Democrats’ hopes of winning a majority in the House of Representatives just suffered a setback.
The damning body camera footage that just dropped saw to that.
And what police recorded after this Democrat’s alleged five-car crash in Tacoma has her facing questions that won’t go away before November.
What the Body Camera Showed
Washington state Democratic House candidate Krista Perez was captured on police body camera footage admitting she had been drinking wine, refusing field sobriety tests, and later sobbing and praying in the back of a patrol car following a late-night crash in Tacoma, according to video obtained by The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red and later aired by Fox News.
Tacoma police say Perez’s 2019 Chevrolet Silverado allegedly struck a parked car on South G Street shortly after midnight on August 11, setting off a chain reaction that damaged five vehicles in all.
When an officer asked Perez whether she had been in an accident, she said she had not. Then the footage shows her acknowledging she had been drinking. She told the officer she had one glass of wine at a friend’s business on Tacoma Avenue South. When the officer asked about the size of the glass, she reportedly deflected, telling him, “I think you might need to contact the business.”
The officer then asked Perez to rate her own sobriety on a scale of zero to ten, with zero meaning completely sober. She gave herself a four.
That answer came out of her own mouth, on camera, while standing near a crash scene with a deployed airbag visible at her front wheel.
The officer explained that field sobriety tests were voluntary. Perez refused them and said she wanted to go home.
“You’re not going to go home first. I’m going to tell you that right now, okay? So your options between the test, yes or no, that’s going to be determined tonight, right now, not when you go home. So would you like to take these tests or no?” the officer asked, and Perez refused again, according to the footage.
She can be seen on camera saying she’s confused as officers place her in handcuffs.
And then the patrol car footage starts.
“Help me, God. Help me. Help me. Holy Spirit, help me, God,” she can be heard saying inside the police vehicle.
The crying reportedly lasted several minutes.
The Refusal Enhancement and What Came Next
Prosecutors charged Perez with DUI with a refusal enhancement — a stiffer charge than a standard DUI. Under Washington state law, roadside sobriety tests are not mandatory, and declining them roadside is a separate matter from the refusal enhancement prosecutors added to the charge.
According to an arrest report obtained by The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red, the enhancement stems from what happened later at Tacoma Police headquarters. Police say Perez attempted three times to provide a breath sample. The machine timed out before she produced a usable reading. Police said she reportedly tucked her lips in and pulled away from the mouthpiece, resulting in weak breaths that were insufficient.
The arresting officer wrote in the police report that he placed Perez in handcuffs and advised her of her Miranda rights based on, among other things, “the severity of the collision, the strong odor of alcohol, noticeable mood swings, confusion, admission to consuming alcohol, repetitive and slurred speech, red eyes, and unsteady gait,” according to reporting by The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red.
Perez asked for a lawyer at Tacoma Police headquarters and got one.
But by the time she asked her attorney whether to submit to the breathalyzer, the machine had already timed out. That’s the refusal enhancement. That’s what carries additional penalties under Washington state law.
When the officer told her she was under arrest, she tried to stall. “Hold on. Hold on. One second. Hold on,” she said. It did not work.
Perez has since pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge. Her arraignment took place in Tacoma Municipal Court in mid-September 2026.
The Race She’s Still Running — and the Opponent She’s Still Facing
Here’s the part that makes this more than just a bad night for one candidate.
Perez finished first in the August primary in Washington’s 29th Legislative District, Position 1. She topped incumbent Democratic state Rep. Melanie Morgan by roughly two percentage points, running to Morgan’s left with heavy support from organized labor. Because Washington uses a top-two primary system, both Democrats advanced to the November general election.
So Perez heads into the general with an active DUI case, a refusal enhancement, five allegedly damaged vehicles, and body camera footage that any voter in the district can now watch for themselves.
Washington state law does not prohibit someone with a DUI charge from serving in the state legislature. So nothing in Olympia’s rulebook stops this race from proceeding exactly as scheduled.
Perez has not publicly addressed the allegations herself, according to reporting on the case.
One supporter reportedly tried to minimize the situation, arguing that regardless of what happens in the DUI case, there are still homeless people who need to get off the streets and expressing hope that attention would stay “focused on what’s relevant.” That framing says something about how the people closest to Perez are thinking about this — get past it fast, pivot to issues, and hope voters either don’t watch the video or don’t weight it heavily enough to change their minds.
But voters now have the video. And voters tend to have their own opinions about candidates who initially deny being in an accident when a crash allegedly damaged five cars, rate their own sobriety a four out of ten, refuse the tests, and then ask God for help from the back of a police cruiser.
What This Race Actually Tells You
The 29th Legislative District race is one of several contests across Washington state testing whether progressive challengers can knock out more moderate incumbents within the Democrat Party. Perez ran to Morgan’s left. She had labor money and activist energy behind her. She squeaked out a primary win.
And then the body camera footage arrived.
The video shows a candidate who first told police she was not in an accident — while standing near a crash with a deployed airbag — and then, after admitting to drinking wine, graded herself as nearly halfway toward impaired on a scale she chose herself. She declined the voluntary tests, stalled when officers moved to arrest her, and broke down in the back of the patrol car.
None of that is a verdict. Perez pleaded not guilty, and the legal process runs its course. But elections don’t wait for verdicts. Voters in the 29th district are being asked to choose between an incumbent and a challenger whose arrest footage has now spread across national conservative media, with the body camera showing the entire encounter — from the initial denial to the prayer in the back seat.
There’s something revealing about how Perez’s circle responded once the footage went public. The pivot was immediate — away from accountability and toward her policy platform. Homeless people. Issues that matter. Stay focused. It’s a template the political Left reaches for whenever one of its own gets caught in something embarrassing. Change the subject. Elevate the cause. Hope the story ages out before Election Day.
But the footage exists. Voters can watch Perez tell an officer she was not involved in an accident when five cars were allegedly damaged. They can hear her rate herself a four on the sobriety scale. They can listen to her cry and call on the Holy Spirit in a patrol car.
And then they get to decide, in November, whether to send her to Olympia anyway.
That’s how democracy works in Washington state. Even when the body camera is rolling.
Sources: Mediaite; Fox News; The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red; Washington State Standard; Slay News; Conservative Institute
