A close legislative race in Tacoma has taken an unexpected turn. Tacoma police arrested Democratic candidate Krista Perez for a suspected DUI earlier this week.
Perez is challenging incumbent Rep. Melanie Morgan, also a Democrat, to represent the 29th Legislative District. Unofficial primary election results as of Aug. 13 show Perez leading Morgan by just 380 votes. Both are expected to advance to the general election in November.
A DUI doesn't disqualify Perez from running for office, and she is assumed innocent until her trial. But the incident could affect her chances in the race. Democratic political consultant Stephen Paolini said her arrest is a “really big deal” because of how close this race is.
“It doesn't need to be persuasive to thousands upon thousands of people for it to matter,” Paolini said. “If it impacts half a percent of people, it may decide the election.”
Perez’s campaign said in a statement that she has been advised by her attorney not to comment further on the case.
“Ms. Perez is embroiled in an important campaign regarding an important office. Ms. Perez chooses, instead, to focus on the important issues that matter most to the families of this community, such as education, the homeless crisis, transportation, affordability, child care, and the like,” the statement from her attorney read.
Perez was booked into Pierce County Corrections for driving under the influence early Tuesday morning. According to reporting by Seattle Red, she struck a parked car and set off a chain reaction that damaged five cars in total. The Tacoma City Attorney’s Office will be handling her case, though it has not yet issued formal charges.
Perez is running for the state House as one of a handful of insurgent progressives challenging more moderate Democrats. Her opponent Morgan, by contrast, was one of the few House Democrats who voted against the state’s first income tax on high earners, also known as the “millionaires tax.”
It’s worth noting that elected state legislators have had DUI charges while holding office in the past. Washington state law does not prevent someone with a DUI on their record — which is counted as a misdemeanor — from running for elected office.
State Rep. Timm Ormsby, a Democrat from Spokane, was charged with a DUI in 2018, and he continued to win reelection until he stepped down from his seat this year.
Washington state legislators have been looking to raise penalties for DUIs for years. In 2019, legislators debated but did not pass a bill that would have lowered the threshold for the number of DUIs committed before it’s considered a felony. Last year, a bill that would have lowered the maximum allowable blood alcohol concentration for drivers to .05% failed to pass.
Morgan herself has faced allegations of harassing staff members, according to reports from the state’s Legislative Ethics Board. Those complaints were ultimately dismissed by the board.
