press conference on October 24, 2024 in Oregon City, Oregon.

Celeste Noche for NPR

Hide caption

Toggle label

Celeste Noche for NPR

She also has a key ally supporting her at this rally: House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has visited here several times.

“The most important races I take part in are reserved for the end of the cycle. And I want you to know, I've been here a few times because Lori is so important to us,” Johnson told the crowd. “And so important for the future of the country.”

Johnson made another stop an hour north in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, where a similar dynamic exists.

She is represented by another Latina freshman incumbent, but she is a Democrat who Johnson hopes will be ousted by a Republican opponent in a rematch.

United States House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson appears in support of Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Oregon's 5th Congressional District on October 28, 2024 in Oregon City.

Celeste Noche for NPR

Hide caption

Toggle label

Celeste Noche for NPR

Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez engineered one of the House's biggest failures in the last election cycle in a deeply Republican state near Vancouver, Washington.

“This seat was chosen as the red seat,” she told NPR during a stop on her RV tour at a political forum along the state's coast in Ilwaco.

Her contested seat in southwest Washington shares another trend in the area: a district narrowly divided into urban and rural.

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

“The Republican Party has learned a lot of hard lessons here in 2022,” Kent told NPR recently during a break from a candidate forum in Grays River, a few miles from the coast.

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

Celeste Noche for NPR

Hide caption

Toggle label

Celeste Noche for NPR

Unlike the last election cycle, Kent said Republicans presented a united front. In 2022, Kent won a bitter primary that forced the ouster of former Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump.

“If we … spend an exhausting amount of time and money destroying each other … it can cost us dearly,” he said. “And we didn’t have that at all this time.”

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

For her part, Gluesenkamp Perez kept her own party at a distance, warned early about President Biden's failed re-election and avoided support talks for Vice President Harris.

She argues too often that national politics overshadows the local needs in her district — a common refrain here.

“In rural communities, we've been really frustrated with how much oxygen these national breeds are getting,” she said, “and it feels like it's coming at the expense of local issues.”