Jamie McLeod-Skinner Defeats Kurt Schrader in Oregon

Representative Kurt Schrader of Oregon, a seven-term Democrat, lost his primary battle to Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a striking defeat of a leading moderate in Congress and a potential sign of left-leaning energy less than six months before the midterm elections.

Mr. Schrader, who had been endorsed by President Biden and had the backing of the national party, was toppled by Ms. McLeod-Skinner, a small-business owner and emergency response coordinator who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2018. Her victory was declared by The Associated Press on Friday.

Mr. Schrader was the first incumbent Democrat in the House to lose a primary this year. Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District, which he represents, was redrawn last year. The newly drawn Fifth District includes about half the old version; it straddles the Cascade Mountains and is viewed as competitive by both parties.

Some national Democrats believed that Mr. Schrader, the well-funded chair of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition’s political arm, was the better general election choice in what is expected to be a difficult political environment for their party, given his moderate instincts.

But progressives complained he was too moderate, after voting against the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill, blocking a drug pricing plan in Build Back Better and calling Donald J. Trump’s second impeachment a “lynching” (he later apologized).

Ms. McLeod-Skinner boasted of not “taking a single corporate dollar” in her race and criticized Mr. Schrader’s support from the pharmaceutical industry.

“Big Pharma and corporate interests spent over $3 million against us — but we persevered,” she wrote on Twitter. “We won because Oregonians are frustrated with politicians who are beholden to their corporate donors, instead of delivering for us.”

The results of the May 17 primary were delayed by 10 days because thousands of mail ballots in one county — Oregon votes almost entirely by mail — were printed with blurred bar codes and had to be hand-processed.

In November, Ms. McLeod-Skinner will face Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican mayor of Happy Valley, Ore., who has pledged to advocate for a stronger Southwest border and a parental rights’ bill that “keeps political agendas out of the classroom.”

The leading super PAC for House Republicans announced last month it would spend $3.3 million to pick up the seat. “Democrats ate their own and now a standout Republican candidate will face off against a far-too liberal activist in Jamie McLeod-Skinner,” Dan Conston, president of the PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, said in a statement Friday.

Ms. McLeod-Skinner’s supporters argued in the primary that she stood a better chance of galvanizing Democratic voters, a vital strength in a year in which many party strategists believe Republicans are more enthusiastic than Democrats about turning out.

Ms. McLeod-Skinner had the backing of some left-leaning organizations including the Working Families Party, and her primary victory in spite of a funding disadvantage will be seen as evidence of progressive energy after several notable setbacks for that wing of the party in 2021 and a mixed record this year.

She also amassed considerable support from several county Democratic Party organizations in Oregon that would ordinarily be expected to back the incumbent or remain neutral. Leaders of some of those parties had urged the House Democratic campaign arm, which supported Mr. Schrader, to stay out of the primary.

Johanna Warshaw, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, noted that the organization’s “core mission is to re-elect Democratic members.”

Mr. Schrader, who was helped by significant outside spending, argued that he had a long track record of delivering for the district. A founder of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, he emphasized his ability to build consensus and his focus on issues including infrastructure, jobs and lowering health care costs.

“He has been a partner to the Biden administration,” Deb Barnes, Mr. Schrader’s spokeswoman, said in a statement ahead of Election Day.

While the race took on national significance given Mr. Schrader’s seniority, it was also shaped by hyperlocal issues, including a debate between the two candidates over the proper method for bucking hay, reflecting the rural parts of the district. “I’ve shaken your hands, you have very soft hands,” Ms. McLeod-Skinner ribbed Mr. Schrader, referring to a photo of him handling hay without gloves. “You don’t buck hay bare-handed.”