If you look a typical political map of the United States, Oregon and Washington look safely blue 鈥� neither state has voted for a Republican for president since 1984.
But Oregon Democratic Congresswoman Andrea Salinas says it鈥檚 a different story down ballot.
"We are all feeling like we鈥檙e scraping tooth and nail to get ahead," Salinas told NPR while campaigning for reelection Oregon's 6th Congressional District.
It's a familiar theme here. The Pacific Northwest is often presumed be an easy win for Democrats, but down-ballot races are actually a much stronger shade of purple. And it makes for a series of pretty close contests.
"The distribution between the two parties is close鈥� in this region, said Richard Clucas, a politics professor at Portland State University. 鈥淵ou get a sense in statewide elections we're going to be a blue wall, but we're like so much of the country. The rural parts are dang red and the urban parts are dang blue.鈥�
In 2022, the region sent a trio of freshman Latina members to Congress from both parties, who were part of a record Hispanic class. And they鈥檙e now part of 鈥� even as they still lag Hispanics鈥� share of the U.S. population.
In Washington and Oregon, these Latina members argue that paths to victory mean breaking through to voters on local issues and connecting on identity, rather than party loyalty.
Out on the campaign trail, Salinas visited with Latino-owned businesses as part of her strategy to connect with a key demographic in her district. It's home to the state's largest concentration of Latino residents.
Yet, Salinas is facing one of the closest races in the country in . And she鈥檚 fighting for resources to keep her seat.
鈥淲e are not a battleground state. And so when you have a presidential election happening, the battleground states really get the most attention,鈥� said Salinas, who says it gets harder to break through without a governor or U.S. Senate race this year for Oregon.
She鈥檚 not alone.
She鈥檚 also part of bipartisan duo who made history in 2022 as the first Latina members to represent Oregon in Congress.
The Republican member of that duo, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, is facing nearly identical dynamics to Salinas.
At a recent rally in Oregon's 5th Congressional district, Chavez-DeRemer was met with a hyped-up crowd.
"LCD, LCD, LCD," the crowd chanted from the Tumwater Ballroom in Oregon City, a popular site for political rallies here.
Chavez-DeRemer had a grave warning for these energetic supporters.
"This race is going to be close, within the margin of error," she said. "Don't think for one minute it's not going to come down to just a few thousand votes that are going to separate us."
She flipped her district red in 2022 鈥� making it a key target in Republicans鈥� aim to keep control of the U.S. House.
She鈥檚 facing off against a popular Democratic state lawmaker, Janelle Bynum, who wants to flip the district back as part of her party鈥檚 goal to take back control of the lower chamber.
But Chavez-DeRemer notes she鈥檚 used her time in Congress to deliver money and jobs to this district.
"Yeah it鈥檚 important 鈥or Oregonians, so they鈥檙e going to get out and vote," she told NPR. "I鈥檓 looking forward to visiting with everybody and we鈥檙e going to win this thing."
She also has a major ally backing her at this rally: House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has made multiple visits here.
"The most important races where I am is reserved for the end of the cycle. And I want you know, I've been here a couple of times because Lori is so important to us," Johnson told the crowd. "And so important to the future of the country. "
Johnson made another stop , where a similar dynamic is at play.
It鈥檚 represented by another Latina freshman incumbent, but she鈥檚 a Democrat that Johnson hopes is ousted by .
Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez staged one of the House鈥檚 biggest flips in the last election cycle in deep Republican country near Vancouver, Washington.
"This seat was drawn to be a red seat," she told NPR during a stop on her RV tour .
Her contested seat in Southwest Washington shares another trend in this area: a district closely divided along urban and rural lines.
Her Republican opponent, retired Army green beret Joe Kent, says the party is on track to take district back with help from having Former President Donald Trump on the ticket.
"The Republican party learned a lot of hard lessons here in 2022," Kent told NPR during a recent break from a candidate forum in Grays River a few miles from the coastline.
Unlike the last election cycle, Kent says Republicans have presented a unified front. In 2022, Kent who won a bitter primary that forced the ouster of .
"If we spend... an exhausting amount of time and money destroying each other ...that can cost us," he said. 鈥溾�淎nd we did not have that at all this time.鈥�
For example, Kent said he recently attended an event with Herrera Beutler and other ex-GOP opponents.
For her part, Gluesenkamp Perez has kept her own party at arms length, issuing and avoiding endorsement talk on Vice President Harris.
She argues too often, national politics eclipses local needs in her district 鈥� a common refrain here.
鈥淚n rural communities we have felt really frustrated about how much oxygen these national races get,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd it feels like it鈥檚 at the expense of local issues.鈥�
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