A Lewis County Republican opened an exploratory committee to take a look at difficult U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez within the third Congressional District in 2026.
John Roco, 60, is a Chehalis native, in keeping with an announcement, and has labored as a counselor, professor, producer, actor and politician.
Perez, D-Skamania, was reelected to a second time period in November after a second tight race with challenger Republican Joe Kent.
Roco ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in Hawaii in 2010, 2014 and 2016, however was defeated within the main in every election. He additionally ran as a write-in candidate for president in 2024, in keeping with Ballotpedia.
In Hawaii, Roco opened an anger administration follow and later grew to become a College of Phoenix diet and psychology professor in Honolulu, in keeping with his assertion.
Roco mentioned he needed to run for Congress to guard america from “within and out” and develop Southwest Washington, in keeping with his announcement.
He additionally mentioned he desires to “remove migrant criminals, remove migrant freebies, remove Biden’s masses” and ensure sexually violent predators aren’t positioned in outpatient remedy in communities close to kids.
The third District contains Lewis, Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark and Skamania counties, together with a small portion of Thurston County.