Biden-Backed Oregon Rep. Loses To Far-Left Primary Challenger

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Kurt Schrader (a seven-term Democrat Representative for Oregon), officially lost his primary against Jamie McLeod – Skinner. Before AP called the race Friday, it was called “too close to call”. This was due to an issue with printing the ballots for Clackamas County, which is the third-largest county in the state.

Schrader was the incumbent. The national party, which also includes President Joe Biden and the House Democrat campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), supported Schrader.

Local Democrat County chapters supported the far-left primary opponent. They argued that Schrader should not be allowed to represent the district during redistricting. The local chapters demanded that Schrader be excluded from the race.

The White House attempted to make the event positive, even though Schrader received Biden’s initial endorsement.

Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean Pierre stated last week that Schrader’s loss was not a concern for the White House. The White House would not view Schrader’s defeat as a denial of the president’s agenda, despite Biden’s endorsement. However, she said that they will consider both candidates supportive of him.

McLeod – Skinner will face Republican Lori ChavezDeRemer on November. Chavez-DeRemer was a former mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon. She said that she would support businesses and police, and address the “crisis on our southern border.”

The Fifth Congressional District was redrawn recently to include more Republican areas. It now extends from Portland to central Oregon’s rural areas southeast.

While Democrats have held the seat since 1997, and remain the majority party in the district, some party members worry that a far-left candidate may have greater difficulties winning the election in the area after the redistricting.

The Republicans will win between 20 and 35 seats while Democrats need only five votes to regain control of the House.