OR-03: Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal, reports The Oregonian's Sami Edge, is "expected to" run for the safely blue seat held by retiring Rep. Earl Blumenauer, and she has strong connections to another West Coast Democrat. Jayapal is the sister of Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a prominent progressive who represents most of Seattle; Susheela Jayapal's 2018 win made her the first Indian American to hold an elected county post in Oregon, and she'd again make history if she won the contest to replace Blumenauer.
Inside Elections' Erin Covey also reports that state Rep. Travis Nelson is "making moves to run," while former Multnomah County Board of Commissioners chair Deborah Kafoury didn't rule out getting in herself. "I’m still weighing my options, but I’m not making any announcements anytime soon," Kafoury told Edge. Willamette Week's Nigel Jaquiss also names Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales as one of the people who is "either being recruited or actively seeking support."
Blumenauer, who told Edge, "There are literally a dozen people salivating at the prospect of getting in this race," himself is concluding an electoral career that began in 1972 when he won a seat in the state House at the age of 23. Blumenauer, who would go on to serve on both the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners and Portland City Commission, ran for mayor in 1992, but that race didn't end well: State Rep. Vera Katz instead triumphed 57-43 after what Oregon Public Broadcasting would remember as a "bare-knuckles campaign" between two former allies.
However, Blumenauer had an easier time winning a promotion when he campaigned in the 1996 special election to replace Ron Wyden, who had just won his own special election to the Senate, in a previous version of the 3rd District. Blumenauer outpaced state Sen. Shirley Gold 72-24 in the primary, and he had no trouble in the general for what was already a safely Democratic seat.
Blumenauer, who never struggled to win reelection, considered a few campaigns for higher office in the 2000s. The congressman mulled a 2004 run for mayor to succeed the retiring Katz, and there was talk he could challenge GOP Sen. Gordon Smith in 2008 after former Gov. John Kitzhaber and fellow Rep. Peter DeFazio passed. Blumenauer, however, opted to remain in the lower chamber, where the Congressional Bike Caucus founder stood out as an outspoken liberal.
Blumenauer, who introduced a bill this year to enlarge the House to 585 members after the next census in 2030, acknowledged to Jaquiss that he'd promoted legislation that had little chance to become law anytime in the foreseeable future. "I’d rather be right than effective," he argued before adding, "I think I’ve been right and I’ve not been as effective as I’d like to have been."
Still, the congressman highlighted his accomplishments in office, declaring, "I was author of the last major flood insurance reform." He added "These are not sexy things. None of your Willamette Week readers or advertisers care about that. But it’s really important, and we’re reaching a point now where the flood insurance program is bankrupt."