Continuing a disappointing Tuesday night for Republicans, incumbent Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez decisively defeated John Braun in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, a House race that was expected to be close.

With 74 percent of the vote counted, Perez led by about 30,000 votes out of roughly 255,000 cast, a margin of approximately 11 percentage points and yet another blowout for Democrats. By the time the race was called in Perez’s favor, 83 percent of the vote had been counted. The lead remained around 30,000 votes, though the margin had narrowed to nine percentage points.

The polls, believe it or not, had this race pegged as a toss-up, with just one point separating the candidates. Republicans spent the campaign questioning the polling, but in this race, it appears Democrats, not Republicans, were the ones whose support was underestimated.

There is, however, a silver lining in this race. Perez is not a Democratic Socialist, in fact, she isn’t even close. She serves as co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of fiscally conservative and moderate Democrats who represent an increasingly rare wing of their party. Her victory at least keeps a seat at the table for Democrats whose politics are closer to Senator Fetterman’s than to those of the party’s socialist wing. 

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That puts her in stark contrast to the roughly six DSA-backed candidates who have won tonight. Their victories are a far more troubling development, signaling a direction for the Democrat Party that hardly bodes well for our country’s future.