Joe Kent

Joe Kent
Kent in 2022
Personal details
Born1980 (age 43–44)[1]
Sweet Home, Oregon, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 2014; died 2019)​
  • Heather Kaiser
    ​
    (m. 2023)​
Children2
ResidenceYacolt, Washington
EducationNorwich University (BS)
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
RankChief warrant officer III

Joe Kent (born 1980) is an American far-right political candidate[2][3] and former officer of the United States Army Special Forces.[2][3]

After defeating incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler in the primary, Kent was the Republican nominee in the 2022 election for Washington's 3rd congressional district, losing in an upset to Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.[4] During his campaign, Kent promoted conspiracy theories including the claim that the COVID-19 vaccines are "experimental gene therapy".[5]

Kent is the Republican nominee in the 2024 congressional election for the same seat,[6] facing Gluesenkamp Perez in a rematch. He is the widower of Shannon M. Kent, a United States Navy senior chief petty officer and cryptologic technician who was deployed to Syria and killed in the 2019 Manbij bombing.

  1. ^ Lee, Lafayette (August 30, 2022). "Joe Kent: Our Generation's War". IM—1776. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Grisales, Claudia (November 7, 2022). "A Washington congressional district is weighing the election of a far-right candidate". NPR. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Watson, Evan (October 6, 2022). "A closer look at the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for US House seat in southwest Washington". KGW. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  4. ^ McCausland, Phil (November 12, 2022). "Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez defeats MAGA Republican Joe Kent, flipping key Washington House seat". NBC News. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  5. ^ Buncombe, Andrew (September 28, 2022). "Trump-backed Joe Kent accused of spreading conspiracy theories by calling Covid vaccine 'experimental gene therapy'". The Independent. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference mynorthwest was invoked but never defined (see the help page).