Voters for Responsive Government, a political group that popped up last month to rally Portland voters against congressional candidate Susheela Jayapal, spent another $1 million on negative advertising last week, new filings show, taking its total spending against Jayapal to over $2.3 million.
The negative ads are incendiary and somewhat misleading. They attempt to pin the failings of the Multnomah County Commission and its powerful chair on Jayapal alone. Jayapal was one of five commissioners in charge of county business between 2019 and her resignation in late 2023.
One flyer shows a picture of caged dogs and draws from The Oregonian/OregonLive’s coverage of neglect at the Multnomah County animal shelter while Jayapal was on the commission. Another says Jayapal and the county commission gave “crack pipes, straws and tin foil to drug addicts,” in response to the area drug crisis.
In fact, the county’s plan to provide smoking supplies to fentanyl and meth users as a method of harm reduction never happened before it was put on hold last summer. And the problems at the county animal shelter existed long before Jayapal joined the commission.
Jayapal didn’t respond to requests for comment. Her sister, Pramila Jayapal, has represented Seattle in Congress since 2017, developing a national profile as a progressive Democrat.
Voters for Responsive Government has not yet disclosed its donors to the federal government, making it hard to ascertain who is backing the negative ads. The new California based political committee does not have to disclose its donors until Monday, the day before Oregon’s primary election. Like other such committees, it is required to promptly disclose large spending for or against any candidate – and has only disclosed spending against Jayapal. Its website also features negative ads only against her.
Jayapal isn’t the only one catching heat in the election, however. Jayapal and her competitor Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales have both repeatedly accused candidate Maxine Dexter of benefiting from outside support from political groups funded by supporters of “MAGA Republican candidates” who are spending millions to undermine progressive candidates of color. They have provided scant evidence to support their claims that Dexter supporters support Trump or Trump-aligned candidates.
Dexter, a state representative and doctor, has so far received $1.96 million in outside support from the 314 Action Fund, a group that backs STEM professionals running for office. Morales accused Dexter of being “engaged in a scheme” with 314 when she said she did not know who was giving big to that long-established political committee this spring.
Dexter also raised $575,000 in April alone, the vast majority from out-of-state donors, and reported raising $218,000 on a single day in May. More than 40% of the huge haul she took in May 7 came from donors who’ve given to pro-Israel lobbying groups and some have given to Republican candidates.
Dexter’s Salem colleagues came to her defense in a letter released by her campaign Monday. Thirty Democratic lawmakers, including leaders of the House and Senate, signed the letter calling Dexter a “person of enormous integrity” who has earned a reputation as a principled and effective legislator.
“(Dexter) took an oath as a physician to do no harm and put the best interest of her patients first. She’s taken the same approach as a legislator,” the letter says. “The idea that she would ever do the bidding of any group or special interest is offensive and wrong.”
Federal filings last week show that Dexter has a fundraising lead over Morales and Jayapal. Jayapal had previously said she expected the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, to work to oppose her in the race. One of Dexter’s donors, who has given big to AIPAC affiliated groups in the past, told The Intercept last week that she had no recollection of giving directly to Dexter but backs the candidates AIPAC asks her to.
“I give all my contributions through AIPAC,” donor Jone Dalezman told The Intercept. “Whenever I am asked to give to their endorsed candidates, I give.”