Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has won reelection to a third term in Washington's 3rd Congressional District, defeating Republican state Sen. John Braun in a race that was rated a pure toss-up heading into Election Day, according to an Associated Press race call.

The southwest Washington district has long been a Republican-leaning anomaly for Democrats to hold: Trump has carried it in all three of his presidential runs, yet Gluesenkamp Perez, a former auto-shop owner, has now won it twice. The seat was among just 22 House races nationwide that the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated a toss-up entering the election, and the two candidates had been essentially tied in late-campaign polling.

A top-two primary that stayed close to the end

Gluesenkamp Perez and Braun advanced from Washington's top-two primary in August after finishing within two-tenths of a point of each other — roughly 39 percent apiece — ahead of seven other candidates, including a progressive primary challenger who siphoned votes from the left. Trump endorsed Braun, the state Senate's Republican leader, in the spring, betting that a midterm climate favorable to the GOP would be enough to finally dislodge the first-term congresswoman.

It wasn't. Gluesenkamp Perez's victory came as part of a broadly difficult night for Republicans nationally, with Democrats retaking control of both chambers of Congress and flipping several governorships. But her race was always expected to be decided on its own, highly local terms — she has built a brand distinct from national Democrats, emphasizing manufacturing jobs, rural broadband and a willingness to break with her own party on some votes, a strategy credited with helping her overperform in a district that otherwise leans Republican at the top of the ticket.

Braun, who gave up his state Senate leadership post to run, had leaned heavily on his record in Olympia and on Trump's endorsement to try to nationalize the race. He has not yet issued a formal concession statement, though the AP's call followed a vote count that outlets including Fox 13 Seattle and KOMO News described as decisive enough to call the race without a recount expected.

Why it matters

The district, anchored by Vancouver's suburbs and rural timber and farming communities stretching toward the Olympic Peninsula, has become something of a bellwether for how Democrats can hold on in Trump-leaning terrain. Gluesenkamp Perez's win keeps that model intact for at least one more cycle, and national Democratic strategists are expected to point to her race, alongside several other swing-district holds this week, as evidence the party's midterm gains extended beyond its traditional strongholds.