Willamette Week Interview

In a recent in-person interview with Willamette Week in Portland, three Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate seat held by Jeff Merkley laid out their reasons for running.

The contrast could not have been clearer.

Russ McAlmond stood out as the only candidate driven by conviction rather than personal ambition or divine calling. While his opponents offered familiar political scripts, McAlmond spoke directly to the concerns of the majority of Oregonians who are tired of extreme partisanship and career politicians.

His message was simple, grounded, and urgent: it is time to stop Merkley’s fourth term and restore common-sense leadership to the United States Senate.

McAlmond made it plain from the start that he is not running to launch a political career. He is running to win. Oregon deserves a senator who will represent the working families, small-business owners, farmers, and veterans across the state—not just the activist base concentrated in Portland and Eugene.

Merkley has spent years catering to the most extreme voices on the left, including the Democratic Socialists who dominate urban politics. The result has been policies that ignore the everyday realities faced by most Oregonians.

McAlmond’s campaign is a direct challenge to that imbalance. He offers pragmatic, results-oriented leadership that puts Oregon first.The other two candidates in the room illustrated exactly why McAlmond is different.

One, Perkins, repeatedly told the interviewers she is running because she was “called by God.” She has run for office multiple times since receiving that call—and lost every single race. Invoking God’s name in a political interview is not a platform; it is pandering. It suggests that God has chosen sides in a Republican primary and that Christians should vote against any candidate who does not claim the same divine endorsement.

McAlmond also believes in God and supports the Judeo-Christian values that have shaped America’s best traditions. He simply refuses to use faith as a campaign slogan or a weapon against fellow believers. Oregon voters, including people of faith, deserve better than spiritual manipulation dressed up as a campaign strategy.

The third candidate, David Smith, presented himself as the next logical step on a lifelong political ladder. He listed his state-government committees and positions as proof of readiness. The problem with that argument is obvious: if experience in government is the measure, Merkley wins in a landslide. Merkley has been a U.S. Senator for three terms. No amount of state-level committee work can compete with that record when voters are asked to choose between two career politicians.

Smith’s pitch essentially hands the general-election advantage straight to the incumbent.

McAlmond closed the interview with a statement that cut through the noise: he is the only Republican in this race who can actually beat Jeff Merkley in November 2026. The facts back him up. He is a United States Marine veteran—the only veteran running on either the Democratic or Republican side. That background brings real-world perspective on national security, leadership under pressure, and the sacrifices made by those who defend our country.

He is also the most educated candidate in the field, combining academic achievement with practical experience that goes far beyond politics.

Most importantly, McAlmond is running out of deep conviction that he has better ideas and better values for Oregon than the incumbent. He is not climbing a ladder. He is answering a call to service.

Oregonians have watched career politicians and self-proclaimed prophets come and go. What the state needs now is a senator who understands that public office is a temporary trust, not a lifelong profession. Russ McAlmond offers exactly that.

He is not running because God told him to, and he is not running because it is the next rung on a political career ladder.

He is running because Merkley’s brand of extreme, urban-focused politics has left the majority of Oregonians behind—and because McAlmond has the background, the education, the values, and the record to defeat him.

The choice for Republican voters is clear. In a crowded primary, only one candidate stands ready to win the general election and deliver the common-sense leadership Oregon desperately needs. That candidate is Russ McAlmond.

The Willamette Week interview made it plain: he is the only one who can win.