What comes next

After serving in Congress for almost 30 years, last week, Rep. Earl Blumenauer announced that he will not seek re-election at the end of his term. While his bowties and bicycles made him instantly recognizable, it was his ability to get progressive policies across the line that moved America forward.

First, I want to give my sincere thanks to Rep. Blumenauer for his years of dedication and service to Oregon, and I feel fortunate to have worked with him on legislation that made Oregonians' lives so much better. Earl has been a champion for rebuilding and renewing our nation's transportation infrastructure, economic security for families, protection of public lands, stopping gun violence, ending the prohibition on marijuana, and criminal justice reform.

Now, I want to talk about what comes next.

• We'll have a primary election between some very capable candidates to fill Earl's seat in OR-03 and continue his progressive advocacy, but that's only one of the important races we have next fall.
• Meanwhile, let’s not forget that we also have 3 swing races in purple districts. We need to defend Val Hoyle in OR-4 and Andrea Salinas in OR-6 and install a Democrat in OR-5.

Last week's elections showed that Democrats have the winning message. People are sick and tired of the GOP's gravitation towards MAGA extremism.

But there's a long way to go until 2024, and what we do today will be critical to winning. So can I count on you to make a donation to the Oregon Blue Victory Fund and help power our grassroots movement and win these races and take back the House?

Onward!

Jeff