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Democrat Challenging Walden On Health Care

Democrat Aelea Christofferson is challenging Republican Greg Walden for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional seat.
Campaign photo
Democrat Aelea Christofferson is challenging Republican Greg Walden for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional seat.

Aelea Christofferson, the Democrat taking on Greg Walden, Oregon's only Republican member of Congress, released an attack ad Friday blasting Walden's opposition to the Affordable Care Act.

Democrat Aelea Christofferson is challenging Republican Greg Walden for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional seat.
Credit Campaign photo
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Campaign photo
Democrat Aelea Christofferson is challenging Republican Greg Walden for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional seat.

But it’s a strategy that could work in her opponent’s favor.

Health care could be Christofferson's biggest Achilles Heel. She served on the board of Cover Oregon during that organization's most tumultuous period. But her campaign says she was critical of the health insurance exchange even as she helped govern it.

Now, the central Oregon businesswoman is attacking Walden for repeatedly voting against Obamacare in Congress.

"While I worked to get healthcare coverage for 300,000 Oregonians, he voted more than a dozen times to deny health coverage to people with pre-existing conditions," Christofferson said in a new ad that's appearing online.

A spokesman for Walden said the incumbent does support coverage for pre-existing conditions but he doesn't think the President's health care law is the right way to do it.

Walden is a high-ranking Republican who's served eastern and southern Oregon since 1999.

Copyright 2014 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman has been reporting on Oregon issues since 2006. He joined the KLCC news department in December 2018 and became News Director in March 2023. Chris was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism. His public broadcasting career includes stops in Louisiana and Illinois. Chris has filed for national programs including “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”