华盛顿州切哈利斯——民主党众议员玛丽·格卢森坎普·佩雷斯带着一把钝了的厨房用刀以及两把生锈的剪刀，来到了西雅图南部的一处县级集市场地。
JONATHAN J. COOPER CHEHALIS, Wash. — Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez carried a dull kitchen knife and two pairs of rusty scissors through a county fairgrounds south of Seattle.
她把这些东西交给了贝弗利·菲尼克斯。后者正蜷缩着身子坐在展览厅后方的一张桌子旁，义务帮助邻里们修复旧工具。此刻，她正指导这位众议员如何使用一种名为“德雷梅尔”的手持式振动工具来磨利刀刃。
She handed them to Beverly Phoenix, who sat hunched over a table in the back of an exhibit hall, volunteering to help neighbors breathe new life into old tools. Now she offered advice to a member of Congress on using a Dremel, a handheld oscillating device, to sharpen the blades.
这次看似平常的竞选活动，恰恰印证了格卢森坎普·佩雷斯所倡导的“自力更生”理念。她和丈夫共同经营一家汽车修理厂，她试图以此形象来帮助民主党弥合城市与乡村、蓝领与白领、左派与右派之间的分歧。
It was an unassuming campaign stop that reinforced Gluesenkamp Perez’s message of self sufficiency. The owner of an auto repair shop with her husband, Gluesenkamp Perez has positioned herself as someone who can help her party bridge the divide between urban and rural, blue collar and white collar, left and right.
如果民主党想要重新掌控美国众议院，就必须保住华盛顿州西南部这类选区。这些地区曾两次选出格卢森坎普·佩雷斯为众议员，同时也在历次选举中都支持唐纳德·特朗普。尽管民主党一直纠结于是否要接纳日益壮大的进步派势力，但能否为那些立场较为温和、观点另类的党员提供发展空间，或许对赢得并维持多数席位更为关键。
If Democrats are going to take back control of the U.S. House, they need to hold districts like this one in Southwest Washington, which twice elected Gluesenkamp Perez while also supporting President Donald Trump in all of his campaigns. Although the party has been fixated on whether to accommodate the burgeoning progressive movement, Democrats’ willingness to make room for more moderate and unorthodox members could be even more important to winning and maintaining a durable majority.
“我们是一个极具独立精神的社区。我们所求的只是自己的优先事项和价值观能得到尊重，”格卢森坎普·佩雷斯说道。她补充道，当这些立场与党内高层产生冲突时，自己的职责就是“向华盛顿的决策者们介绍我们社区的实际情况，而不是任由他们来定义我们社区的优先事项”。为了证明自己具备这样的能力，现年38岁的格卢森坎普·佩雷斯今年必须打一场截然不同的竞选战。
“We are a really independent community. What we want is respect for our priorities, for our values,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. When that causes friction with party leaders, she said, her job is “explaining my community to D.C., not letting D.C. try to define my community’s priorities.”To prove herself, Gluesenkamp Perez, 38, will have to win a very different kind of campaign this year.
前两次选举中，她的对手都是与极端分子有牵连的共和党人乔·肯特；而这次，她要面对的是约翰·布劳恩——一位更符合主流价值观的商人兼州议员，后者更有机会赢得该选区温和派选民的支持。
In her last two elections, she faced Republican Joe Kent , who had connections to extremists . Now she’s up against a more mainstream opponent in John Braun, a businessman and state legislator with a better shot at appealing to the district’s moderate voters.
太平洋西北地区向来被视为进步政治的堡垒，但华盛顿州第3国会选区情况更为复杂。该选区既包括俄勒冈州波特兰都会区的北部，也包括以渔业、伐木和制造业为中心的广阔农村地区。
The Pacific Northwest has a reputation as a bastion of progressive politics, but Washington’s 3rd Congressional District is more complex. It includes both the northern portion of the Portland, Oregon, metro area and expansive rural territory with economies centered around fishing, logging and manufacturing.
通过平衡这些相互竞争的利益，格鲁森坎普-佩雷斯有时发现自己处于一小群站在共和党一边的民主党人之中。
By balancing those competing interests, Gluesenkamp Perez sometimes finds herself in a lonely group of Democrats siding with Republicans.
她反对拜登总统的学生债务减免计划，并投了共和党由特朗普支持的选举提案的赞成票。她支持拉克恩·赖利移民法案以及包含对堕胎和气候变化倡议限制的国防立法。
She opposed President Joe Biden’s student debt relief and voted for a Republican election proposal backed by Trump. She supported the Laken Riley immigration bill and defense legislation that included restrictions on abortion and climate change initiatives.
她投票谴责同党籍的得克萨斯州众议员阿尔·格林和拉希达·特莱布，并提出一项决议，谴责民主党众议员楚伊·加西亚悄悄操作，实际上要把他的席位交给一个值得信赖的助手。
She voted to censure fellow Democratic Reps. Al Green of Texas and Rashida Tlaib, and she introduced a resolution to reprimand Democratic Rep. Chuy Garcia for quietly maneuvering to essentially hand his seat to a trusted aide.
上个月，格鲁森坎普-佩雷斯在程序问题上两次与共和党人投了同一票，再次引发紧张——这在国会山被视为背离传统，因为议员在这类事务上通常被期望紧随党领袖。
Tensions flared again last month when Gluesenkamp Perez twice voted with Republicans on procedural issues, an apostasy in the traditions of Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are expected to stick with party leaders when it comes to such matters.
因此，共和党人能够推动对一项谴责社会主义的决议进行表决，使一些民主党人在选举年处境尴尬。
As a consequence, Republicans were able to force a vote on a resolution condemning socialism, putting some Democrats in an awkward spot in an election year.
“我有时也会对她感到不满，但你知道，我也明白她代表着80万以上的人口，这意味着有80万以上不同观点的人，”66岁的退休人员、自称“伯尼进步派”的戴尔·本杰明说，他住在巴特尔格朗。“我很感激她愿意这样做，尤其是在我们目前所处的这样一个分裂严重的地方和时代。”格鲁森坎普·佩雷斯优先考虑能够强化她蓝领身份以及她选区特定产业的立法。她是“维修权”立法的坚定支持者，该立法旨在确保消费者和独立企业能够自行修理拖拉机、汽车和数码设备，而无需依赖制造商。
“I get upset with her too at times, but you know, I also understand that she represents 800,000-plus people and that’s 800,000-plus opinions for differing views,” said Dale Benjamin, a 66-year-old retiree and self-described “Bernie progressive” who lives in Battle Ground. “I’m very thankful to her that she’s willing to do that, especially in such a divisive place and time that we’re in right now.”Gluesenkamp Perez has prioritized legislation that bolsters her blue collar identity and the specific industries in her district. She’s a strong proponent of “right to repair” legislation that would ensure consumers and independent businesses can repair things like tractors, cars and digital devices without going to the manufacturer.
她还就围绕哥伦比亚河大坝聚集的海狮展开了立法斗争，这些海狮在鲑鱼和钢头鱼到达渔民手中之前就捕食它们。她推动立法，以便更容易处理她所说的“科罗拉大小的害兽”。“人们有时会把我的议程当作古怪的事情来看，而我说，这实际上在我来的地方是非常正常的，”格鲁森坎普·佩雷斯说。
And she’s gone to legislative war against the sea lions that congregate around Columbia River dams, feasting on salmon and steelhead before they can reach fishermen. She has pushed for legislation that would make it easier to kill animals that she calls “Corolla-sized vermin.”“People sometimes treat my agenda like it’s like quirky, and I’m like, this is actually very normal where I’m from,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
民主党若不赢得至少十二个曾投给特朗普的选区，就无法夺回众议院的控制权。
Democrats can’t take control of the House without winning at least a dozen districts that voted for Trump.
如果他们成功做到这一点，该党许多新当选的国会议员——那些可能决定多数派归属的人——可能更像格鲁森坎普·佩雷斯，而不像今年在蓝色选区赢得一系列初选的民主社会主义者。
If they pull it off, many of the party’s newest members of Congress — the ones who could deliver the majority — could resemble Gluesenkamp Perez more than the democratic socialists who won a string of primaries in blue districts this year.
第三路线（Third Way）的政策执行副总裁吉姆·凯斯勒表示，如果民主党想要继续执政，他们需要制定一个能够吸引温和派的议程。该组织主张中间偏左的政策。
Democratic leaders will need an agenda that speaks to moderates if they want to stay in power, said Jim Kessler, executive vice president for policy at Third Way, a Democratic group that advocates for centrist policies.
“民主党需要意识到的是，当你赢得这些席位时，你只是在租用房产。你并不拥有它们，”凯斯勒说。“只要你用心经营，就可以一直保有它们，但只需一次糟糕的选举周期，它们就会消失。”
“What Democrats need to realize, when you win these seats, you’re in rental property. You don’t own them,” Kessler said. “You can keep them as long as you tend to them, but it just takes one bad cycle and they’re gone.”
谈到格鲁森坎普-佩雷斯时，凯斯勒说：“她已经塑造了自己的品牌，能够在敌对的环境中生存下来。”“如果她需要一些空间来做到这一点，那么她就需要那个空间，”他补充道。
Speaking of Gluesenkamp Perez, Kessler said “she’s carved out her own brand and she is able to survive in a hostile environment.”“And if she needs some leeway to do it, then she needs that leeway,” he added.
她的选举公式迄今为止一直有效。2024年，她以7个百分点的优势领先于卡马拉·哈里斯——民主党上届总统候选人，以3个百分点的优势获胜，而哈里斯则在此选区以4个百分点落败。
Her electoral formula has worked so far. She finished 7 points ahead of Kamala Harris, Democrats’ last presidential candidate, in 2024, winning by 3 points while Harris lost the district by 4.
进步变革竞选委员会的联合创始人亚当·格林表示，格鲁森坎普-佩雷斯正确地挑战了亿万富翁和企业，但有时“仅仅为了表演性地反对民主党而削弱民主党。”
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said Gluesenkamp Perez correctly challenges billionaires and corporations but sometimes “undermines Democrats just for the performative sake of opposing Democrats.”
“我从政治上看她就像一个正在长肌肉、学习如何使用肌肉的青少年，”格林说，“人们期待她的拳击会随着时间的推移变得更强、方向更准确。”救护车、消防车和其他应急车辆填满了布劳恩西北公司的停车场，该公司是一家位于州际5号公路沿线的制造商，而州际5号公路是贯穿该选区的主要干道。
“I view her politically like a teenager who’s developing muscles and learning how to use them,” Green said, “with an expectation that her punches will be stronger and aimed in a better direction more and more over time.”Ambulance, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles filled the parking lot at Braun Northwest, a manufacturer that sits alongside Interstate 5, the main thoroughfare through the district.
约翰·布劳恩的父母40年前创立了这家企业，他于2006年被任命为总裁。
John Braun’s parents founded the business 40 years ago, and he was named president in 2006.
布劳恩现年59岁，曾是潜艇部队的退役海军上校，也是一名企业高管和州参议院的共和党领袖，他的背景正是在特朗普以自身形象改造该党之前，长期主导其党内的那种人选。
A retired Navy captain in the submarine service, a business executive and the Republican leader in the state Senate, Braun, 59 has the kind of pedigree that dominated his party before Trump remade it in his image.
这与乔·肯特大相径庭——肯特是该党的提名人，但在2022年和2024年两次败给了格鲁森坎普-佩雷斯。肯特的竞选团队中包括一名自豪男孩组织成员的顾问，而肯特曾支持关于2021年1月6日美国国会骚乱的阴谋论。
It’s far different from Joe Kent , the party’s nominee who lost to Gluesenkamp Perez in 2022 and 2024. Kent’s campaign team included a consultant who was a member of the Proud Boys, and Kent supported conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
肯特随后在特朗普时期出任国家反恐怖中心负责人，但因反对伊朗战争而在今年3月辞职。
Kent went on to lead the National Counterterrorism Center under Trump, resigning in March because of opposition to the Iran war .
布劳恩预测，他将对独立思考的选民更具吸引力，他在接受采访时表示，肯特“并不适合该选区”。格卢森坎普-佩雷斯一直专注于影响其选民一小部分的“边缘议题”，尽管有一些高调的争议，但在“真正重要的事情”上，她并未与民主党决裂，布劳恩说。
Braun predicted that he would have more appeal to independent-minded voters, saying in an interview that Kent “wasn’t a good fit for the district.”Gluesenkamp Perez has focused on “marginal issues” affecting slivers of her constituency and, despite some high-profile disputes, hasn’t broken with Democrats on “the things that really matter,” Braun said.
“这是一个非常独立的选区，虽然我认为她已经多次说过‘独立’，但很多人对她感到沮丧，因为她实际上并没有那么独立，”布劳恩说。
“It’s a very independent district, and while I think she has said ‘independent’ a lot, there’s a lot of frustration that she really hasn’t been all that independent,” Braun said.
来自巴特尔格朗的74岁共和党人桑迪·约翰逊表示，布劳恩的商业背景很有吸引力，他看不出格卢森坎普-佩雷斯与其他民主党人有任何区别。
Sandy Johnson, a 74-year-old Republican from Battle Ground, said Braun’s background in business is appealing, and he doesn’t see any difference between Gluesenkamp Perez and other Democrats.
“我受不了她。我认为她是说谎者。她是个操纵者，”约翰逊在遛狗时，在家附近的公园里说。“她是受他们指使的，她跟着他们走，而不是我们。”
“I can’t stand her. I think she’s a liar. She’s a manipulator,” Johnson said as he walked his dog in a park near his home. “She’s directed by them, and she follows them, not us.”