He defeated incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler in the primary, but lost in an upset to Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in the general election.

[5] Kent was described by media sources as a far-right politician and promoted various conspiracy theories, including the claim that COVID-19 vaccines are "experimental gene therapy".

[15][9] Kent announced the launch of his campaign for Washington's 3rd congressional district on February 18, 2021; he cited incumbent Republican Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler's vote in favor of the second impeachment of Donald Trump as a factor in his decision to run.

[16] His candidacy was endorsed by Donald Trump and numerous other prominent figures from the Republican Party's pro-Trump wing, including Michael Flynn and Matt Gaetz.

[19] On August 3, 2022, Kent finished second in the nonpartisan primary for the congressional race, advancing to the general election against Democratic candidate Marie Gluesenkamp Perez.

He labeled the perpetrators of the January 6 United States Capitol attack as "political prisoners" and spoke at a rally in defense of them organized by his top adviser.

[17][41] Kent has labeled his political philosophy as "inclusive populism", with a spokesman stating that it "rejects racism and bigotry" while promoting an "America First agenda".

He said that he lost many friends and his wife due to "our ruling class - Republicans and Democrats - consistently [having] lied to the American people to keep us engaged in wars abroad".

[44] Kent later spoke with a member of American Virtue,[a] a little-known white nationalist group allied with Fuentes, where he expressed support for a moratorium on all immigration and stated that “the [American] culture is anti-white” and “anti-straight-white-male.”[45][46] Graham Jorgensen, a member of the neo-fascist organization Proud Boys, was employed as a consultant for Kent's 2022 campaign.