Fighting the Good Fight We lost several key races in our region, but we are extremely proud of our candidates for fighting the good fight and offering a clear choice to voters. Denise Krause made an inspiring effort to become the first Democrat to serve on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners since David Gilmour was elected to a second term in 2006. Her opponent, Randy Sparacino, was well funded by the Medford Chamber PAC and a network of wealthy business owners. Undaunted, Denise nevertheless raised thousands of dollars in small donor contributions, knocked on thousands of doors in every community across the county, attended countless community events, showed up for every candidate forum she was invited to while her opponent dodged them, and demonstrated every day what it means to be accessible and accountable to the public. We are incredibly thankful for her example and salute her competitive spirit, something all Democrats can learn from. Denise will continue to serve on the Rogue Valley Transportation District Board and also work on other important issues in the county. Stay tuned! Our candidates for the Oregon Legislature all worked hard in Jackson County to earn votes.Although these candidates were not ultimately successful this time around, every door knocked, every conversation with a voter, every event attended helps lay the foundation for future elections. Thank you to Isabella Lee Tibbettsfor running as a Write-In candidate for Oregon House District 56, Richard Chasmfor House Oregon District 4, Lilia Caballero for Oregon House District 6, Dylan Gutridgefor Oregon Senate District 28, and Tracy Thompson for Oregon Senate District 2.
What We Accomplished Our local party has much to be proud of. Our 2024 candidates worked hard and represented us well. A few of them are considering future runs for office. We invested nearly $40,000 to promote our candidates, up from $30,000 two years ago. The party expanded its number of Neighborhood Leaders for the first time since 2020. Meanwhile, we continued our efforts to reach out to non-affiliated voters and identify those who sympathize with Democratic values and policies. We have scores of enthusiastic new volunteers. Our party infrastructure is growing, which will help us become more competitive over time.
Looking Ahead Oregon’s biennial Special District Elections (SDE) will be held on May 20, 2025. Our school boards and the library board, in particular, are of special concern as right-wing extremists attempt to infect our local government with their culture wars. The 2026 General Election will be a midterm referendum on Donald Trump’s Project 2025. By extension, it will also be a referendum on the Oregon GOP’s official platform, which mirrors many themes in Project 2025. Two County Commission positions will be on the 2026 ballot (positions held by Republicans Colleen Roberts and Rick Dyer). Jackson County will also vote for Sheriff. Oregon Senate District 3, honorably and ably represented by Sen. Jeff Golden, will also be on the ballot. The Jackson County Democrats will not waste time. We need to be ready to compete at all levels! Stay tuned for a follow up newsletter with information about how you can help us in this effort. We’ll be updating our website in the coming weeks so that the website will be a good resource for you as we re-activate and reorganize. Finally, we encourage all of you to take time to process your feelings about the election results. While “hard work is good work,” self-care is good care. And as we enter the holiday season, let’s all focus on everything we are grateful for in beautiful Southern Oregon. As leaders in the local party, we are grateful for ALL of you. Your kindness, your energy, and hope for the future make Jackson County a better place to live. THANK YOU! | 