2024 Multnomah County District Attorney election
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| Elections in Oregon |
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The 2024 Multnomah County District Attorney election was held on May 21, 2024, to elect the district attorney of Multnomah County, Oregon, which includes the state's largest city, Portland.[1]
Senior deputy district attorney Nathan Vasquez defeated incumbent Mike Schmidt with over 50% of the vote, avoiding a runoff.[2]
The race received national attention due to similarities with recent elections in other cities where progressive district attorneys were defeated.[3][4][5][6]
Background[edit]
Schmidt was elected in 2020 with 77% of the vote, despite his opponent receiving the incumbent's endorsement. He was appointed by governor Kate Brown to start his term earlier than expected, in order to replace Rod Underhill, who retired in the middle of his term.
Schmidt became known for his progressive policies[7] and notably had refused to prosecute people who were arrested for participating in the George Floyd protests that began in early May 2020 unless there was "deliberate property damage, theft, or threat of force." By August 11 of that year, the office only prosecuted 47 felonies out of 550 referred protest cases.[8]
On May 24, 2023, senior deputy district attorney Nathan Vasquez announced his intention to run in the 2024 election.[9] He quickly became touted as the "tough on crime" candidate, receiving endorsements from public safety unions and prominent businessmen. He also received the endorsements of most of Portland's major newspapers.[10][11][12] In January 2024, Schmidt announced his intention to run for re-election.[13] The race became highly contentious.
On election night, KPTV called the race for Vasquez by 10:30pm.[14] Other news agencies followed suit the next day, with Schmidt conceding the election to Vasquez by 5:00pm[2]
Candidates[edit]
Declared[edit]
- Mike Schmidt, incumbent district attorney[15]
- Nathan Vasquez, senior deputy district attorney[16]
Endorsements[edit]
- Statewide officials
- Kate Brown, former Governor of Oregon[17]
- Barbara Roberts, former Governor of Oregon[18]
- Ellen Rosenblum, Oregon Attorney General[18]
- State legislators
- James Manning Jr., President pro tempore of the Oregon State Senate[19]
- Floyd Prozanski, member of the Oregon State Senate from the 4th district[19]
- Khanh Pham, member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 46th district[19]
- Tawna Sanchez, member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 43rd district[19]
- Rob Nosse, member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 42nd district[19]
- Andrea Valderrama, member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 47th district[19]
- Lisa Reynolds, member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 34th district[19]
- Local officials
- Jessica Vega Pederson, Multnomah County Chair[17]
- Lori Stegmann, member of the Multnomah County Commission from the 4th district[19]
- Individuals
- Rosa Colquitt, Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon[19]
- Organizations
- Safety & Justice Oregon[18]
- Latino Network Action Fund[18]
- Portland Association of Teachers[19]
- Portland Gray Panthers[19]
- Newspapers
- U.S. representatives
- Kurt Schrader, former U.S. Representative from Oregon's 5th congressional district (2009–2023)[22]
- State legislators
- Mark Hass, former member of the Oregon State Senate from the 14th district[22]
- Local officials
- Randy Lauer, Mayor of Troutdale[22]
- Kevin Barton, Washington County District Attorney[22]
- Tony Golik, Clark County (WA) District Attorney[22]
- Individuals
- Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear[22]
- Lisa Schroeder, Owner of Mother's Bistro[22]
- Organizations
- Multnomah County Prosecuting Attorneys’ Association[17]
- Portland Firefighters Union[23]
- Gresham Police Officers’ Association[24][25]
- Gresham Professional Firefighters’ IAFF Local 1062[24][25]
- Multnomah County Deputy Sheriff’s Association[24][25]
- Portland Police Association[24][25]
- Portland Fire Fighters’ Association IAFF Local 43[24][25]
- Port of Portland Police Employees Association[24][25]
- Newspapers
Results[edit]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Nathan Vasquez | 100,873 | 53.3% | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Schmidt | 87,679 | 46.3% | |
| Write-in | 865 | 0.5% | ||
| Total votes | 189,417 | 100% | ||
References[edit]
- ^ "Oregon elections, 2024". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Peterson, Danny (May 22, 2024). "Mike Schmidt concedes Multnomah County District Attorney to challenger Nathan Vasquez". KOIN. Portland. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
- ^ Rush, Claire (May 22, 2024). "Centrist challenger ousts progressive prosecutor in DA race in Portland, Oregon". AP News. Archived from the original on May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ Rush, Claire (May 21, 2024). "Tough-on-crime challenger leading in race for district attorney in Portland, Oregon". AP News. Archived from the original on May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ Baker, Mike (May 22, 2024). "Voters Oust Progressive Prosecutor in Portland". New York Times. Archived from the original on May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
- ^ Gebel, Meira (May 22, 2024). "Multnomah County has a new district attorney". Axios. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
- ^ Baker, Mike (May 21, 2024). "Progressive Prosecutor in Portland Faces Bitter Challenge From Co-Worker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ "Protest cases". Archived from the original on October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ Wilson, Conrad (May 24, 2023). "Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt draws 2024 challenger from the inside". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on February 24, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Manfield, Lucas (November 15, 2023). "Nathan Vasquez Builds a Big Fundraising Lead in District Attorney Race". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ The Oregonian Editorial Board (May 3, 2024). "Editorial endorsement May 2024: Vote for Nathan Vasquez for Multnomah County DA". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
- ^ WW Staff (May 1, 2024). "WW's May 2024 Endorsements: Multnomah County". Willamette Week. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "'This is a hopeful place': Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt seeks re-election". kgw.com. January 17, 2024. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ Staff, FOX 12; McCarthy, Connor (May 22, 2024). "Vasquez beats Schmidt to become next DA for Multnomah County". https://www.kptv.com. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ "Nathan Vasquez challenging DA Mike Schmidt as MultCo becomes 'unrecognizable'". KOIN.com. September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ^ "Deputy DA announces run for Multnomah County District Attorney". KOIN.com. May 24, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
- ^ a b c Manfield, Lucas (January 29, 2024). "Multnomah County Prosecutors' Union Endorses Nathan Vasquez's Candidacy to Unseat Their Boss". Willamette Week. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Crombie, Noelle (February 14, 2024). "DA candidate Nathan Vasquez endorsed by unions for Portland police, Multnomah County deputies". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Crombie, Noelle. "Mike Schmidt for DA".
- ^ "Mercury May 2024 Primary Election Endorsements: County Races". Portland Mercury. May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ "The Skanner News May 2024 Primary Endorsements". The Skanner News. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Endorsements".
- ^ Wilson, Conrad (May 24, 2023). "Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt draws 2024 challenger from the inside". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Keizur, Christopher (February 14, 2024). "Gresham Police, Fire Unions endorse Nathan Vasquez for district attorney". The Outlook (Gresham). Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "Six Public Safety Unions Endorse Nathan Vasquez". Willamette Week. February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
- ^ "WW's May 2024 Endorsements: Multnomah County". Willamette Week. May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ "Editorial endorsement May 2024: Vote for Nathan Vasquez for Multnomah County DA". The Oregonian. May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.