Oregon district attorney ousted in primary election due to reputation for leniency on crime

Mike Schmidt, the district attorney for Multnomah County in Oregon who was criticized for being too “soft on crime,” lost his primary race to one of his own deputy prosecutors.

Schmidt was defeated by Nathan Vasquez, who garnered about 54% of the vote as of Wednesday evening. Schmidt’s defeat could serve as a bellwether for other progressive district attorneys across the country as some major cities grapple with rising crime rates.

“The voters have made it clear that they are ready to take our county in a new and safer direction,” Vasquez said in a Facebook post Wednesday celebrating the victory.

Schmidt was first appointed to the position in August 2020 amid a summer of social justice protests stemming from the death of George Floyd by police officers in Minnesota earlier that year. Shortly after taking office, Schmidt announced protesters would not be prosecuted unless they were charged with specific crimes such as property damage, theft, or threat of force against another person.

However, interfering with police officers or other misconduct against law enforcement would not be taken up by his office.

Backed by various police groups, Vasquez rejected Schmidt’s light touch with protesters and his support of a 2020 ballot measure that decriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs. Schmidt later backed reinstating criminal penalties for “personal use” possession of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone, and other hard drugs.

Schmidt’s defeat is one of several fallbacks for progressive prosecutors across the country.

Pamela Price, who serves as the district attorney in Alameda County, California, is facing her own recall election later this year over similar criticism, just two years after voters in San Francisco ousted progressive Chesa Boudin.

Others have managed to survive such efforts, including Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, who has faced two unsuccessful efforts to recall him since first being elected in 2020.

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Progressives in Oregon experienced other losses during the state’s primaries on Tuesday, including Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who lost the primary to face Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) for her toss-up seat. McLeod-Skinner was defeated by Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum, who was backed by the Democratic establishment.

Also, Susheela Jayapal, sister of House Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), lost to Democratic challenger Maxine Dexter in the 3rd Congressional District.