US House Speaker Mike Johnson has travelled to Chehalis, Washington, to campaign for Republican John Braun in one of the country’s most closely watched congressional races.
With 13 days remaining before the 3 November election, Mr Johnson told supporters the contest for Washington’s 3rd Congressional District would be extremely close and stressed its potential importance to control of Congress.
“It’s going to be a very close election, everybody knows it,” Mr Johnson told the rally. “You know how important this seat is.”
Mr Braun, a Washington state senator and president of Braun Northwest, is challenging Democratic incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who won the seat in 2022 and is seeking a third term. The district covers much of south-west Washington and is regarded as a key Republican target. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/bed136d00107bff61b0f992ef44e76b6?utm_source=openai))
Mr Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana who has served as Speaker of the House since January 2025, said his role had involved travelling across the country to support candidates ahead of the midterm elections. ([clerk.house.gov](https://clerk.house.gov/Members/ViewLeadership?utm_source=openai))
“We are flying all around the country, the speaker’s job is kind of crazy, we are travelling everywhere, we are campaigning nonstop,” he said.
Washington congressional race draws national attention
Mr Braun told the crowd that his campaign had been building for 14 months and urged supporters to continue working until polling day.
“This is the part that really matters, people have to turn out to vote,” he said. “I think we will be successful, but we are not going to stop until we get there.”
The Republican candidate also rejected Ms Gluesenkamp Perez’s criticism over healthcare, saying he had been “very instrumental in funding and providing healthcare in Washington state”.
Ms Gluesenkamp Perez’s campaign manager, Tim Gowen, said national Republican groups aligned with Mr Johnson and President Donald Trump had spent more than $10 million on the race. He accused Mr Braun of supporting healthcare cuts that could affect more than 25,000 people in south-west Washington.
Those claims are disputed by Mr Braun, who described his opponent’s healthcare criticism as something she had “lobbed” into the campaign.
Ms Gluesenkamp Perez has sought to present herself as an independent voice for the district, telling voters that people in the region valued being distant from the country’s political centres of power.
Washington’s 18-day voting period began on 16 October, with ballots available by post and through official drop boxes. The general election will take place on 3 November, when voters will decide whether to return Ms Gluesenkamp Perez to Congress or elect Mr Braun. ([sos.wa.gov](https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/elections-calendar/dates-and-deadlines?utm_source=openai))
