Gluesenkamp Perez: Democrats need to change ‘kinds of candidates’ they run
Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D) called on Democrats to "change the kinds of candidates" they're supporting in the wake of President-elect Trump's victory.
"What I really hope happens is we change the kinds of candidates we're supporting," Gluesenkamp Perez said in an interview published Friday by The New York Times.
Control of the House remains in limbo, though Gluesenkamp Perez appears poised to beat Republican Joe Kent in Washington's 3rd Congressional District; she leads by 3 points with 95 percent of the vote in, according to Decision Desk HQ .
Gluesenkamp Perez's comment comes as Democrats have been musing about a need for a fresh start with Trump set to take office.
When asked what Democrats can learn from her because she was considered to be one of the more vulnerable candidates, Gluesenkamp Perez she said she "refused" to let the race be "nationalized."
"I just refused to let this race be nationalized. It's not about the message. It's about my loyalty to my community. The messenger is the message in a lot of ways," she said.
"The fundamental mistake people make is condescension. A lot of elected officials get calloused to the ways that they're disrespecting people," she added.
When pressed about how Democratic lawmakers have been "disrespecting" people, Gluesenkamp Perez gave examples of problems that people face.
"People are putting their groceries on their credit card. No one is listening to anything else you say if you try to talk them out of their lived experiences with data points from some economists," she told the Times.
Gluesenkamp Perez added that she hopes "normal" people see her and decide to run for office.
"I hope that other normal people see me and decide they can run, too. There's not one weird trick that's going to fix the Democratic Party. It is going to take parents of young kids, people in rural communities, people in the trades running for office and being taken seriously," she said.
When asked if she thought the Democratic Party would be "forced to change," Gluesenkamp Perez appeared uncertain.
"It's a lot easier to look outward, to blame and demonize other people, instead of looking in the mirror and seeing what we can do. It is not fun to feel accountability. It requires a mental flexibility that's painful. So who knows?" she said.
