Oregon Democratic Party kicks off statewide tour to tie GOP nominee Drazan to Trump

PORTLAND — The Democratic Party of Oregon on Monday kicked off a new “No Trump in Oregon” tour in the state’s most populous city, doubling down on its efforts to tie Republican gubernatorial nominee  Christine Drazan, a state senator from Canby, to the Trump administration.

The afternoon event took place a week after Labor Day in Southeast Portland at the Oregon Labor Federation. It marks the first stop in a tour that will also visit cities including Eugene, Bend and Salem, beginning a few weeks ahead of Drazan and incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek’s first general election debate on Oct. 1 in Eugene. 

“Now that she is running for statewide office, Drazan is playing a moderate, but the facts don’t lie. She has spent her entire career in politics pushing policies that are in lockstep with Donald Trump and his MAGA agenda,” said Nathan Soltz, chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon. “Oregonians deserve a leader that will push back on Trump’s authoritarian overreach, who will stand up for them and stand with them.”

The tour to some of Oregon’s most heavily populated metropolitan areas also comes as some analysts have pulled away from favoring Kotek in the Oregon governor’s race. Although Kotek’s campaign has about $5 million more in the bank, the Cook Political Report on Sept. 10 adjusted its forecast for the race from “Likely Democrat” to “Lean Democrat,” noting that “Democrats admit that Gov. Tina Kotek’s reelection bid is increasingly closer than they’d like.” 

Democrats on Monday framed their renewed push against Drazan as necessary with 50 days until the Nov. 3 election. Graham Trainor, president of Oregon’s American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, joined them to take aim at Drazan’s legislative record on labor rights, such as her vote against a 2026 law that ensures Oregon will not adopt less stringent child labor standards if the federal government decides to lower them. AFL-CIO represents more than 300,000 Oregonians in nearly 300 affiliated unions. 

“That’s how far she’ll go to avoid standing up to Donald Trump,” Trainor told reporters. “At every opportunity, she’s used her power as an elected official to try and weaken protections for Oregon workers. That is not the kind of leadership that Oregonians and Oregon workers deserve.”

Drazan maintains criticism is distraction

The Democratic Party of Oregon has long sought to tie Drazan to the federal administration, an approach Drazan has decried as a distraction from Kotek’s record on issues such as homelessness, education and economic development. On Monday, Kotek’s backers said their focus on Trump was out of a need to educate the public on Drazan’s record rather than avoiding discussions of Kotek’s.

Rep. Travis Nelson, a Portland Democrat who took over Kotek’s House seat after she ran for governor in 2022, said he has seen Drazan side with her party over the needs of Oregonians throughout his time serving in the Oregon House, where she was a former House minority leader. He pointed to her support for a bill imposing restrictions and criminal penalties for abortion providers as well as her vote against a 2025 law supporting funding for Oregon’s Medicaid program, which six Republicans crossed party lines to support.

“The governor can slow funding, tell agencies to not enforce laws and impose executive orders similar to what we are seeing Trump do at the federal level,” Nelson said. “I’m not seeing anyone in the media talking about this.”

Drazan has managed to walk a fine line on the issue given that the race hasn’t received national attention through an endorsement from President Donald Trump or significant backing from the Republican Governors Association. During Drazan’s unsuccessful 2022 bid for governor, the national Republican gubernatorial fundraising arm considered her as a high priority for a potential pickup seat for the party.

Over the past few years, however, Drazan has supported legislation to overturn Oregon’s vote-by-mail system in favor of in-person voting, described the state’s Medicaid program as too generous and placed blame with the state’s sanctuary policies, which limit state and local governments’ cooperation with immigration authorities without a judicial warrant.

Drazan’s statement following Trump’s announcement of an attempted National Guard deployment to Portland last year condemned “violent mobs and domestic terrorists” and said “we need order, we need to restore safety, and Oregon’s local leaders have failed to provide it.” The senator has maintained that her statement was not a position on Trump’s attempt to deploy the National Guard to the city. 

“I will always, always, always stand up for Oregonians,” Drazan told reporters in August when asked if she would stand up to the federal government. “You guys are going to see me continue throughout this campaign (to do) that, into my administration.”

A new ad from Drazan’s campaign last week homes in on Oregon’s ranking among the worst in the nation for education outcomes amid increased state spending and suspended high school graduation requirements. The video references her “Drazan Plan,” a set of values and broad policy positions aimed at lowering taxes and regulations that the senator unveiled in Portland last month as she seeks to court centrist and liberal voters in the metro region.

“Tina Kotek is a failed governor. Whether it’s affordability, homelessness, housing or education, Oregonians are living with the consequences of the mess she’s made every single day,” Drazan campaign manager Trey Rosser said in a statement. “On November 3rd, voters will be holding a ‘No Kotek in Oregon’ event of their own.”

The Democratic Party of Oregon is still deciding which city it will visit first and a schedule for the tour, according to party spokesperson Tom Crawford.