Val Hoyle is running for a third term representing Oregon’s 4th District in Congress, saying she hopes to be a part of a blue wave that will hold the Trump administration accountable.
One of her opponents in the Democratic primary, Melissa Bird, said the district needs a new, bolder voice who has directly experienced the impacts of this administration’s policies.
Hoyle said it hasn’t been easy to get legislation across the finish line, or force accountability while in the minority party. The Springfield Democrat said despite that, she’s been able to eke out wins, especially resources, in a divided, and chaotic Washington.
"I've made a lot of progress in the last two years on expanding tribal co-management of our forest lands and natural resources and public lands,” Hoyle said. “I've been able to get more worker protections, and bring back over $31 million of investments into this district into infrastructure. The Transportation Infrastructure Committee, it still operates in a bipartisan way."
Hoyle said if voters send her back to Congress, she’s hopeful Democrats will have the votes they need to enforce their Constitutional authority to declare war, set tariffs and pursue impeachment.
"Voter sentiment has shifted so far against Donald Trump,” Hoyle said. “We can hold this administration accountable for the illegal, immoral, and most importantly. unconstitutional actions that they have taken over these past two years."
Hoyle previously served as Oregon’s Labor Commissioner and as a state representative. Before politics, she led United Way of Lane County and worked in the outdoors sports industry.
Her opponent in the Democratic primary, Melissa Bird of Corvallis, said Hoyle’s efforts over the last two years aren’t enough to meet this moment.
"Voters want something to vote for and they are tired of being on the defense,” Bird said. “They want someone who is going to actively advocate on their behalf, regardless of who is in leadership, regardless of what the message is. They want someone who is going to actively be a part of listening to them and trying to figure out solutions"
Bird is a descendent of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes in Utah and has worked as lay-preacher and social worker. She also advocated for homeless youth in her previous career in Utah and worked as a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood.
She said her family has been personally impacted by the Trump’s administration’s efforts to shrink the federal government, starting when her husband’s job at NOAA was rescinded.
Lived experience and economic impact
Bird said many people she knows, or has met on the campaign trail, in Corvallis and on the coast have similar stories. Or, they are struggling with the trickle down impacts of other federal policies, like more complicated SNAP benefits or Medicaid requirements.
"This idea of the professional politician and people being in politics for years and years, what that has created is a cohort of people who do not know what it is like to live in this economy,” Bird said. “Yet, they are making decisions for people who live in this economy every single day."
Bird said her goal, if she gets to Congress, is to increase the minimum wage and most importantly, reset the 1970s era Federal poverty level to help break cycles many working class people feel trapped in.
"It will save probably billions in tax dollars in the long-run to make that adjustment,” Bird said. “but it also helps people who are using these safety net programs to actually be able to move out of survival and into thriving.”
Hoyle said she can empathize with the economic reality many of her constituents are going through. She said her family relied on the social safety net to make ends meet while she was growing up. Hoyle said she also struggled with a learning disability while in school and ended up being the first in her family to go to college; all experiences that motivated her to run for office.
"I am not known as one of the people in Congress that came from means,” Hoyle said. “I am seen as who I am, who is someone who speaks up for people who have had to struggle, who have worked their way up. And I believe that when you climb the ladder, you don't pull it up behind you.”
Both candidates said they want to impeach the president, abolish ICE and create a legal pathway to citizenship and support Medicare for All.
A third candidate, Dan Bahlen, will also appear on the Democratic ballot. Bahlen has not reported any fundraising, and previously ran for the seat two years ago as a Libertarian.
Bahlen appeared at the City Club of Eugene earlier this month.
Republican primary
Air Force veteran Monique DeSpain is seeking the Republican nomination in the 4th Congressional District. She faces just one opponent in the primary, Stefan Strek, a Eugene artist who has unsuccessfully run for congress, mayor and governor.
In her second attempt to unseat Hoyle, DeSpain said she was again trying to inform voters of Hoyle’s missteps in Congress and as Oregon’s Labor Commissioner; specifically, Hoyle’s violation of rules on congressional stock trading.
“Congresswoman Hoyle has had every opportunity to come clean with the people of this district," DeSpain said during an April campaign event in Springfield. "Instead, she has repeatedly chosen to deflect hiding information, denying responsibility, shifting blame and stonewalling, while asking the public to accept her claims of ignorance and innocence.”
Hoyle previously told KLCC the violations were caused by her husband switching retirement plans, and the couple did not influence their financial advisor’s decisions. She said she paid the $200 penalty out of her own pocket and not campaign funds.
In addition to launching a website critical of Hoyle, DeSpain said she's focused on public safety and affordability issues, especially housing, in the district.
In 2024, Hoyle won the district by close to eight percentage points.
The 4th Congressional District stretches from the Lincoln City area on the coast to the California border. It also includes Corvallis, Roseburg, and the Eugene-Springfield metro area, and stretches east to the Cascades.
