Report: Far-Left Groups Look to Primary Oregon Democrat Rep. Kurt Schrader

Far-left Democrat groups are looking to primary Oregon Democrat Rep. Kurt Schrader, as they believe he can be an easy target who has undermined President Joe Biden’s radical Build Back Better agenda.

Schrader, who had a rough last year in Congress after being attacked by Republican-aligned groups gunning for his seat, appears to be the far-left’s newest target, according to Politico. In the past, Schrader compared the last impeachment of former President Trump to “lynching” and voted against the Democrat’s American Rescue Plan the first time — both contributors to why he is the left’s newest target.

Now, key far-left figurehead Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and groups like Working Families Party and Indivisible have set their sights on the Oregon Democrat and are supporting Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a school board member from central Oregon. With the Oregon primary coming up on May 17, Schrader, the 13-year incumbent, could be the lastest ousted. Texas’s runoff between Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar and socialist Jessica Cisneros for Texas’s 28th Congressional District won’t have happened yet.

Internal polling from McLeod-Skinner’s campaign, first shared with Politico, showed that Schrader only has a slight three-point advantage against her — 37 percent of likely Democratic primary voters to 34 percent, with 30 percent undecided.

The long-time incumbent has small advantages with the voters and a significant financial lead over the challenger. He is also on the list of frontrunners that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is looking to help. No matter, the race for Oregon’s Fifth Congressional district will be a must-watch race.

“Kurt Schrader has turned his back on what the majority of the American electorate needed and wanted, which is a functioning, competent government,” said the Working Families Party’s PAC Treasurer, Natalia Salgado.“Progressives across the country are really looking and chomping at the bit to very much go after incumbents that are not reflective of the values that we espouse.”

But some have also argued that this is a bad year for far-left backed members like McLeod-Skinner and Cisneros to attempt to take out more moderate members, since incumbents in districts that barely swing Democrat would have a better chance at warding off a Republican.

“It’s a terrible idea. You couldn’t have picked a worse year to be putting an at-risk incumbent even more at-risk and putting a district out of reach if he loses the primary,” said leftist think tank, Third Way, co-founder Matt Bennett. “A far-left candidate is not going to win a D+1 district.”

Ultimately, McLeod-Skinner is seen as a potential threat to Schrader. She has been endorsed by four county Democrat parties from the district and multiple unions — Oregon Education Association, Service Employees International Union Oregon, and United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 555.

Schrader, over the years, has enraged many people for his votes against Democrat policies and the administration. One of the votes was against the PRO Act in 2020, which would have boosted the rights of unions. In response to the vote, UFCW Local 555’s political director, Michael Selvaggio, said, “He was very much initially against the PRO Act until protesters had to demonstrate outside of his offices in Oregon City and in Salem.”

“We’re not just looking for someone who can get to ‘yes.’ We’re looking for someone who comes in as a champion,” Selvaggio added.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.