On May 19, Oregon voters will have the chance to vote for their preferred Republican or Democratic nominee for Oregon’s 4th congressional district. The winner of each race will face off in an election on Nov. 3, 2020, to represent the district in the capitol. On the Republican side, Nelson Ijih and Alek Skarlatos will face off while Doyle Canning and incumbent Rep. Peter DeFazio face off on the Democratic side. 
Ballots have been mailed to eligible voters, according to the Secretary of State’s office, and must be returned by May 19.

Republican Nominees: 

Nelson Ijih: 

Nelson Ijih, an immigrant from Nigeria and long-time Portland resident, wants to challenge DeFazio for his long-held spot in Congress, according to reporting by the Eugene Weekly. His work experience is primarily in tech, as an engineer at both Intel and Motorola with his own startup called BlockMint Technologies — a company aimed at making blockchain applications more accessible for clients. Ijih also spent some time in the US Foreign Service and is an adjunct faculty member at Portland State University.

Ijih has a history of supporting Trump and uses the slogan “Make Oregon Great Again.” He even has made his own rap supporting the current president.
Some of Ijih’s most important policy positions, according to a press release, are the suspension of payroll taxes for COVID-19 relief, a homelessness relief program that would have in-debt college students teach the unhoused useful skills, ending monopolies over healthcare by insurance companies, cutting the time and costs of higher education, implementing tax incentives for small businesses to go carbon neutral and decentralizing the use of Oregon’s resources. 

Putting a limit on the amount of terms representatives can serve in congress has also been a major focus of Ijih’s platform. Ijih also describes himself as “pro-life” with respect to both abortions and in his opposition to the death penalty. 
Alek Skarlatos: 

The 27-year-old Alek Skarlatos is a Roseburg native and former National Guardsman. Skarlatos won the United States’ Soldiers’ Medal when he and four others stopped an armed terrorist on a train bound for Paris in 2015, according to his campaign website. He played himself in a dramatized version of the events in the 2018 movie The 15:17 to Paris, directed by Clint Eastwood. 

Shortly after the release of the movie, Skarlatos attempted to use this starpower to launch a campaign for Douglas County Commissioner to help the struggling timber businesses in the area but was defeated in a close race by local businessman Tom Kress, according to reporting from the News-Review.

Skarlatos is running on a platform focused on, in his words, revitalizing Oregon’s timber industry, maintaining the right to bear arms, fixing the Veteran’s (sic) Health Administration, tightening immigration at the southern border by building a wall and ending sanctuary cities, reducing healthcare prices while maintaining an open market and bringing more jobs to the district, according to his campaign website. His healthcare and immigration plans both explicitly give support to current policies championed by President Trump.

Democratic Nominees:

Doyle Canning: 

Canning, a 40-year-old alumna from the University of Oregon School of Law, has been involved in activism for most of her life. She helped start a collective in 2003 called The Center for Story-Based Strategy with a goal to help create winning campaigns for grassroots movements, according to her website.

This campaign is an effort by Canning to bring progressive politics to the district through a grassroots movement, using Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other left-leaning U.S. politicians as an example. 

Some of Canning’s most updated priorities, like a $2,000 a month universal basic income and canceling rent and mortgage payments during the pandemic, were brought to the house floor by representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, respectively. 

Canning’s priorities for the district include a Green New Deal to combat climate change while providing jobs in renewable energy for Oregonians, Medicare for All, canceling student debt and addressing the housing problem in the district with increased wages and building, according to her campaign site.

Canning said that she is the only candidate in this race fighting for the policies that will address the issues the United States and the district are seeing exacerbated during this pandemic like failures in healthcare and affordable living. 

Peter DeFazio:

Incumbent Rep. DeFazio has been Oregon’s 4th District representative since 1987 and currently serves as the Chairperson for the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee — one of the largest committees in Congress, according to its website.

Throughout his career, DeFazio has sponsored major policy proposals like the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. 

According to his campaign site, his slogan, “as Independent as Oregon,” is an example of his nature to pursue a wide range of issues like the overhaul of the Veterans Administration and an investigation into the VA in Roseburg. 
DeFazio is also prioritizing the protection of Social Security, investments in education and reforming the immigration system while providing more support to neighboring countries, according to his website.