Portland observer., April 20, 2022, Page 4, Image 4

Page 4
April 20, 2022
Diverse Democrats Cry Foul
Support for
white male
rival called
inappropriate
(AP) — The battle over who
represents Oregon’s new con-
gressional district became heated
last week as six Democratic can-
didates, including former Mult-
nomah County Commissioner
Loretta Smith, jointly denounced
almost $1 million in support for
a rival party member by a su-
per PAC that focuses on electing
Democrats to Congress.
“This effort by the political arm
of the Democratic establishment
to buy this race for one candi-
date is a slap in the face to every
Democratic voter and volunteer
in Oregon,” five of the candidates
for the 6th District seat said at the
April 12 news conference. One of
the candidates couldn’t attend be-
cause of a scheduling conflict.
They noted that candidate
Carrick Flynn, who received the
support from the House Majority
PAC, is already backed by cryp-
A diverse group of Democratic candidates for Congress, (pictured, from left) Andrea Salinas, Loretta
Smith, Cody Reynolds, Kathleen Harder and Matt West attend a press conference in Salem April 12
to condemn the national Democratic House Majority PAC for taking sides and dividing Democrats in
their new District 6 race, spending nearly a million dollars on behalf of one of their opponents in the
May Primary, white male Carrick Flynn. (AP photo)
tocurrency billionaire Sam Bank-
man-Fried’s political action com-
mittee, which has provided about
$5 million in support for Flynn,
mostly in TV ads.
Loretta Smith, who wants to be
the first Black woman from Ore-
gon elected to Congress, said she
feels betrayed by House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi for the PAC’s sup-
energytrust.org
port for Flynn, a white man edu-
cated at Yale and Oxford universi-
ties who hasn’t held elected office.
“I think it’s disrespectful and
it’s wrong,” Smith said.
She said Black women’s votes
were key to getting President
Joe Biden elected in 2020 and to
giving Democrats a majority in
the House.
It is unclear, however, what
role, if any, that Pelosi had in
throwing the PAC’s support to
Flynn. Pelosi’s top political fund-
raiser, Mike Smith, last year be-
came the PAC’s senior adviser.
The PAC’s spokesperson, C.J.
Warnke, said in an email that it
“is dedicated to doing whatever
it takes to secure a Democratic
House Majority in 2022, and we
believe supporting Carrick Flynn
is a step towards accomplishing
that goal.”
He did not address the com-
plaints by six of Flynn’s rivals
for the Democratic nomination.
Oregon’s primary election is on
May 17.
State Rep. Andrea Salinas,
another of the Democratic can-
didates for the U.S. House, was
befuddled by the PAC’s backing
of Flynn.
“Why? Who was behind it?
Why was this decision made? We
have a wealth of candidates, four
of whom are women, three wom-
en of color — this is a diverse
district,” Salinas said. “I’ve been
doing the work for diverse com-
munities for a long time.”
Flynn’s campaign manager,
Avital Balwit, said the campaign
is “grateful for the confidence
and support” of the House Ma-
jority PAC and others who are
backing Flynn.
“Our campaign is rooted in
Carrick’s Oregon values -– hard
work, opportunity, and support-
ive, resilient communities. That
message is clearly resonating,”
Continued on Page 5