Jayapal continues to lead fundraising for open U.S. House seat

Susheela Jayapal continues to lead fundraising, but Eddy Morales led spending, in the seven-way Democratic contest to succeed Earl Blumenauer for Oregon’s 3rd District seat in the U.S. House.

The candidates filed first-quarter reports with the Federal Election Commission by the deadline of April 15. Their next reports are due by May 1, when mail ballots go out to voters in the district that covers about two-thirds of Multnomah County voters, plus voters in Hood River County and part of Clackamas County.

(Candidates are also required to report large contributions made up to the primary election date.)

The rest of Multnomah County is in the 1st District represented by Democrat Suzanne Bonamici of Beaverton. Redistricting after the 2020 Census moved the boundary east across the Willamette River, but not too far.

Jayapal, who resigned after five years as a Multnomah County commissioner to get into the race, raised $610,582 and spent $202,329 so far for the 2023-24 election cycle. (All figures are rounded.) Her sister, Pramila Jayapal, is a U.S. representative from a Seattle district.

Morales, a Gresham city councilor for the past five years, raised $493,974 and spent $243,358.

State Rep. Maxine Dexter of Portland, who is leaving the Oregon House after two terms, raised $338,127 and spent $111,182.

Michael Jones, founder and owner of a business law firm in Portland, raised $15,698 and spent $13,617. His report lists debts of $81,000, presumably from a loan to his campaign.

Three of the candidates, excluding Jonas, took part in a Feb. 28 virtual forum sponsored by the City Club of Portland. All four took part in an April 11 in-person forum sponsored by the Portland Metro Area Chamber of Commerce at the Portland Hilton.

Three other Democratic candidates have not organized official campaign committees: Ricardo Barajas, who ran in the 1st District in 2020 and the 6th District in 2022; Nolan Bylenga and Rachel Lydia Rand.

None of the three Republican candidates reported raising any money during the quarter. Joanna Harbour of Estacada, the party’s nominee against Blumenauer in 2020 and 2022, has a campaign committee registered with the FEC; Gary Dye and Teresa Orwig do not.

This is the first open race for the seat since May 1996, when Blumenauer won a special election to succeed Democrat Ron Wyden, who had been elected earlier to the U.S. Senate. Blumenauer is retiring after 52 years in elected office, 28 years of them in the U.S. House.

The winner of the May 21 Democratic primary is likely to be the favorite in the Nov. 5 general election. As of the start of April, registered Democrats in the district outnumber Republicans, 44.5% to 13.6%; voters not affiliated with any party constitute 35.6%.

Blumenauer defeated Harbour with a 70% majority in 2022.

pwong@pamplinmedia.com