One of the most heated exchanges between Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek and Republican Sen. Christine Drazan during Thursday night’s televised debate took place near the end.
A panelist asked Drazan why she supported President Donald Trump’s decision to send National Guard troops to Portland during last year’s protests outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building.
“Technically, I didn’t support his decision,” Drazan responded. “Let me be clear, I don’t want National Guard troops in Oregon. Here’s what I did. I said Oregon should enforce our own laws. We had a mayor at that time who didn’t enforce his laws equally throughout the city.”
At the time of Trump’s announcement, it was largely federal agents using force against protesters outside the ICE building — not the other way around. However, protesters verbally taunted ICE agents and made loud noises that regularly disturbed nearby residents. The only major exception to this rule occurred on June 14, a few months before Trump’s announcement, when hundreds of people gathered outside ICE facilities after a peaceful “No Kings” rally downtown and Portland police declared a riot.
“It’s a reinterpretation of history,” Kotek said in her rebuttal of Drazan’s claims that she did not support the president.
“Read the press release,” Drazan interjected, presumably referring to the one his office sent out on September 27, 2025, the same day Trump announced the possible troop deployment.
This press release does not say that Drazan rejects Trump’s decision, but it does not go so far as to call for federal intervention. It read:
“ICE facilities in Portland have been subject to months of dangerously chaotic protests that have put residents and federal agents in danger. The governor’s assertion that there is no threat to national security and the mayor’s assertion that everything is fine are tone-deaf. It is shameful that state and local leaders have allowed violent mobs and domestic terrorists to attack federal law enforcement, destroy property, and prevent those seeking services immigration authorities to get help and handle their cases We need order, we need to restore security and Oregon’s local leaders have failed to provide it.
Here’s what else you need to know about Oregon election news:
Control of the House of Representatives could pass through southwest Washington. The race is tied.
The race to represent Southwest Washington’s congressional district is playing out, as a new poll shows Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican Washington state Sen. John Braun in a statistical tie.
In the new Oregon Public Broadcasting poll, conducted by DHM Research, 46 percent of respondents said they would likely vote for Braun if the election were held today, compared to 44 percent for Gluesenkamp Perez.
The national spotlight is on this contest because it will help decide whether Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives.
—Carlos Fuentes
OREGON ELECTIONS 2026: Your guide to Oregon’s November elections
Election Newbie Wants Clackamas County Election Official Job
The race for Clackamas County’s top election official pits the incumbent who has a decade of experience in election administration against a retired dentist who has sowed doubt about the integrity of the county’s elections.
County Clerk Catherine McMullen, 47, faces a challenge from Mark Reaksecker, 68, for the nonpartisan position, which pays an annual salary of $131,687.
On its website, Reaksecker lists endorsements from three dentists, two doctors and Emmert International, the Clackamas-based transportation and engineering company.
Reaksecker’s platform calls for manually counting all ballots instead of using vote-counting machines, watermarking ballots and scrubbing voter rolls — proposals that have gained traction thanks to false conspiracy theories tied to the 2020 election.
— Noelle Crombie
Gn headline
