Meet the woman who won’t back down from Trump

But as Donald Trump’s hopes of keeping hold of both chambers of Congress fade, his party is throwing everything at tight contests like the one Perez is fighting against John Braun.

A few days ago, House speaker Mike Johnson travelled to Washington state for the third time to campaign with her Republican rival. 

Meanwhile, Trump “dropped another million dollars” into the race, adding to the two-to-one financial disadvantage she already confronts

“They basically have limitless money, which is frustrating,” the 38-year-old says. “They want the seat back. It’s a problem if somebody like me can hold a seat this Red, this rural, and continue to deliver. It threatens the whole map for Republicans with a monopoly in rural America.”

As America goes to the polls, there may be a handful of races being more closely watched than Washington’s third congressional district, but not many. Perez is looking for her third victory in an area made up of forests, lakes, and small towns that voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2026.

“So they want the seat back, but it’s been encouraging to see the way people have seen the work I’m doing and [my] loyalty to southwest Washington and just continuing to refuse to play games and represent the views of my community. It’s been good to see that folks are sticking with me.”

Perez, who has a son, is one of just a handful of working-class people elected to either the House of Representatives or the Senate. The co-owner of a vehicle repair shop with her husband, some of her early campaign photographs showed her in a mechanic’s overalls. 

Her husband, Dean, still runs the business and she believes her background as a tradesperson has helped her connect with people who make their living with their hands, being it in the forests, at sea or on construction sites. 

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“Working at the [repair] shop, you know, people pay their car note before they pay their rent. People need to be able to get to work, and fuel prices have just really stuck a knife in the back of people who have really been struggling to try to keep ahead,” she says.

Perez says prices, already higher in her state than nationally, have leapt since the shutting of the Strait of Hormuz. “The war in Iran has been a complete disaster. The administration has completely failed to articulate a goal or a strategy to achieve it. We’ve got to end this war in Iran. Got to make sure there’s a check on this administration.”

Perez has previously said there were too many lawyers entering politics and is a champion of the “right to repair”, meaning an individual ought to be able to fix a broken vehicle or piece of farm equipment they purchased, rather than being obliged to send it to the manufacturers.

“There are not enough people in Congress that actually have a kid in public school. [There’s] a lot of sort of siloing, and I think that’s upstream of [a lack] of confidence in Congress as a whole.”

Asked what is at stake in the elections, she says: “I know a lot of people talk about the balance of Congress and who’s in the majority and obviously I think there needs to be checks and balances and there needs to be, you know, co-equal branches of government again.”

She says: “But it’s really [about] the people in my community who can’t get their head above water. It feels like things are slipping away and we’re losing our footing. The middle class feels like an endangered species. My motivation is to deliver for southwest Washington and the right of people to make an honest living and have a good life.”

While Trump has ordered the Department of Justice to send 1,000 officials to monitor the vote in various locations, Perez believes the election will proceed without interference. “He’s not a predictable man, but I also think with the special elections [in Virginia and New Jersey] those members were seated. I think a lot of the stuff is sort of sound and fury to distract and dissuade people from having confidence [in the process]. And we vote by mail in Washington state, mostly, and it’s the gold standard in election security.”

After Zohran Mamdani of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) took office as New York mayor in January, the group has had a number of primary wins over more moderate Democrats. Mamdani backed several of these candidates, and people will be looking to see how they fare, as well as figures such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – who’s admitted she’s thinking about running for president  – and Rashida Tlaib. Some believe their success already suggests the future of the party lies to the left.

“Those are all deep Blue seats,” says Perez, asked if she agrees with such analysis. “I’m hopeful the future of the party is one that’s useful to people in rural America and in the trades and in communities like mine.”

She adds: “I hope that’s the future, because that’s where durable governing majorities are.” 

As to the shape of the new Congress and its immediate direction: “People will have to wait and see who’s serious about actually legislating and who’s looking to make messaging points.”

Having secured Trump’s endorsement, Perez’s GOP opponent, John Braun, a 59-year-old businessman and local legislator, has in the final days of his campaign sought to distance himself from the president, saying there is an

“opportunity to change the direction for our state and our country”. (Braun did not respond to our request for an interview.)

Perez says of the Republican: “Braun, who’s been in office for 14 years, although he promised to serve only two terms, has a record of screwing over rural schools, and a lack of respect for people that work for a living.”

She says while he may be more “astute or savvy in how he presents his views”, he has a record of expressing extreme views when the cameras are turned off. “He’s taken millions of dollars from Trump,” she adds. “That’s who he’s going to work for, not us.” 

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While the 2028 presidential campaign will in effect start the day after the midterms, Perez all but groans when asked if she has a favourite candidate. “Why must I suffer,” she says. “Why are we borrowing trouble, brother? I do not.”

Asked if the harm of the Trump years can be fixed, she says action has to be taken locally. Her campaign is likely heartened by the fact the non-partisan Cook Political Report earlier this month moved the race from “toss-up” to “lean Democrat”, a move that underscored the dismal political environment for Republicans.

“I think we’re in a second gilded age,” she says. “We need to pay a lot of attention to reasserting real market capitalism where there’s actual competition and where a normal person can start a business without having to hire a consulting firm.”

She says there are “bad actors” who need to be regulated, and there are similarly plenty of “good actors” who need to be helped, such as the person trying to make a living on a “fishing boat”.

Overall, Perez thinks, working people are in need of a break – be it a reduced tax burden, or a party that actually listens to their needs. “The tax burden has so heavily shifted towards working people. We’re taxing labour,” she says. “There needs to be a shift.”