It looks like congressional Democrats are about to infuse more money into Oregon’s 5th District race in an effort to get Terrebonne Attorney Jamie McLeod-Skinner elected. Her Republican opponent, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, is also receiving acclaim from that party’s congressional campaign arm.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is adding McLeod-Skinner to its Red to Blue program. She’s one of three Oregon candidates being added to the program.
“Red to Blue is a highly competitive and tested program at the DCCC that equips top-tier candidates with organizational and fundraising support to help them continue to run strong campaigns,” the DCCC said on its website.
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“This additional support will help us continue growing our campaign as we knock on doors, speak to voters and fight for working families across Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District,” McLeod-Skinner said in a statement.
Chavez-DeRemer was named a “Young Gun” Tuesday by the National Republican Campaign Committee. The NRCC said that puts her at the “highest level of their key recruitment program” and “recognizes candidates in competitive districts who have built a winning campaign infrastructure.”
“Our campaign won decisively in the primary because of our strong grassroots efforts, and we now head to the general election with tremendous momentum to bring commonsense solutions to D.C.,” DeRemer said in a statement.
The 5th District has been redrawn under congressional redistricting following the 2020 Census. It now includes Bend and other parts of Central Oregon.
What’s a bit unusual about the Red to Blue program is that the DCCC says its aim is to “flip these seats from Red to Blue.” The 5th District is already in Democratic hands with Schrader holding the seat. But it’s being seen as more competitive in 2022.
The Cook Political Report, which is a national ratings agency that makes predictions about the likelihood of who will win presidential, gubernatorial and congressional elections, has rated the 5th District a toss-up. Before McLeod-Skinner beat Schrader, it was labeled as a “Lean Democratic” by Cook.
The other Oregon candidates who will be in DCCC’s Red to Blue program are Val Hoyle from the 4th District and Andrea Salinas from the 6th District.
