PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Seven-term U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, a centrist backed by President Joe Biden, has been ousted in the Democratic primary in Oregon by progressive rival Jamie McLeod-Skinner after further delays one week for a ballot print issue.
The counting of votes in the 5th district of the state Congress was slowed down because tens of thousands of ballots were printed with blurred barcodes, making them unreadable by the counting machines. Workers in Clackamas County, the third largest county in the state, had to transfer their votes by hand to new ballots so they could count. This process continued on Friday for other races that have not yet been called.
McLeod-Skinner had the support of local Democratic parties in the four counties covered by the redrawn seat, which now leans a little less blue. In his campaign, he called for stronger action to combat climate change and complained that Schrader was too conservative. He also portrayed Schrader as a politician who. he had lost touch with his party base and in the pockets of major pharmaceutical companies on issues such as the prices of prescription drugs.
McLeod-Skinner will face Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer in November. Chavez-DeRemer is the former mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon. He said he would support businesses and police and address “the crisis on our southern border.”
In a statement on Twitter, McLeod-Skinner thanked Schrader for his years of service and said Oregon Democrats should see the contest result as “an assessment of our ideas and a confirmation of our values.”
“From Sellwood to Sunriver, the people of Oregon kept believing that we can protect our families, our climate, and our civil rights,” he wrote. “Oregonians: This is your victory.”
Biden made Schrader his first endorsement of the year, but did not help the moderate Democrat in a district that now includes Bend, one of the fastest-growing Democratic areas in the state where McLeod-Skinner had the most recognition. first name.
Schrader has voted against some of Biden’s priorities, including a money-saving plan to allow Medicare to negotiate the price it pays for prescription drugs. A year ago, he was one of only two members of his party to vote against a $ 1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill because, among other reasons, he did not support the inclusion of a $ 1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill. increase in the minimum wage.
These decisions may have cost him re-election, said John Horvick, political director of the non-partisan public opinion firm DHM Research.
“He’s a moderate, but he’s more specific to the issues where he went against the party,” he said. “The most important thing is really his reluctance to support the Democrats with prescription drugs. You can break with your party in many different areas, but a very prominent position and deeply subject to the party, that was a deal breach.” .
What remains to be seen is whether McLeod-Skinner will run well in the general election in a district that is fairly evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Democrat control of the seat could be at risk if moderate voters perceive it as too progressive, he said.
Republican nominee Chávez-DeRemer is backed by third-term House Republican Elise Stefanik of New York, a support Chávez-DeRemer highlighted in her primary campaign in a crowded camp. . This could play well in the more conservative parts of the redrawn district that stretches from the suburbs of Portland to rural Oregon.
“For me, it’s a race ahead and the quality of the candidates will be important,” Horvick said. “Oregon’s chances of being the center of the national conversation are higher in this cycle than in any cycle that comes to mind in recent memory.”
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This story has been updated to correct the description of Oregon’s 5th redrawn district.
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