Playing The Odds

One reason I will vote for Peter DeFazio in the Oregon District 4 Democratic Party primary is that DeFazio has proven, many times over, that he can win election in our tough electoral district.

DeFazio’s opponent is a capable newcomer, possibly in the mold of the now famous “squad” of newcomers. The squad politicians, however, all hail from very heavily Blue districts.

In the 2016 presidential vote, here are the totals won by Democrat Hillary Clinton in each of the four districts from which the squad members hail: Alexandria Ocassio Corez, 77 percent; Ilhan Omar, 73 percent; Rashida Tlaib, 79 percent; and Ayanna Pressley, 84 percent.

Here in Oregon’s 4th, Clinton got 46.1 percent. Trump got 46 percent. Clinton won our district by a total of 554 votes.

I think DeFazio has a solid progressive record in Congress and am not ready to throw away this important incumbency into the very unpredictable politics of Oregon’s 4th.

I really doubt that DeFazio’s primary challenger could win the district.

Stephen Amy

Eugene