{"id":2250874,"date":"2024-05-22T22:38:03","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T02:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregon-district-attorney-loses-primary-election-over-soft-on-crime-reputation\/"},"modified":"2024-05-22T22:41:13","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T02:41:13","slug":"oregon-district-attorney-loses-primary-election-over-soft-on-crime-reputation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregon-district-attorney-loses-primary-election-over-soft-on-crime-reputation\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon district attorney ousted in primary election due to reputation for leniency on crime"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Foregon-district-attorney-loses-primary-election-over-soft-on-crime-reputation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2250874&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Mike Schmidt, the Multnomah County District Attorney in Oregon, \u2063known for his lenient stance on crime, lost\u200d the primary race to Deputy Prosecutor Nathan Vasquez. Vasquez secured 54% of the vote, signaling potential\u2063 shifts\u200b in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/completely-absent-arizona-law-enforcement-leaders-slam-mark-kelly\/\" title=\"\u2018Completely Absent\u2019: Arizona Law Enforcement Leaders Slam Mark Kelly\">law enforcement priorities<\/a>. The outcome may impact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eric-adams-shows-yet-again-that-progressives-dominate-the-dialogue-only-to-lose-elections\/\" title=\"Eric Adams Shows Yet Again That Progressives Dominate The Dialogue, Only To Lose Elections\">progressive district attorneys<\/a> nationwide amidst concerns over \u2063rising crime rates.\u200c Mike Schmidt, the Multnomah County District Attorney in Oregon, recognized\u200b for his lenient approach to crime, \u200cwas defeated in the primary election by Deputy\u200d Prosecutor Nathan\u200c Vasquez. Vasquez&#8217;s\u2062 victory with 54% of the vote \u200dsuggests a possible change\u200b in law enforcement strategies. The result \u2062could influence progressive district \u200cattorneys nationally in\u200c the midst\u200c of escalating crime\u200b rates.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Mike Schmidt, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/radical-cultural-change-coming-to-america\/\" title=\"Radical Cultural Change Coming to America?\">district attorney<\/a> for Multnomah County in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/oregon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Oregon<\/a> who was criticized for being too <a href=\"https:\/\/www.portlandtribune.com\/opinion\/readers-respond-multco-da-schmidt-is-too-soft-on-crime-most-would-vote-vasquez\/article_48b9fdfe-eb8e-11ee-b104-6bae1453bede.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>\u201csoft on crime<\/a>,\u201d lost his primary race to one of his own deputy prosecutors. <\/p>\n<p>Schmidt was defeated by Nathan Vasquez, who garnered about 54% of the vote as of Wednesday evening. Schmidt\u2019s defeat could serve as a bellwether for other progressive district attorneys across the country as some major cities grapple with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/2954822\/oregon-lawmakers-arent-only-ones-reversing-course-progressive-drug-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>rising crime rates<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe voters have made it clear that they are ready to take our county in a new and safer direction,\u201d Vasquez said in a Facebook post Wednesday celebrating the victory.<\/p>\n<p>Schmidt was first appointed to the position in August 2020 amid a summer of social justice protests stemming from the death of George Floyd by police officers in Minnesota earlier that year. Shortly after taking office, Schmidt announced protesters would not be prosecuted unless they were charged with specific crimes such as property damage, theft, or threat of force against another person.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Nathan Vasquez responds to Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, not seen, during a candidate debate hosted by The Oregonian and KGW news at KGW\u2019s studio the evening of Thursday., May 2, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Dave Killen \/The Oregonian via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, interfering with police officers or other misconduct against law enforcement would not be taken up by his office.<\/p>\n<p>Backed by various police groups, Vasquez rejected Schmidt\u2019s light touch with protesters and his support of a 2020 ballot measure that decriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs. Schmidt later backed reinstating criminal penalties for \u201cpersonal use\u201d possession of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone, and other hard drugs.<\/p>\n<p>Schmidt\u2019s defeat is one of several fallbacks for progressive prosecutors across the country. <\/p>\n<p>Pamela Price, who serves as the district attorney in Alameda County, California, is facing her own recall election later this year over similar criticism, just two years after voters in San Francisco ousted progressive Chesa Boudin.<\/p>\n<p>Others have managed to survive such efforts, including Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, who has faced two unsuccessful efforts to recall him since first being elected in 2020.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt and challenger Nathan Vasquez, not photographed, participate in a DA candidate debate hosted by The Oregonian and KGW news at KGW\u2019s studio the evening of Thursday., May 2, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Dave Killen \/The Oregonian via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Progressives in Oregon experienced other losses during the state\u2019s primaries on Tuesday, including Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3012421\/oregon-janelle-bynum-wins-primary-chavez-deremer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"lost the primary\">lost the primary<\/a> to face Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) for her toss-up seat. McLeod-Skinner was defeated by Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum, who was backed by the Democratic establishment.<\/p>\n<p>Also, Susheela Jayapal, sister of House Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3012467\/pramila-jayapal-sister-loses-primary-oregon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"lost to Democratic challenger\">lost to Democratic challenger<\/a> Maxine Dexter in the 3rd Congressional District.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mike Schmidt, criticized for leniency on crime, lost the primary election to Deputy Prosecutor Nathan Vasquez in Multnomah County, Oregon. Vasquez secured 54% of the vote. Schmidt&#8217;s loss may signal a shift in law enforcement priorities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2640,"featured_media":2250875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24138632331617-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2250874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24138632331617-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2640"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2250874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2250875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2250874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2250874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2250874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}