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Democrat Dan Rayfield claimed victory as Oregon’s next attorney general shortly after Republican Will Lathrop called to concede the race Tuesday night.
Speaking to supporters at an election night party at the Hilton in downtown Portland, Rayfield said he would defend the state’s values.
“You know, there is no other job in the world that I would rather have than to be your next attorney general - well, maybe a Disney jungle cruise skipper,” Rayfield joked.
He said during his campaign, he spoke with Oregonians about “combating the prevalence of drug dealing, internet crimes and gun violence in our communities.”
Rayfield said Oregonians need an attorney general that matches, and will defend, the state‘s values, including protecting election and “environmental laws from national attacks.”
“We have an attorney general that will defend Oregonians from a national attack on abortion rights,” Rayfield added. “This could not be more important, now.”
Dan Rayfield speaks at the Democratic election night party held at the Hilton in Portland, Ore., Nov. 5, 2024.
Brooke Herbert / OPB
If Republican Donald Trump wins the White House, Rayfield could be in the position of confronting the president’s agenda. Outgoing Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum sued the Trump administration more than 16 times while in office.
Rayfield, a personal injury lawyer who spent nearly a decade in the Oregon Legislature and rose to speaker of the House, leaned in to his political experience during the campaign, and vowed to defend the state’s abortion laws and the environment.
In Oregon, Democrats led in all the three major statewide races, including Secretary of State and State Treasurer. But the race for Attorney General offered Republicans their best shot at capturing a statewide win.
Lathrop’s campaign said the Republican contender called Rayfield around 9:30 p.m. to concede. Speaking to supporters at Rossi Farms in Northeast Portland, Lathrop offered brief and complimentary remarks.
He said Rayfield “ran a good race,” adding, “I don’t think he did anything dirty or underhanded.”
Lathrop also offered to help Rayfield however he could.
“I‘m going to throw my full support behind him” Lathrop told supporters Tuesday night. “I want what we all want, which is what he wants and I hope all the people supporting him want, I just want the state to be better.”
Lathrop, a former prosecutor turned international human rights worker, ran a campaign focused on improving public safety and stressed that he was not a politician.
“I know that Oregon can be better,“ Lathrop added during his concession speech. ”This isn’t a funeral. We’ve done our best. I tried really, really hard and I didn’t have anything else to give.”
In response, an audience member shouted, “We love you Will!” followed by cheers from supporters.
Oregon’s attorney general oversees the state’s Department of Justice, which is responsible for defending state agencies and laws in court. The attorney general also sues companies and the federal government when they harm residents. The agency has some 1,500 employees and a nearly $900 million biennial budget.
This election marks a significant change in the office. Since 2012, Rosenblum, a Democrat, has won the statewide race three times. She opted to not seek reelection this year.
Ellen Rosenblum and Dan Rayfield at the Democratic election night party held at the Hilton in Portland, Ore., Nov. 5, 2024.
Brooke Herbert / OPB
Lathrop grew up on a cattle ranch in Wallowa County and, like Rayfield, attended Willamette University School of Law in Salem. He spent time as a prosecutor in Yamhill and Marion counties where he focused on prosecuting sex crimes before joining International Justice Mission, a Christian-backed human rights group, focused on human trafficking. A 2023 BBC documentary reported the nonprofit engaged in kidnapping children while Lathrop was country director in Ghana.
Related: Listen to Rayfield and Lathrop debate on OPB's 'Think Out Loud'
In an interview with OPB, Lathrop dismissed the BBC’s findings. He said IJC worked behind the scenes and it was Ghanaian social workers and police who took children to court where judges made determinations about removing them from their homes.
“They accused IJM of kidnapping,” Lathrop told OPB in September. “IJM doesn’t have the power and never has taken a kid and never has removed a child from home. It’s always the police or social workers, and it’s all documented.”
Camille Vlietstra, 4, with her uncle Will Lathrop, at his election night party held at Rossi Farms in Portland, Ore., Nov. 5, 2024.
Cameron Nielsen / OPB
When Rayfield first ran for the Legislature in 2014, he addressed run-ins with the law he had while as a young adult, including a DUII he got when he was 18 years old that was later dismissed.
In a campaign ad for attorney general, Rayfield acknowledged he “even ended up on the wrong side of the law a few times.” He also said he had a challenging childhood and “saw up close how physical abuse and addiction impact families.”
While a member of the Oregon Democratic Party establishment, during the campaign Rayfield pointed to bipartisan policy victories he helped craft, such as the legislation that rolled back Oregon’s drug decriminalization law and made possession a crime once more.
OPB’s Dirk VanderHart and Cameron Nielsen contributed reporting.