The first-term Democrat is trying to hold onto the Washington state district Trump won in 2020

SEATTLE (AP) — Among the most watched races in the country is a rematch in southwest Washington's 3rd Congressional District, where the first term took place Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is defending her seat against Republican Joe Kent, a former Green Beret who has called for the impeachment of President Joe Biden.

Other notable campaigns in the state include the 8th Congressional District, where Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier is seeking a fourth term, and the 4th Congressional District in central Washington. There is no risk of this seat being swapped between parties, but the incumbent is Rep. Dan Newhouse, one of two remaining Republicans in the House who voted for impeachment former President Donald Trump. He faces a challenge from the right in Jerrod Sessler, a Navy veteran.

Here's a look at the liveliest congressional races in Washington, which were too early to call after the first vote totals were released Tuesday night:

3rd Congressional District

Gluesenkamp Perez, who runs an auto repair shop with her husband, came from nowhere two years ago to win a seat that hadn't been in Democratic hands in more than a decade. She beat Trump-backed candidate Kent by fewer than 3,000 votes out of nearly 320,000 cast.

Her predecessor, moderate Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler, remained in office for six terms but did not survive the 2022 primary after voting to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection. The district narrowly went for Trump in 2020, making it a crucial target for both parties this year.

The race gained additional attention last week when a An arson attack shook a ballot box Hundreds of ballots were cast in Vancouver – the county’s largest city. Another ballot box was hit across the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon. People who cast their votes at the targeted drop box in Vancouver were encouraged to contact the county auditor's office to receive replacement ballots.

During her time in office, Gluesenkamp Perez has balanced progressive policies with some measures popular with Republicans, including securing the U.S.-Mexico border – something she criticized Biden for failing to do – and introducing a constitutional amendment to ban President to force a balanced budget.

She supports abortion access and has criticized Kent, who previously said he supported a national abortion ban, for changing his position after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Kent now says abortion laws should be left to the states.

Gluesenkamp Perez supports measures to combat climate change, but also speaks openly about being a gun owner. A top priority is enforcing a “right to repair” law that would help people get devices repaired without having to pay exorbitant prices to the original manufacturer.

Kent is a former Green Beret who served 11 combat missions before joining the CIA. His wife, Shannon, a Marine cryptologist, was killed by a suicide bomber while fighting the Islamic State group in Syria in 2019, leaving him to raise their two young sons alone. Kent remarried last year.

His last election campaign raised questions about his ties to white nationalists after hiring a Proud Boy as an adviser and heaping praise on Joey Gibson, founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer, at a fundraiser. Kent said he rejects white nationalism.

He cited inflation and illegal immigration as the main concerns.

Kent and Gluesenkamp Perez disagree on an important local issue: the replacement of a large bridge over the Columbia River between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. Gluesenkamp Perez supports plans to replace the existing bridge. Kent has argued that a separate new bridge should be built while the old one is retained. Plans for the replacement bridge include “light rail that moves the problems of downtown Portland to downtown Vancouver,” Kent said.

4th Congressional District

Newhouse's bid for a sixth term competes with Sessler, who was one of two Trump-backed candidates in the August primary. Together, Sessler and Tiffany Smiley received more than 52% of the vote – a spelling problem for the incumbent.

Newhouse is supported by the NRA and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and has largely stayed away from the Trump issue. Instead, he focuses on agriculture and border security in a state with millions of acres of pastures, orchards and crop fields where immigrant labor is critically important.

Sessler's positions are in step with Trump's. He says he will fight for tough national security measures, including “an impenetrable border”; Work to repeal regulations imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and other administrative agencies; and promote tariffs and other sanctions against China.

“China’s obsession with global power, combined with its atheistic mindset that removes the moral component, makes it a dangerous adversary,” Sessler said in one of many video statements on issues posted on his campaign website.

8th Congressional District

The 8th District, a mix of wealthy Seattle suburbs and central Washington farmland, had always been in GOP hands before incumbent Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier, a pediatrician, took office in 2019. She survived a series of reasonably close races Since then, she has received about 52% and 53% of the vote, respectively.

Schrier combines progressive positions, such as protecting abortion rights, with a focus on securing highway funds or funding research facilities for specialty plants. The Washington Farm Bureau supported them this year.

Schrier's opponent is Carmen Goers, a commercial banker who says she is running to curb inflation, stop further regulation of American companies, support law enforcement and curb crime. She also vowed to “go to war against the Department of Education” and said that instead of children learning to read, write and do math, they would be “engaged in the culture wars of the progressive left.”

In the top two primaries in August, voters received 45% of the vote, compared to about 50% for Schrier. Two other Democrats combined for nearly 5%.