{"id":2370365,"date":"2024-11-18T14:13:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T19:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gerrymandering-democrats-tighten-grasp-on-rural-oregon\/"},"modified":"2024-11-18T14:16:13","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T19:16:13","slug":"gerrymandering-democrats-tighten-grasp-on-rural-oregon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gerrymandering-democrats-tighten-grasp-on-rural-oregon\/","title":{"rendered":"Gerrymandering Democrats Tighten Grasp On Rural Oregon"},"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\">14<\/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%2Fgerrymandering-democrats-tighten-grasp-on-rural-oregon%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=2370365&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>In Central Oregon, an area traditionally recognized for its \u200cconservative values, a political\u2064 shift is underway as Democrats increasingly gain footholds in local governance. The \u2063region, characterized by \u2064high deserts and ranchlands,\u200c contrasts\u200b sharply with the liberal\u2064 urban landscape of\u2064 Portland, which lies\u2063 to\u2062 the west of\u2064 the Cascade Mountains.\u200b Following a redistricting effort in 2021 that combined parts \u200cof liberal\u200b Portland with much of Central \u2064Oregon,\u200b Democrat Janelle Bynum secured a congressional seat, marking \u200ba significant change\u2064 for a region that had\u2064 long been \u2063represented by Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>Deschutes County, the most populous in Central Oregon,\u2062 had consistently supported\u2063 Republican candidates in\u2063 presidential elections until demographic changes \u200dand in-migration from more liberal urban\u2063 areas led to a Democratic \u2062majority in recent \u2062elections. As a consequence, cities like\u2062 Bend, once a conservative stronghold, have transformed into\u200d progressive\u200c havens, \u2064drawing \u2063criticism from longtime \u200dresidents wary of the \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chris-christie-bashes-trump-in-response-to-his-low-polling\/\" title=\"Chris Christie criticizes Trump over poor poll numbers.\">evolving political landscape<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the ongoing Democrat influence,\u2062 many parts of \u2062Eastern Oregon remain \u2063solidly Republican, with former President Donald Trump winning significant support in\u2062 those\u2062 areas. The disparity\u200d has led to discussions around the Greater Idaho\u200c Movement, \u2063advocating for Eastern Oregon counties to \u2063join\u2062 Idaho in \u2064response \u2062to perceived neglect by state leadership that prioritizes the interests of the urbanized west.<\/p>\n<p>the\u200d political \u2063dynamics in Central\u2063 Oregon reflect\u200d broader \u2064trends of demographic change and shifting \u200callegiances, intensifying debates over representation and regional identity in the state of Oregon.  <\/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>In Central Oregon, horses and Trump flags are more common than electric cars and pride flags. But perhaps not for long.<\/p>\n<p>At least geographically, most of Oregon is similar. A small slice of the state lies west of the Cascade Mountain Range, featuring the expected dreary weather and socialists of Portland. But most of the state lies east of the Cascades, where high desert and plains sprawl for miles, dotted by ranches and sagebrush.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Central Oregon, a historically conservative area, is where the beautiful scenery to the west meets the high desert and rugged independence to the east. But when state Democrats <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonlegislature.gov\/redistricting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">redrew<\/a> congressional districts in 2021, they gerrymandered Congressional District Five to include part of leftist Portland and much of Central Oregon.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For the first time in recent history, much of Central Oregon will find itself represented by a Democrat. State Rep. Janelle Bynum <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/oregon-house-congress-5th-district-5e9e1ded3b27209d48e835c873bca179\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unseated<\/a> Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who narrowly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/oregon-democrat-unseats-gop-incumbent-toss-up-race-narrowing-republicans-majority\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">won<\/a> the district in 2022.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<p>Deschutes County, the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregon-demographics.com\/counties_by_population\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">populous<\/a> region of Central Oregon, had gone <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregoncapitalinsider.com\/news\/oregon-continues-blue-streak-and-lesser-known-voting-stats\/article_af18158e-2924-11eb-b343-c7f0d034fd88.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">red<\/a> in every presidential election since 1964. But in 2020, a shifting population led to Democrats <a href=\"https:\/\/ktvz.com\/news\/bend\/2020\/02\/11\/for-first-time-deschutes-county-democrats-slightly-outnumber-republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">outnumbering<\/a> Republicans for the first time in the county &mdash; and it went blue in both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/election\/2020\/results\/state\/oregon\/president\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2020<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/11\/05\/us\/elections\/results-oregon-president.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2024<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So, from gerrymandering to flooding Central Oregon with leftist voters, Oregon Democrats are gaining a hold on the area.<\/p>\n<h2>Transforming  a Region<\/h2>\n<p>The city of Bend was conservative until <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bendbulletin.com\/localstate\/democrat-stiegler-wins-over-incumbent-burley\/article_3ea6ee13-ba66-5fd7-bc58-ceb57feb3ef7.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2008<\/a>, when it elected a Democrat to the state House. It has since been known as the only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bendbulletin.com\/localstate\/deschutes-countys-political-influence-isnt-new-but-the-2022-general-election-indicates-strong-voter-turnout\/article_a0c9c63c-9699-11ed-a9a2-5f5075ad9550.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blue dot<\/a> east of the Cascades. Former Bend Mayor Jeff Eager, a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KOINNews\/status\/1853144759893729507\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Republican<\/a>, told The Federalist this was not always the case.<\/p>\n<p>Eager was elected to Bend&rsquo;s city council in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bendbulletin.com\/localstate\/bend-mayor-will-not-run-again\/article_634c920d-9dec-5905-ad81-93df3cd9c158.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2008<\/a>, and he served as mayor until <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bendbulletin.com\/localstate\/bend-mayor-will-not-run-again\/article_634c920d-9dec-5905-ad81-93df3cd9c158.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2012<\/a>. He said Bend, and the rest of Central Oregon, had been &ldquo;solidly Republican&rdquo; until recently.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Democrats and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/2-out-of-3-americans-believe-bidens-reelection-would-harm-america\/\" title=\"2 out of 3 Americans believe Biden&#039;s reelection would harm America.\">left-leaning independents<\/a> have continued to increase their margin since, and Bend is now a pretty progressive city,&rdquo; Eager said. &ldquo;Bend is the largest city in Central Oregon, so it&rsquo;s dragged the entire region leftward.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Central Oregon is the state&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kgw.com\/article\/news\/state\/central-oregon-dominates-states-fastest-growing-counties-bend-deschutes-crook-jefferson\/283-51468a05-bbbd-43f2-a678-89c78495dc8a#:~:text=Within%20the%20three%20counties%20that,a%20significant%20increase%20in%20population.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fastest-growing<\/a> region, in large part because of its natural beauty, which draws tourism for outdoor recreation. Eager said this has sparked &ldquo;political, cultural, and economic change&rdquo; within a &ldquo;relatively short period of time.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Central Oregon has long been an attractive destination for people fed up with life in big, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/independent-candidate-for-california-governor-talks-progressive-policies-leaving-the-democratic-party-and-the-need-for-pro-human-environmentalism\/\" title=\"Independent Candidate For California Governor Talks Progressive Policies, Leaving The Democratic Party, And The Need For \u2018Pro-Human\u2019 Environmentalism\">progressive west coast cities<\/a>. Many of those people, ironically, vote in a manner destined to make Central Oregon like the places they fled,&rdquo; Eager said. &ldquo;Many long-time residents are mystified by what&rsquo;s become of their area.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Bend, with just more than <a href=\"https:\/\/worldpopulationreview.com\/us-cities\/oregon\/bend\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">105,000<\/a> people, is now a hub for the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/03\/the-only-hope-for-oregons-rampant-homelessness-is-undoing-radical-democrat-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">drugs and homelessness<\/a> typically found in larger leftist cities. A tragic example is former Bend Mayor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kgw.com\/article\/news\/local\/homeless\/former-bend-mayor-coyner-homeless-death\/283-8a33d7a0-d2d6-4d39-bdf1-08ddc9e4b85a#:~:text=In%201984%2C%20Coyner%20was%20indeed,former%20Bend%20mayor%20died%20homeless.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Craig Coyner<\/a> III, who held office in 1984 and served on the city council for decades, according to KGW8. Last year, he died homeless.<\/p>\n<h2>Fortifying Democrat Control<\/h2>\n<p>Eager blamed &ldquo;in-migration&rdquo; to Deschutes County for the recent blue tide in the area. He said Democrats now have a &ldquo;several-point&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deschutes.org\/sites\/default\/files\/fileattachments\/clerk039s_office\/page\/942\/monthly-voter-registration-reports-total.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">advantage<\/a> in voter registrations.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In-migration to Bend, but also Redmond and Sunriver, from heavily Democratic urban areas like the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Seattle, has fundamentally changed the political makeup,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When Oregon Democrats redrew the state&rsquo;s U.S. congressional districts in 2021, they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/member\/district\/lori-chavez-deremer\/C001135\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gerrymandered<\/a> the district so it ran from southern Portland into the Willamette Valley and across the Cascades to Central Oregon. Eager said this move was intended to create a &ldquo;swing district&rdquo; that Democrats think &ldquo;will become more blue over time due to rapid left-leaning in-migration to Bend.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They had to lump Bend and other parts of Deschutes County in with communities west of the Cascade Mountains, breaking a many-decades tradition of honoring the difference between Western and Central and Eastern Oregon,&rdquo; Eager said. &ldquo;It looks like the Democrats&rsquo; strategy paid off this cycle.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Eager called Bynum a &ldquo;run-of-the-mill Oregon progressive, and not a particularly impressive one.&rdquo; According to the Oregon Capital Chronicle, Bynum allegedly <a href=\"https:\/\/oregoncapitalchronicle.com\/2024\/10\/07\/former-primary-rival-staffer-accuses-dem-congress-candidate-bynum-of-ignoring-alleged-assault\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ignored<\/a> reports that one of her operatives sexually harassed and assaulted a volunteer, who was a minor, during the 2022 campaign.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Democrats have used their seemingly permanent majority status in Oregon to redistrict legislative and congressional districts to maximize their advantage,&rdquo; Eager said. &ldquo;This has contributed to gradual attrition of former GOP office-holders, including [in] this cycle Chavez-DeRemer. But this would not have been possible without the rapid growth of Democratic voter registration.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Seeking Solutions<\/h2>\n<p>Despite recent Democrat efforts to transform Central Oregon, much of the area &mdash; and the rest of Eastern Oregon &mdash; remains deeply Republican. In this month&rsquo;s election, former President Donald Trump won many counties east of the Cascades by more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2024-elections\/oregon-president-results\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">70 percent<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<div>\n<p>View overlooking Redmond, Oregon, which is in Congressional District 5 along with Portland despite being nearly 150 miles away. Logan Washburn | The Federalist<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Matt McCaw is the leader of the Greater Idaho Movement, which <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/16\/13th-oregon-county-to-support-ditching-blue-state-for-idaho-urges-legislative-action-on-redrawing-border-lines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">seeks<\/a> to help counties in Eastern Oregon join their conservative neighbor, Idaho. So far, 13 counties have passed measures in support of considering the proposition. McCaw told The Federalist he thinks Congressional District 5 is &ldquo;completely gerrymandered&rdquo; to assert control over Central Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Western Oregon is using every political tool that they have to gain more political power to advocate for what the people of Northwestern Oregon want,&rdquo; McCaw said. &ldquo;Meanwhile, us out here in Eastern Oregon who have no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harris-was-on-trumps-plane-picture-allegedly-exists-as-vps-ex-lover-exposes-her\/\" title=\"Kamala Harris Was on Trump&#039;s Plane? Picture Allegedly Exists as VP&#039;s Ex-Lover Exposes Her\">political power &#038;mdash<\/a>; we&rsquo;re left with the results, which is government and policy we don&rsquo;t want, we don&rsquo;t vote for; it doesn&rsquo;t represent our values at all.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He reiterated Eager&rsquo;s point about the population shift turning Oregon more and more blue.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;People want to live around people that share their values and want similar things,&rdquo; McCaw said. &ldquo;Oregon is having an influx of people move in that are very left-leaning. At the same time, Oregon has an outflux of people that are very conservative.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He blamed Bend for the increasing Democrat support in Central Oregon specifically: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s known now as a kind of liberal city in Central Oregon, and people self-sort themselves to it.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>At the same time, McCaw said, conservatives are moving from the Portland area and the Willamette Valley seeking conservative community east of the Cascades. But he thinks Republicans still do not have a path to victory in Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a population game we can&rsquo;t win,&rdquo; McCaw said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s not enough people in Eastern Oregon to outgrow the number of left-leaning people moving into the state. Our only path forward, if we want to have any kind of political say or political power in our own communities, is to separate and join Idaho.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>McCaw said Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, recently voiced support for the Greater Idaho measure. McCaw also said he hopes to get Idaho&rsquo;s legislature fully on board with the plan after its state House <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/16\/13th-oregon-county-to-support-ditching-blue-state-for-idaho-urges-legislative-action-on-redrawing-border-lines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed<\/a> a favorable resolution last year, and to make inroads in Oregon&rsquo;s legislature, during the upcoming 2025 session.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Politically, it&rsquo;s not going to change for the better for conservatives,&rdquo; McCaw said. &ldquo;So if you&rsquo;re a conservative, rural person in Oregon, you need to start considering a new path.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Logan Washburn is a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">staff writer covering election integrity<\/a>. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo&#8217;s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Central Oregon, horses and Trump flags dominate over electric cars and pride flags, but this may soon change<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":2370366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Copy-of-Untitled-2024-11-15T163122.854.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3685,22850,45244],"class_list":["post-2370365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democrats","tag-gerrymandering","tag-rural-oregon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Copy-of-Untitled-2024-11-15T163122.854.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370365","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\/507"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2370365"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2370369,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2370365\/revisions\/2370369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2370366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2370365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2370365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2370365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}