Jaime Herrera Beutler faces a rematch against Carolyn Long in Washington’s 3rd Congressional district

October 9, 2020 OSTN Staff

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Democrat Carolyn Long are facing a rematch in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.
Herrera Beutler, seeking a fifth term to Congress, is the only Latina Republican woman with voting power in the House.
Washington’s 3rd District occupies a mix of cities and rural areas in the southwestern part of the state bordering Oregon. The district voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 and President Trump in 2016.
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GOP Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Democrat Carolyn Long are facing a rematch in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.

The candidates:

Herrera Beutler has served in Congress representing Southwest Washington since 2011, and is now seeking a fifth term.

A former member of the Washington state legislature, she’s one of just 11 Republican female representatives running for re-election in 2020, and is the only Latina Republican woman with voting power in the House. She and Rep. Don Young of Alaska are the only House Republicans to represent the Pacific Coastline.

In Congress, Herrera Beutler has positioned herself as a relatively centrist, business-friendly Republican. She serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and on the US Joint Economic Committee.

“Herrera Beutler’s profile — female, Hispanic and one of a dwindling number of Republican representatives from the West Coast — makes her a precious asset for the GOP, which has seen its female ranks in the House slashed by almost half since 2011,” Politico Magazine wrote in December 2019.

The congresswoman has largely voted along the party lines, but has not closely attached herself to President Donald Trump nor embraced his brand of politics as readily as many of her Republican colleagues in the House.

“My goal is not to be (Trump’s) foil, but it’s not to be his loyal servant,” she told Politico Magazine in 2019. “To the degree that he is serving the people I represent, I’m there, I’m with him. To the degree that there’s a problem, I’ll oppose him.”

Long, her Democratic opponent again in 2020, is a tenured professor in the School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at Washington State University-Vancouver, focusing on American institutions and the constitution.

Her campaign platform emphasizes expanding affordable healthcare and bringing down prescription drug costs, enacting fairer taxes, and extending rural broadband access to rural Washington.

Herrera Beutler faced the closest reelection bid of her career against Long in 2018, defeating Long by five points, 52.7% to 47.3%.

The district

Washington’s 3rd District occupies a swath of land in the southern part of the state bordering Oregon, stretching from the Pacific Coast towns of Tokeland and Long Beach and then inland to include the cities of Vancouver, Longview, and Goldendale.

The district, formerly a hotbed for logging and the lumber trade, includes a mix of urban and rural communities.

It has traditionally voted Republican in recent elections. In 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney carried the district by two points, 50% to 48%, over former President Barack Obama while Trump won the district by eight points, 50% to 42%, in 2016, according to Daily Kos Elections.

The money race

Herrera Beutler has raised $2.9 million, spent $1 million, and has $1.9 million in cash on hand, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Long, by comparison, has raised $2.3 million, spent nearly $750,000, and has $1.6 million in cash on hand.