Progressive candidates struggle in Oregon. White House calls for ‘a sensible approach’
Progressive candidates lost in several primary elections held on Tuesday in Oregon, losing out to more moderate candidates in Democratic primaries. In response to this political shift, one Biden administration official said, “well-meaning ideas have gone too far, and we need a sensible approach.”
According to Politico, the loss of a liberal Portland prosecutor to a “tough-on-crime challenger” led to a response from top White House officials that Democrats need to distance themselves from left-leaning positions on “law-and-order issues.”
Several progressive congressional candidates also lost their primary races, including the sister of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Susheela Jayapal was running for the Democratic nomination in Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District, but she lost to state lawmaker Maxine Dexter.
“I think the voters were sending a signal last night that they support pragmatic ... candidates who have experience, who have results,” Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., chair of the center-left New Democrat Coalition, told Axios.
Progressive setbacks in Oregon
In Oregon’s Multnomah County, encompassing Portland, centrist district attorney candidate Nathan Vasquez defeated incumbent prosecutor Mike Schmidt, winning the nonpartisan primary with more than 50% of the vote.
According to Politico, Vasquez was supported by several police groups as his campaign focused on being tough on crime, a message that resonated with Oregon voters concerned about public safety and homelessness.
Vasquez posted on Wednesday, “The voters have made it clear that they are ready to take our county in a new and safer direction.”
He continued, “I am committed to ending open air drug dealing and drug use while helping connect individuals to treatment, to rebuilding the broken relationships between the DA’s office and the community, and to ensuring that victims are the number one priority of my office.”
On the federal side, a more centrist Democratic candidate also won in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, a swing district Democrats are hoping to take back from Republicans in November, as reported by The Associated Press.
White House response
The outcome of the primaries in Oregon sparked discussions about the Democratic Party’s approach to crime. The results reinforced a perspective among White House officials that Democrats need to distance themselves from their “left flank on law-and-order issues,” per Politico.
“‘Particularly right now, Americans don’t want to feel like things are out of control,’ said one Biden official, who was granted anonymity to offer candid views about tensions within the party. ‘Well-meaning ideas have gone too far, and we need a sensible approach,’” as reported by Politico.
According to the article, Biden has concerns that scenes of chaos at the border and crime could hurt his chances in November.
