Girls deserve sex-based sports—and Perez voted against the bill
The Camas walk-off sharpened the WA-3 debate: Perez called boys competing in girls’ sports unfair, then voted against H.R. 28; voters face Initiative 638 on Nov. 3.
Girls’ races belong to girls. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, Ken Vance of Clark County Today reported that 12 Camas High School athletes and five Battle Ground High School runners declined to race a biological male competing for Camas’ girls’ cross-country team and walked off right after the start; the male finished second in the girls’ race. The athlete began the season on the boys’ team1. The male athlete finished second in the girls’ race.
Brandi Kruse wrote on X: “Utterly shocking that @MGPforCongress has refused to stand up for these girls in HER district. How is the woman in the race losing to the man on a women’s rights issue?” During a televised debate that day, Gluesenkamp Perez addressed girls’ and women’s sports.
Perez says the competition is unfair
That night, KATU reporter Wright Gazaway asked the 3rd District candidates, in a live televised debate, about banning transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports. Gluesenkamp Perez called herself “libertarian on this issue” and said “these decisions are best made by local stakeholders.” She conceded that it is unfair for boys to compete in girls’ sports, then pivoted: “It’s not fair to make girls certify their sex to the state just to play softball,” warning of genital exams and DNA banks1. No exam was needed in Camas, where the school knew which team the athlete started on.
Asked whether there was a problem to solve, she said: “This is very, very rare. This is not a common issue.”1 Rare for which girls, the ones who walked off her district’s course that afternoon?
Perez voted against the sports bill
Her vote says more than her debate answer. On Jan. 14, 2025, the House passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. The bill was H.R. 28. The House Clerk recorded 218 yeas and 206 nays. The nays came from Democrats; Texas Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez were the only Democrats to vote yes.
Girls’ sports need sex-based rules
Fairness for girls needs a rule written by sex, and that rule has to hold in every district. Leaving it to “local stakeholders” leaves girls’ fairness to local discretion. Parents raising daughters should not have to hope the next school board reads biology correctly.
Voters have already settled this question. An American Principles Project report, citing a November 2024 Napolitan News/RMG poll, found 75 percent of voters opposed letting biological males who identify as women compete in women’s sports, against 13 percent in favor2. That number is why Gluesenkamp Perez reaches for “libertarian” and “rare” instead of defending her vote.
Braun says biology belongs in sports
When asked whether he supported a ban, Braun said: “Yes. I think it takes decidedly on the wrong track to allow biological males to compete in girls or women’s sports.” He spoke as the father of three daughters who competed in high school and college. “This is about fairness and safety, about biology,” he said. “We have Title IX for a reason.” Braun also met the claim that a sex-based rule shuts students out: it does not prevent them from playing, he said; “It just means they have to play sports by their biological sex.”1
On Oct. 16, he wrote on X that protecting female athletes means “ensuring every girl has a fair chance to compete.”3 One candidate gave the Camas girls an answer, and the other referred them to local stakeholders.
Voters can demand action in November
Washington voters will decide Initiative 638 on biological males in girls’ sports in the Nov. 3 general election1. Before then, Gluesenkamp Perez owes Camas families two yes-or-no answers.
If boys in girls’ races are unfair, will she vote for the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act next time, yes or no? Will WA-3 voters choose a candidate who will act to keep girls’ sports fair? The Camas runners gave their answer by walking off the course, and on Nov. 3 Washington voters will vote on Initiative 638.
Sources
- Congressional candidates address issue of biological males participating in girls’ sports
- Defeating They/Them (American Principles Project, 2024)
- @votejohnbraun on X, 2026-10-16: Girls deserve to compete in sports where fairness and safety come first. Protecting opportunities for female athletes means preserving the integrity of women’s sports and ensuring every girl has a fair chance to compete. This is about standing up for girls,, 2026-10-16
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