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Two U.S. senators will pass through Portland this weekend on a fundraising sweep.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) will stop at the Paragon restaurant in
the Pearl District for brunch Sunday as part of a Northwest fundraising tour
for her re-election campaign.
It's unclear what brings her so far from her home state, and her campaign hasn't responded to questions.
But the second visitor is more controversial.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) will appear at a trio of fundraisers in Portland, Salem and Eugene to stump for Dr. Monica Wehby, a pediatric neurosurgeon and moderate Republican. Wehby, who faces four opponents in the GOP primary, is a strong contender to win the Republican nomination and face the incumbent, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) in the fall.
Wehby has said she doesn't believe in abortion, but
the choice should belong to each woman, not the government.
Yet Coburn is an anti-abortion Republican who has said "abortionists" should be sentenced to death.
Wehby's campaign manager, Charlie Pearce, said Wehby and Coburn, both doctors, have been friends for a long time.
"They don't agree on everything," he said. But they both care about "limiting government waste, lower taxes and a smaller more efficient government."
WWeek 2015