Field Still Unsettled for Blumenauer Seat

Entrants are scarcer than speculation had indicated.

County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal (right) at a Portland teachers' picket. (Brian Brose)
By Nigel Jaquiss

For years, political insiders speculated about the long list of ambitious politicians hoping for a shot at succeeding U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who has represented Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District since 1996.

But in the month since Blumenauer announced he would not seek reelection, only two serious candidates, former Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal and Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales, have filed to run in the district’s Democratic primary.

State Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Portland) has also been mulling a run and says she will make a final decision next week.

Even if Dexter enters the race, as many expect, the three leading candidates will have a total of 13 years of elected experience between them—little more than half of the 23 years Blumenauer served in the Oregon Legislature and on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners and Portland City Council before he first went to Washington, D.C.

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