Alek Skarlatos narrows the gap in his race for the US House in Oregon

| October 19, 2020

Alek Skarlatos, Republican candidate for US House Oregon District 4, will probably look and sound familiar. He was one of the three heroes of the 2015 Thalys train terrorist attack. He later played himself in the Clint Eastwood movie The 15:17 to Paris which recounted the events of that afternoon. He received the Soldier’s Medal (the highest award for non-combat bravery) and made a knight in France’s Legion of Honor (the nation’s highest honor). We’ve talked about him and his cohorts in stopping the attack before here, here, and others.

Skarlatos is up against a long term incumbent Democrat in what was supposed to be a safe seat for the DNC. KoB sent in this article that shows Skarlatos has a chance. He’s fighting hard against a well funded, connected career politician. It’s not the first time he’s beaten the odds though, so I hope he wins this fight like he did the fight with that Islamic terrorist in France.

In the regularly blue state of Oregon, voters in a purple district near the city of Portland are turning away from long-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Peter DeFazio in favor of a young Republican challenger.

Army veteran Alek Skarlatos, 27, gained international fame for halting an extremist attack aboard a Paris-bound train in 2015. He’s also one of House Republicans’ best recruits this year, outraising DeFazio by $1.2 million and outspending him by over $900,000 in the most recent quarter.

“I can’t outspend him. We can’t even match him. He raised more money in a quarter than I’ve ever raised in a year in my life,” DeFazio admitted to supporters on a virtual phone call this week. “But we can outwork him.”

DeFazio, a populist progressive, is a key player for his party and would be an important figure on infrastructure should Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden win the White House. He’s also been instrumental in Congress’s coronavirus stimulus package discussions as a strong proponent for airline relief.

While Politico reported Friday that the 73-year-old Democrat is expected to hold onto his seat and DeFazio retains the advantage with an enormous $2.12 million in cash on hand, leadership has allegedly grown nervous over the slim margin.

DeFazio has a history of winning, but Skarlatos marks the first serious opponent the House Transportation chair has faced in years.

DeFazio’s backers say he has taken the challenge seriously and that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has taken note of the race. But Politico noted they also acknowledge there are additional unforeseen variables this election cycle.

Devastating wildfires, the absence of college students due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and chaotic protests turned violent in nearby Portland will all play a part in shaping the race.

More at the source; Fox News

Category: 2020 Election, Army, Guest Link, Politics, Veterans in politics

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5JC

Send the old crook out and bring in the kid.

AW1Ed

In a sane place, the nighty Portland riots would indeed have an effect on the election.

Best of luck to Alek.

Slow Joe

I doubt the riots are having an effect in Portland. The Democrat-run media is making sure all get blamed on the Evil Orange Man that stole the crown from Princess Clinton, the rightful heir to the throne.

Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

2015????, 5 years ago, where did the time go????????

26Limabeans

An NDSM brother. Probably his FIRST award.

5th/77th FA

Addictive…ain’t it? Don’t bruise your pecs with all of that thumping, you may become a DEFECT! 😛 😛

Young folks like this is what we have long been needing. Too damn many career politicians that are only concerned about being re-elected. The big concern over who is President actually should take a back seat to how Congress is configured. It is too bad that we can’t have a national vote on term limits for the Kongress Kritters.

Best of luck Young Sir! I may have to send him a little Campaign Monies.

I thought y’all might enjoy a little bit of Feelz Good news out of this cesspool of the NW US.

26Limabeans

“Addictive…ain’t it?”

Good thing it only lasts for a week.
I may not make it to Friday.

The Other Whitey

Good luck to him, and should he win, I hope that he changes the office, not the other way around.

Slow Joe

Well, he is a Republican, so there is no guarantee of that. Only Democrats remain loyal to their base, which point to the fact that they have a better system of maintaining discipline and forcing their members to comply with their dictak than the Republicans do.

USMC Steve

True enough. And the socialist democrats really don’t have to contend with the peculiarity that is the libertarian.

I had this out with a couple dedicated libertarians, and flat out told them their vote for that Jorgenson broad was a waste of a vote at best, and a vote for Biden and the socialist dems at worst. Told them to own it.

Remember when that big eared asshole Perot fucked us into Slick Willy and mass murdering Hilly? Just enough libertarians went and voted for an unelectable candidate, and we all got to pay for that lapse in judgement.

Quartermaster

Bush had stacked the odds against himself after he broke his “no new taxes” promise. Worse, Perot probably would have won had he not pulled the nuttery he did and take a dive because of Bush’s “dirty tricks.”

Jay

TOW,

I’ve pondered the idea of running for either state Senate or US Senate. That was one of the planks in my original platform: TERM LIMITS. If I felt I sucked or YOU felt I sucked, I wouldn’t seek re-election, and I sure as hell wouldn’t stick around past 2 terms anyway. Between 20 years in the Corps and the past almost 3 years working for local county government….it’s becoming an intriguing idea.

The Other Whitey

As George Washington warned, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This nation was never supposed to have a ruling class. It is antithetical to the very foundations of America. The one area in which the Founders were shortsighted was their failure to safeguard against professional politicians the likes of Biden, Pelosi, McConnell, McCain, Watters, et al. I encourage you to run, Jay, and I hope you win.

Change your office. Don’t let your office change you.

Quartermaster

You’ll need to raise several million dollars.

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[…] Alek Skarlatos (R) – Lost to incumbent Peter DeFazio (D-OR) 46.3% to 51.6% with  84% precincts reporting. […]