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2026 Congressional Candidates Address the Issues
District 3 nominees Gluesenkamp Perez, Braun on Social Security, Medicare, aging policies
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On Nov. 3, voters in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District will choose between state Senate Minority Leader John Braun (R) and U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D). The district covers southwest Washington. The candidates advanced from Washington’s top-two August primary.
Gluesenkamp Perez, who lives in Skamania County, is seeking a third term after flipping a longtime Republican-held seat in 2022. Braun lives in Lewis County and has represented the 20th Legislative District in the state Senate since 2013; he has served as state Senate Republican leader since 2021.
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The Bulletin asked candidates about issues important to older voters. Both candidates participated in phone interviews during the summer. Interviews have been edited for clarity and space.
How would you work to protect and strengthen Social Security for older Americans, their children and grandchildren?
GLUSENKAMP PEREZ: It is critically important that we protect the solvency of the Social Security trust fund — that people have certainty and are able to project further into the future about what their finances are going to look like. This is a commitment, and this is an investment that people have made over the course of their entire working lives, and so I will say I strongly oppose further limiting the age at which Social Security can be accessed.... I do not support having solvency on the backs of people coming out of the trades, and so I think there’s a lot of interesting proposals on how to better secure solvency and predictability ... removing the cap or taxing fairly, especially high-income earners, goes a long way in protecting the solvency.
BRAUN: Our first commitment is to protect Social Security. This is a program that folks have paid into that they have to trust that we’re going to protect it, we’re going to deliver it. It’s a program that’s allowed senior citizens to live securely for decades. And so I think the answer to that how is you fight to stop degradation of the benefits or the program — but the why I think is the more important answer, which is, “We have made this promise, it is a key part of our social safety net and our stability for older Americans, and we have to be committed to preserving it.”
Americans pay into Medicare throughout their lives in taxes and premiums, and it provides them with vital health coverage. If elected, what would you do to strengthen and protect Medicare?
BRAUN: You protect it by insisting this is a promise we made that people have paid into it, that we have to maintain it.... I think the biggest risk to Medicare, in particular, is the fraudulent or inappropriate use of it. It undermines the overall financial strength of the program. But we need to keep it, we need to protect it—and we protect it best by minding the store, making sure it’s being delivered and delivered effectively, and delivered without fraud or misuse, in order to preserve it for the folks who need it.
GLUSENKAMP PEREZ: This is a really critical piece of just who we are as a country — that we are measured by how we treat our elderly, our vulnerable populations.... One of the areas that I’ve been looking at is ... ensuring that there’s transparent drug pricing, ensuring that there is agency to get time with your doctor. I mean, I think that’s the other thing that we all really want. When I talk to health care providers, they’re spending so much time doing paperwork — and that regulatory burden has put on a lot of pressure, and increased the closure of family practices.
If elected, what else would you do to improve the lives of older Americans and their families?
GLUSENKAMP PEREZ: Let’s talk about headlight brightness. This is a really big issue, and the national highway transportation standards have not changed since before I was born on how they are evaluating headlight brightness, and it’s a real risk driving at night — it’s blinding … especially for anybody with any kind of eye condition. It actually makes driving at night really dangerous.
BRAUN: We can’t legislate that they’re going to be happy, but we can make sure that they have the tools available to them to stay in their homes … safely as long as they can — and to a certain extent, we can make that affordable for everyone.... If you do it well and proactively, the cost of helping people live safely in their own homes is actually less than the alternative of assisted living or some sort of nursing care.
More information on the candidates at votebraun.com and marieforcongress.com.
As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, AARP does not endorse candidates or make political donations.
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