The Republican Party lost a key U.S. House seat Saturday evening in their quest to retake control of the House of Representatives as Joe Kent (R) lost to Marie Gluesenkamp (D) in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.
The upset loss by Kent comes after former President Donald Trump pushed for Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) to be replaced during the primaries because she voted to impeach him.
Trump said in a November 13, 2021, statement that “any interest from good and SMART America First Republican Patriots to run primary campaigns against” Butler and other Republicans that voted to impeach him “will have my backing!”
Gluesenkamp’s victory over Kent, a former Green Beret and combat veteran, is an upset as Republicans were expected to win that race narrowly. In fact, this could be considered the first significant upset in the House as The New York Times’ election tracker for House races shows that it is the only the only race where the side that was projected to win has not won.
In the 36 House races that the Times has listed as “Most Competitive Districts,” Democrats have won 20 of the races, Republicans have won six, and in the 10 races where a winner has not been declared, Democrats are currently up 6 to 4.
The loss of the seat increases the risk that Republicans may not retake control of the House of Representatives as they still need to win seven more seats to retake the chamber. Republicans are currently leading Democrats 211 to 202 in the House with 22 races still needing to be called.
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