Democrats raise concerns about Republicans meddling in a competitive Oregon primary

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new political action committee has begun pouring money into a key Oregon swing district just days before the Democratic primary there, raising questions about whether Republicans are trying to tilt the scales in the contest.

The primary features Janelle Bynum and Jamie McLeod-Skinner and will take place Tuesday. The Democrats are vying to compete against Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a first-term Republican lawmaker who narrowly won the 2022 election over McLeod-Skinner by about 7,300 votes and just 2 percentage points.

The contest is viewed as one of the most competitive in the nation and will draw a huge amount of resources in the fall as the two major political parties vie for control of the House. The district is one of 16 won by President Joe Biden now represented by a Republican in the House.

The new super PAC called Health Equity Now has reserved about $352,000 in advertising with spots supporting McLeod-Skinner, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. The ads began running in the Portland market on Wednesday and state that McLeod-Skinner is “putting progressive values into action” by supporting Medicare for all and taking the fight to insurance companies.

The group behind the ads registered with the Federal Election Commission on May 3. It won’t need to file its donors until after the election, avoiding giving the voters information about who — or what interest group — is behind the late-breaking wave of cash. But what has raised questions with Democrats is that the ad buying firm placing the buys, Fidi Media, LLC, has traditionally been employed by Republican candidates, FEC records show.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE»