Republican Hate in Oregon

As a Republican candidate for the United States Senate in Oregon, Russ McAlmond is running not just to challenge incumbent Democrat Jeff Merkley, but to restore integrity, courage, and common sense to a party that too often turns its fire inward.

In an election year when every ounce of energy should be directed at defeating the policies that have made Oregon unaffordable, unsafe, and unaccountable, a vocal minority within our own ranks has chosen a different target: fellow Republicans who actually have the courage to step forward and run.

Nowhere is this dysfunctional attitude more evident than in Josephine County — a place that should be a Republican stronghold but has instead become a hotbed of intra-party hate.

Here, and in pockets across the state, some self-described “conservatives” direct more venom at other Republicans than they do at the Democrats who control the legislature, the governorship, and Oregon’s U.S. Senate seats. They do not merely disagree; they smear, they libel, and they undermine.

And they do it with a ferocity that suggests they would rather see a good Republican lose than allow anyone outside their narrow circle to succeed.

Russ McAlmond knows this firsthand.

A veteran who risked his life in three years of active duty, McAlmond has been attacked by non-veterans who question his patriotism — people who never wore the uniform themselves yet feel entitled to lecture a man who did.

One of the most egregious examples came from Candy Kaiser of the so-called “United Conservatives.” On Facebook, Kaiser publicly and falsely labeled McAlmond a “Democrat” and claimed he “hated Republicans.” These accusations are not only demonstrably false; they are malicious.

Kaiser, a non-veteran, made these statements based on her personal hate of the candidate. She has been harassing him for years in the county because he opposes her hatred towards other Republicans. She apparently believes the best way to help any other candidate (most likely Perkins) is to tear down another Republican with outright dishonesty and slander. 

This is not political conservativism or love your neighbor. 

This is not loyalty to the party or the principles we claim to champion. It is disloyalty — plain and simple. Attacking a fellow Republican who is willing to endure the merciless assaults that will surely come from Democrats, the media, and the Oregon establishment is the very definition of back-stabbing.

McAlmond is not asking for special treatment; he is simply asking that those who call themselves Republicans stop aiding the other side by destroying their own before the general election even begins.

Republicans in Josephine County and every county in Oregon face a choice. We can continue down the path of self-defeating purity tests, personal vendettas, and character assassination, or we can decide that 2026 is the year we get serious about winning. Winning requires candidates with real courage — the kind of courage McAlmond showed when he volunteered to serve his country and the kind he is showing again by entering a tough statewide race against an entrenched Democrat.

It does not require perfection. It requires unity of purpose.

We can disagree on strategy. We can debate priorities. But when a fellow Republican puts his name on the ballot, risks his reputation, his finances, and his family’s peace of mind to fight for our values, the response from within the party should never be public defamation. Especially not from those who have never demonstrated the same level of personal sacrifice.

The hate that flows from figures like Candy Kaiser and others who prioritize personal grudges over party success is not “holding people accountable.” It is sabotage dressed up as principle. It demoralizes good candidates, discourages future leaders, and hands victories to Democrats who watch with glee as we tear ourselves apart.

Oregon Republicans cannot afford another cycle of this dysfunction. We need every able leader, every volunteer, and every voter focused on the real opponent: the progressive policies that have driven up housing costs, increased crime, and eroded opportunity.

Russ McAlmond is running because he believes Oregon deserves better. He believes Republicans deserve better than the circular firing squad that has become all too common in counties like Josephine. And he believes the party must be better than the small-minded attacks that substitute for serious political engagement.

To every Republican in Oregon — whether in Josephine County or anywhere else — the message is simple: reject the hate. Reject the lies. Reject the disloyalty that masquerades as ideological purity.

Stand with the candidate who has served his country, who has the courage to run, and who is willing to take the blows from both Democrats and misguided members of his own party. Stand with Russ McAlmond.

Because if we cannot unite behind Republicans who are willing to fight for Oregon, then we have already surrendered the Senate seat — and any hope of real change — before the first ballot is cast. The choice is ours. Let’s choose unity. Let’s choose courage. Let’s choose victory over hate.