President Joe Biden will reportedly make a pre-midterms campaign trip to Oregon this weekend — a sign of the Democrats' 40-year stronghold on the state's governor office potentially coming to an end.
For his visit, the president will stump for Democrat candidate Tina Kotek, who's reportedly locked in a battle with Republican gubernatorial challenger Christine Drazan.
It's quite common for sitting presidents to hit the campaign trail for House, Senate and gubernatorial races right before the midterm elections.
However, Biden has had limited appearances this election season, perhaps stemming from his low approval ratings nationwide.
"[Biden] reached out to us. You know, he's very excited about mobilizing Democrats," Kotek told KATU-TV. "He knows how important this election is across the country. We're excited he's coming and look forward to seeing him again."
Kotek then added, "I think President Biden is here to remind people what's at stake in this election and people are going to be excited to see him; and I'm just glad he's making the time."
Oregon has traditionally been a left-leaning state. President Ronald Reagan was the last Republican to carry the Beaver State in a presidential general election (1984), outlasting Democrat challenger Walter Mondale by roughly 150,000 votes. And Victor Atiyeh (1979-87) was the last the Republican to occupy the Oregon governor's office.
Drazan's campaign team views Biden's visit — and Kotek accepting the invitation — as one final act of desperation.
"The political class is in full panic mode to rescue Tina Kotek's failing and flailing campaign," Drazan campaign communications director John Burke recently told KATU-TV.
"Oregonians are ready for change, and Kotek is desperate to talk about anything other than her allegiance to Kate Brown and the agenda they've pushed that's caused massive homelessness, rising crime and higher costs," said Burke. "They know Christine Drazan is going to win this race, and there's nothing they can do to stop that from happening."
Last week, an Emerson College Polling survey had Drazan leading Kotek by 2 percentage points.
The same poll had independent candidate Betsy Johnson collecting 19% of the overall vote, and 9% of the 796 "very likely voters" remained undecided, just weeks before Election Day.
"Oregon is going to be a battleground state this cycle for a whole host of reasons," a Democrat strategist told Politico. "And it's definitely not a role that Oregon is used to filling."
The winner of the Oregon gubernatorial race will succeed Democrat Gov. Kate Brown, who has served two terms.
According to reports, Biden's three-state tour of the West includes Colorado, Oregon and California.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.