LONGVIEW, Wash. — U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent battled over abortion, immigration, federal spending and foreign wars during a testy debate Wednesday in their nationally watched race that could determine control of the House next year.

The debate, in a packed auditorium at Lower Columbia College, spotlighted difficulties facing Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., as she seeks reelection in a Republican-leaning district where a majority voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.

The audience of a few hundred leaned decidedly pro-Kent, and at times broke out into applause for him or jeers for Gluesenkamp Perez, despite admonishments from the moderators.

Gluesenkamp Perez was often on the defensive, seeking to distance herself from the Biden-Harris administration — even declining after the debate to say whether she'll vote for Harris — and steer the conversation away from hot-button national and foreign policy controversies. Instead, she sought to play up her bipartisan voting record and efforts to bring home money for bridges and job training in Southwest Washington's 3rd Congressional District.

"My values as a business owner, as a woman who lives on a gravel road in a rural community are the same values that you all share," she said early in the debate.

In contrast, Kent explicitly framed the race in national terms, saying he backs Donald Trump and painting an almost apocalyptic picture of a U.S. crushed by inflation, wasting billions on foreign wars and besieged by what he called an "invasion" of immigrants.

"I'm not afraid of a fight," Kent said, pointing to his 11 combat deployments as a Special Forces Green Beret. But, he said, "the only place we should be looking for a fight right now is on the southern border."

Gluesenkamp Perez, who lives in rural Skamania County and co-owns a Portland auto repair shop, eked out one of the biggest upset wins for Democrats two years ago, beating Kent by 2,629 votes in a race that featured little national spending.

This year, in their rematch, both parties are pouring millions of dollars into the race, which is seen as key for partisan control of the House, where Republicans now hold a narrow majority.

On one major 2024 issue — abortion rights in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's striking down of Roe v. Wade — Gluesenkamp Perez attacked Kent for a major election-year pivot.

"Joe Kent has played both sides of this card. He has shifted. He'll say what the pollsters tell him he needs to say to get power, because that's what's important to him," she said.

Kent previously advocated for a federal abortion ban, with no exceptions for rape or incest. But this year, as Republicans face electoral backlash on abortion rights, Kent says he will oppose any federal abortion ban.

On Wednesday, Kent said he supported the U.S. Supreme Court's decision ending federal abortion-rights protections and allowing states to adopt their own bans or restrictions.

"It is back down here at the state level, I don't support a national abortion ban, and you can count on me. My word is my bond," Kent said.

Whether the questions were about the federal budget or gun violence or foreign policy, Gluesenkamp Perez returned again and again to her efforts to build back up the fortunes of rural and working class communities, repeatedly bringing up her efforts to restore "shop class to junior high."

At one point, she argued Kent was trying to "razzle-dazzle" the audience with his "superior knowledge" of conflicts in the Middle East, while the top issues she hears about back home were all about the economy.

Kent fired back that there was nothing "razzle-dazzle" about his criticisms of the Biden-Harris policies that have led to more deaths of U.S. military personnel overseas. Kent's late wife, Shannon, a Navy cryptologist, was killed in 2019 in a terrorist attack in Syria.

Gluesenkamp Perez played up her votes where she'd diverged from the Biden-Harris administration, including opposition to an assault weapon ban and support for a balanced-budget amendment.

"I'm in the top 3% of most bipartisan members of the U.S. House of Representatives. That's a fact that can't be refuted, and it's not driven by partisan politics. It's driven by loyal to my community. I don't care what the beltway thinks. I care about my reputation at the gas station, at the grocery store, at day care drop-off," she said.

Kent contended that bipartisan reputation is phony, calling her votes against her party "performative" and belied by her backing Democratic leaders on the most important measures.

"She voted to give Biden and Kamala Harris no cap on spending, putting $4 trillion in new spending, new inflationary spending, driving the cycle of inflation that hurts everyone," Kent said. "And what do we get in return? Do we get any infrastructure improvements? No, we got more overseas adventures, more foreign wars."

Kent has called for the U.S. to end its support of Ukraine, allowing Russia to keep its gains there through a negotiated settlement.

Gluesenkamp Perez has defended U.S. aid to Ukraine in the war launched by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

"Ukraine was attacked," she said, citing "a growing lust for power" by Putin's Russia. "My interests are the interests of the American people, ensuring that we are able to exercise influence and support peace."

She added that U.S. aid in the war is "growing the domestic capacity for manufacturing munitions. Those are family wage jobs."

As the night wore on, Kent appeared more confident, smiling and snapping selfies with audience members during a mid-debate intermission, while Gluesenkamp Perez vanished backstage until the second half of the debate started.

"So much for civil discourse," Gluesenkamp Perez said at the end of the two-hour debate. She then launched into a closing statement accusing Kent of being "divisive" and "violent" — drawing a loud chorus of boos and shouts in the auditorium.

When that disruption quieted down, Gluesenkamp Perez pressed ahead, bring up Kent's campaign in 2022 paying a member of the far-right Proud Boys and more recently setting up a "shell corporation" she said was hiding who his campaign is paying.

"That's not being level with our community," she said. "The Joe Kent who showed up here tonight, who is here to take partisan votes... that's the same Joe Kent who is going to show up in Washington D.C."

Kent, in his closing statement, said he was determined to go to Congress to close the border, and fight "the military industrial complex, Big Pharma and infringements on our basic civil liberties."

In an interview after the debate, Gluesenkamp Perez acknowledged the night had been rough. "I know how adept Joe is at whipping a crowd into a frenzy," she said, adding it reflects a "divisive" national politics she's working against.

Kent is endorsed by Trump and brought up his support in the debate. Gluesenkamp Perez, who joined some other Democrats in calling for Biden to step aside this year, has not explicitly endorsed Harris for president.

Asked who she'll vote for, Gluesenkamp Perez said: "I do see a clear choice in this, but I am not here to tell people how to vote in a presidential race." Pressed on who she will personally vote for, she said, "I'm not voting for Trump" but declined to say she'll vote for Harris.

In a brief post-debate interview, Kent said Gluesenkamp Perez "can't defend her record." He also defended his own shifting stance on abortion, saying he changed his position because "it's a very divisive issue" and that "maybe the way I feel in my heart doesn't reflect everyone else."

He called the Supreme Court's decision striking down Roe v. Wade "a very good compromise" that leaves abortion bans or protections up to states.

The debate Wednesday was sponsored by the Cowlitz Civil Dialogue Project, a nonpartisan local group promoting local debates.

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