by Sharon Rondeau
(Nov. 14, 2022) – On Monday’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” guest-hosted by former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Washington State Republican congressional candidate and retired Green Beret Joe Kent said that despite reports declaring his Democrat opponent, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, the victor, due to voting irregularities he does not consider the race over and has no plans to concede until “every legal vote is counted.”
The difference between the two was “a few thousand votes,” Gabbard said during her introduction of the segment, and, according to her, “called” by the media prematurely.
According to Ballotpedia, the two candidates were separated by approximately 4,500 votes, or 1.5 percentage points, when the race was called. According to opb.org just before Gabbard’s segment with Kent, “The retired Green Beret-turned-political candidate trailed by 4,400 votes on Monday, with fewer than 8,000 ballots left to be tabulated. Kent’s share of the votes would have to ramp up significantly for him to make up the difference.”
As he told Gabbard, Kent is seeking to “cure” rejected ballots.
The seat was previously held by Jaime Herrera-Buetler (R), who voted to convict upon the House of Representatives’ second impeachment of then-President Donald Trump.
Kent defeated Herrera-Buetler during the August primaries. He won Trump’s endorsement and ran as an “America First” candidate.