Gluesenkamp Perez hits Braun on abortion as battle begins for WA House seat

Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez went on the offensive Tuesday with a campaign ad accusing Republican John Braun of wanting to outlaw abortion in Washington state and the nation.

The 30-second spot is an early salvo in what will be a pricey, high-stakes battle between the two-term congresswoman and the veteran state Senate leader for the 3rd Congressional District seat in southwest Washington.

This is the state’s most closely watched federal race and one of a handful of contests nationwide that will decide which party controls the U.S. House. House Speaker Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, campaigned for Braun in the district last week, underscoring the race’s importance.

The commercial targets Braun for voting against legislation concerning emergency care for pregnant women and requiring health plans to cover birth control.

The main jab is a snippet from a video of Braun’s comments to Republicans in Pacific County in March where he voiced support for eventually rolling back the state’s nearly 60-year-old law that made abortion legal.

“Candidly, we are unlikely to change the law in Washington in the near future, but we should be focused … so that someday we get there,” he’s heard saying.

In the ad, an announcer says, “he’ll never stop until abortion is banned nationwide.”

Braun does not support a nationwide ban, his campaign manager said Monday.

Gluesenkamp Perez, of Skamania County, is spending six figures to air the ad on broadcast and cable television along with streaming services and digital platforms over the next two weeks.

The launch comes as ballots continue to be counted in the Aug. 4 primary. Braun is leading Gluesenkamp Perez, who faced a Democrat challenger from the left, Brett Hennrich, who garnered nearly 17%. Hennrich said last week he would not support Gluesenkamp Perez in the general election.

By choosing abortion, Gluesenkamp Perez seeks to peg Braun as a social conservative. She’s also trying to reach independent women voters, for whom abortion rights are an important issue, and Hennrich supporters, by revealing a potential consequence of a Braun victory. 

“While Braun pitches a moderate persona in public, he’s telling supporters behind closed doors that he wants to ban abortion statewide,” said Tim Gowen, Gluesenkamp Perez’s campaign manager.

The congresswoman, he said, is “committed to making sure women — not politicians — have the right to decide for themselves what is right for them and their families.”

Washington’s abortion protections trace back to a citizen initiative in 1970 that was solidified by another ballot measure in 1991.

In the ensuing years, several more laws have been enacted to broaden and strengthen access to reproductive care services, and to protect every individual who seeks it — including those who come from states where abortion is not legal. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2022 overturned the federal constitutional right to an abortion, bringing heightened political attention to the issue in the years since. 

Braun, of Centralia, has been a consistent anti-abortion vote since winning his Senate seat in 2012. As the Senate Republican leader, a post he attained in 2021, he’s repeatedly said enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution — as many Democrats want — is unnecessary.

“The law’s been in place since 1970, passed by the people of the state of Washington, modified by the people of the state of Washington in 1991. I don’t see a path where that changes without a vote of the people,” Braun told The Chronicle in Centralia in 2023. “I think the people have spoken and we’re going to respect the will of the people.”

In the meeting with the Pacific County Republican Party that yielded the recording in the attack ad, Braun was asked specifically what he would do to protect unborn babies, according to a video of the event.

He said he was “super proud” of expanding options for pregnant women to obtain counseling and support if they chose not to have an abortion.

“We have a different situation in our state,” he said, citing the 1970 initiative. “So we have work to do. Candidly, we are unlikely to change the law in Washington in the near future, but we should be focused on winning hearts and minds so that someday we get there.”

On Monday, Max Lavey, Braun’s campaign manager, confirmed the comments in the video reflect his position.

“The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this is rightly a state issue and not a federal one and it is up to us to convince the voters of our state to change the law,” Lavey said.