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U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, who represents Eugene, Roseburg and parts of the southern Oregon Coast, appears to have secured a second term in Congress, according to early Wednesday morning vote counts. The Democrat managed to fend off Republican challenger Monique DeSpain.
Incumbent Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle is running for reelection.
Courtesy of campaign
For more than three decades, Oregon’s 4th Congressional District was represented by Peter DeFazio. The district stretches from Eugene to Roseburg and includes much of the southern Oregon Coast. Hoyle won the seat in 2022 in a tight race against Alek Skarlatos.
The latest contest had longtime public official Hoyle up against political newcomer DeSpain.
Hoyle is both a former state lawmaker and Oregon’s former labor commissioner. On the campaign trail, she focused on her record to fight for reproductive health care and highlighted her efforts to help working people. She touted her involvement to help push for an increase in the state’s minimum wage and provide paid sick leave for workers while she served as a state lawmaker.
In Congress, an ad for Hoyle says she has pushed legislation to “grow our workforce by investing in apprenticeships and community colleges.”
Monique DeSpain, pictured in this undated, supplied image. DeSpain is running for the 4th Congressional District seat, challenging U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Oregon.
Courtesy of the campaign
DeSpain spent three decades in the Air Force and Oregon Air National Guard and retired as a colonel. She has no elected experience but worked for state Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, in his law firm. She hammered Hoyle on the campaign trail for being a career politician and highlighted her ties to the now infamous cannabis company La Mota.
The national Republicans threw in money to support DeSpain, having identified Hoyle as vulnerable. DeSpain also pushed back on the notion that if she were elected it would result in diminished reproductive rights.
“I oppose a national abortion ban,” DeSpain said in one television advertisement. “IVF (in vitro fertilization) helped create my family, so of course I support federal protections.”