Republican challenger Monique DeSpain (left) and Democrat incumbent Val Hoyle (right) are running for the Oregon U.S. House 4th District. Pictured in undated images provided by the campaigns.
Courtesy of the campaigns
Voters in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, which stretches from the Roseburg area and the coast to Eugene, may feel like they’re experiencing deja vu.
Democratic incumbent Rep. Val Hoyle is once again facing off with Republican retired Air Force Col. Monique DeSpain, whom she beat in 2024. Pacific Green candidate Justice Filip, is also running again as a critic of Hoyle from the left.
This time around, however, candidates are facing constituents’ worries about artificial intelligence and data centers, an issue DeSpain hammered Hoyle on in her first TV ad of this election cycle.
“Val Hoyle’s taken thousands from the AI companies driving the data center boom,” DeSpain’s ad says. “They get massive tax breaks. We get higher bills. Monique DeSpain, retired Air Force colonel, JAG officer, hasn’t taken a dime from big tech.”
The AI spending DeSpain is referring to is $292,000 in independent expenditures from May — which is political spending in a race not authorized by candidates — by a pro-AI PAC in the primary. Independent expenditures in support of or against candidates are common on both sides of the aisle and have been since the U.S. Supreme Court Citizen United ruling removed spending limits on corporations and unions.
The PAC that’s spending in support of Hoyle, Think Big, is an affiliate of Leading the Future, which is funded by leaders from OpenAI and other prominent tech companies and voices, according to FEC data and statements by those PACs.
According to reporting from The New York Times and Politico, PACs associated with Leading the Future have spent millions in primaries this year in support of or opposing candidates on both sides of the aisle.
The PAC spent that money on digital advertising, text messages and a video ad in support of Hoyle. The material in Think Big’s ad appears to have been created from publicly available videos uploaded to Hoyle’s website during her 2022 campaign.
When the PACs support for Hoyle’s reelection became public in May, Hoyle said she believed both workers and the companies themselves needed seats at the table in regulating the industry.
In an interview with KLCC Thursday, Hoyle called DeSpain “desperate.” She said she hasn’t accepted any money from AI tech companies — and doesn’t control the independent expenditures spent on her race.
“Nobody is going to buy my vote, and my record speaks for itself,” Hoyle said. “What I want is federal legislation and federal legislation quickly. Industry actually wants that kind of clarity as well. I know they don’t agree with all of my positions, but I think we need clear guardrails.”
Hoyle said she has co-sponsored or voted for several bills to regulate AI and address the impacts of data centers, including the Ratepayer Protection Act, and the House version of Sen. Bernie Sander’s Ban Artificial Super Intelligence Act.
In a statement shared with KLCC, DeSpain doubled down, arguing Hoyle has flip-flopped on AI and data centers and is out of touch with her constituents.
“The issue with data centers is about who gets to decide Oregon’s future: the people who live here or powerful special interests with politicians like Val Hoyle in their pocket,” DeSpain said. “Oregonians deserve radical transparency and a real seat at the table—and that means communities must have the power to reject a data center if they determine it isn’t right for them.”
When asked what her position was on regulating AI at the federal level, DeSpain promised not to accept money from the AI industry. She did not provide specifics on policies she would support or oppose, saying she planned to listen to voters.
The 4th District has been a repeated target for outside political spending, attracting millions in the last several cycles, with DeSpain targeted with independent spending against her in 2024. Hoyle had outside spending in support and against her, in both 2024 and when she faced Alek Skarlatos, a Republican, in 2022.
KLCC reached out to Filip, the Pacific Green candidate, to request his stance on data centers and AI, and will update the story with his response.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
