- Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio is projected to retain his seat in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, fending off GOP challenger Alek Skarlatos.
- The district is located in southwestern Oregon along the coastline. It is home to the University of Oregon and Oregon State University.
- DeFazio, the chair of the powerful House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, is in his 17th term in office and has represented the district since 1987.
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Seventeen-term incumbent Rep. Peter DeFazio is projected to win Oregon’s 4th Congressional District against Republican Alek Skarlatos.
The candidates
Defazio is a veteran of the US Air Force Reserve. He later became a congressional aide and the chair of the Lane County board of commissioners. DeFazio was elected in 1986 to serve as the representative for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, a position he has held for about 34 years. He is a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and is the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s current chair.
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Skarlatos, DeFazio’s Republican challenger, is an actor and veteran of the US Army National Guard. In August 2015, Skarlatos and others were traveling to Paris from Amsterdam when they stopped a gunman from attacking a train. Since then, Skarlatos has been on “Dancing with the Stars” and appeared as himself in a Clint Eastwood movie depicting the train attack.
Skarlatos’ campaign platform is centered around reforming the Veteran’s Health Administration, strengthening US borders, and assisting Oregon’s lumber industries.
The district
Oregon’s 4th Congressional District is located in the southwestern region of the state and runs alongside much of Oregon’s coast. The district is home to all of Coos, Benton, Douglas, Lane, and Curry counties, as well as most of Linn and Josephine counties. The 4th District also includes the University of Oregon and Oregon State University, two of the state’s three largest universities.
For the 2016 presidential election, the district very narrowly voted for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over President Donald Trump over in a 46.1-46% point split of the vote, according to Daily Kos. During the 2012 election, the district voted for President Barack Obama over Mitt Romney by seven percentage points.
The money race
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Skarlatos has both outraised and outspent DeFazio. He's brought in $4.8 million, spent over $4 million, and has a little over $417,000 in cash on hand. DeFazio has raised $3.8 million, spent $3 million, and has $1.8 million in cash on hand.
What experts said
The race between DeFazio and Skarlatos was rated as "leans Democratic" by the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics and "likely Democratic" by Inside Elections.