Nathan Vasquez Takes Early Lead in Race for District Attorney

Nathan Vasquez, a longtime Multnomah County prosecutor, is on the verge of unseating his boss, District Attorney Mike Schmidt. In initial election night returns released at 8 pm, Vasquez had won 58% of counted votes to Schmidt’s 42%.

Schmidt won a landslide election in 2020, when his promises of reforming the criminal justice system dovetailed with an electorate taking to the streets in protest of police abuses.

Much has changed in the intervening four years. Amid a nationwide rise in violent crime, Schmidt’s cohort of progressive prosecutors has been picked off one by one. Now, tired of open-air drug dealing on the city’s streets, Portlanders have turned on Schmidt—and his once-favored reforms, including the landmark decriminalization of illicit drugs that the Oregon Legislature, at Schmidt’s own urging, reversed earlier this year.

Vasquez, a registered Independent and veteran prosecutor with over 20 years experience in the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, promises a return to normalcy. He says he’ll jail more people and improve the office’s relationship with cops. Whether that will matter in a city where calling 911 is often a lesson in futility remains to be seen.

Vasquez ultimately outraised Schmidt, but only barely. Both campaigns raised over $1 million, a staggering sum in an election where barely a quarter of the electorate bothered to vote. The candidates spent it on a mind-numbing flurry of television spots blanketing the airwaves in recent weeks.

At the Hoxton Hotel in Old Town, City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez led supporters in a chant of “Vamos Vasquez!”

Meanwhile, across the river, Schmidt glad-handed loyalists under a neon “#SchmidtShow” sign before disappearing as early results trickled in. A few minutes later the screen showing results went dark and a campaign surrogate, Ricardo Lujan Valerio with Safety & Justice Oregon, made an attempt at lightening the mood. “This race is more than just about Multnomah County. This race is more than just about us as individuals. It’s about a movement that’s been building for years,” he said.