Trump's PAC starts spending in key Washington congressional race

Jim Brunner, The Seattle Times on Sep 12, 2026

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SEATTLE — A new PAC backed by President Donald Trump is reportedly wading into Washington's hottest congressional race as Republicans try to keep a House majority loyal to the president.

No Going Back PAC has reserved $1.7 million in ad time in southwest Washington's 3rd Congressional District, where Trump-endorsed Republican challenger John Braun is running against Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, the two-term Democratic incumbent.

The ad buy is part of a $68 million campaign targeting 14 battleground House districts and six Senate contests, The New York Times reported, citing data from AdImpact, a media tracking service.

It's likely just the start of tens of millions of dollars that both Democratic- and Republican-allied groups will spend on the midterm race — fueling attack ads in the Portland, Oregon, TV market — that will help determine which party controls the House next year.

MAGA Inc., Trump's main super PAC, which has a $400 million war chest, is behind the newly registered No Going Back group, according to multiple national media reports. The group has yet to report details of its donors to the Federal Election Commission.

The money pouring into the 3rd District could complicate Braun's efforts to portray himself as an independent voice in a race where both candidates have sought to steer the conversation away from Trump and toward local issues like boosting trade jobs and salmon. Gluesenkamp Perez has also sought to distance herself from the national Democratic Party.

The district was flipped for Democrats by Gluesenkamp Perez in 2022, when the auto shop co-owner narrowly defeated MAGA stalwart Joe Kent. She beat him again in a rematch two years ago.

Braun, R-Centralia, who leads the state Senate Republicans, was endorsed by Trump in April and has welcomed his support while also saying he'll run an independent campaign."

While Trump is broadly unpopular in Washington state, he carried the 3rd District in the past three presidential contests. The district includes the Democratic-leaning Portland suburbs of Clark County but also stretches to the Pacific Coast and into conservative areas like Lewis County.

Braun's campaign did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment on the Trump PAC spending, which is independent of his congressional campaign.

Tim Gowen, a spokesperson for Gluesenkamp Perez's campaign, said in a statement it was "disappointing" to see Braun "trade his integrity for Trump's money and endorsement, but after Braun's long record in Olympia of voting against working families, it's not surprising.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who led the Trump administration's brief DOGE initiative that slashed federal research and global health funding, is also planning to target the 3rd District as part of a $100-million-or-more spending spree to help Republicans maintain control of Congress, The New York Times reported in July.

With an incumbent's head start, Gluesenkamp Perez holds a fundraising lead over Braun going into the fall contest. She's raised more than $6 million to his roughly $2 million, according to FEC summaries.

Spending by outside groups is sure to outstrip those campaign totals, as super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money while donations directly to candidates are capped at $3,500 per election.

A PAC funded by labor groups and liberal donors has stood up a so-far smaller ad campaign backing Gluesenkamp Perez and opposing Braun. The group, called Together for Working People, has spent about $110,000, FEC reports show.