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As a Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Oregon, I have spent months traveling the state, listening to Republicans who care deeply about our future. I value every conversation. But I have also come to a clear conclusion: the traditional in-person candidate forum model that dominates Oregon politics no longer works. It is time to retire the outdated format and embrace the tools that actually let voters learn about candidates, ask real questions, and share answers with one another.Here is the reality of most candidate forums held across Oregon today. A handful of candidates are given two or three minutes each at a podium. Thirty to fifty people sit in the audience—often the same dedicated activists who attend every event. There is rarely time for meaningful follow-up questions. Candidates race from one town to the next, burning hours on Interstate 5 or winding two-lane roads just to reach the next small gathering. The travel eats up entire days that could be spent working, raising money, or actually answering voter concerns.Most campaigns, including mine, do not have large staffs or unlimited budgets. We cannot afford to keep chasing tiny crowds across a state as geographically vast as Oregon. The result is that voters walk away with little more than a quick impression and a flyer. They do not get the depth they deserve. They cannot easily compare positions side-by-side. And the people who could not make it to the event—because they work nights, live in rural counties, or simply have families to care for—get left out entirely.This is not how information travels in the 21st century. Social media, campaign websites, and direct email have changed everything. These platforms give every Oregonian the chance to see exactly where I stand on the issues that matter most: securing the border, cutting wasteful spending, protecting our rural economies, and defending the freedoms that make Oregon great. You can read my full positions at your own pace. You can post a question on my Facebook page, X account, or campaign website and receive a direct, detailed answer. Those answers can then be shared instantly with friends, family, and fellow Republicans across the state.Unlike a three-minute sound bite on a stage, digital engagement is transparent and permanent. It reaches thousands of voters in a single afternoon instead of dozens in an evening. It lets working Oregonians participate without having to drive for hours. And it frees candidates like me to use our limited time more wisely—meeting with small business owners in their shops, talking with farmers in their fields, or sitting down with families around their kitchen tables—rather than commuting endlessly between sparsely attended forums.Seeing a candidate in person has its place. I will always make time for one-on-one conversations and town halls where real dialogue can happen. But the old-school “stand on stage for three minutes” format is no longer an efficient or effective way to run for office. It belongs to an earlier era when information moved slowly and technology was limited. We are well past that now.If you want to know what I believe and how I will fight for Oregon in the United States Senate, I invite you to skip the next forum and do something far more productive: go to McAlmondforCongress.org. Follow me on social media. Send me your questions directly. I will answer them personally and publicly so everyone can see my responses. Share those answers with your neighbors. Let’s have the substantive, statewide conversation Oregon Republicans deserve—on your schedule, from wherever you live.The future of effective campaigning is digital, direct, and accessible. I am running my campaign that way because that is how I intend to serve—efficiently, transparently, and focused on delivering results for every corner of our great state.Thank you for your time and support. I look forward to hearing from you online and earning your vote.

Candidate Forums Don't Work

Draining the Salem Swamp: Russ McAlmond for U.S. SenateIn the heart of Oregon, a swamp festers—not in our scenic wetlands or river valleys, but in the corridors of power in Salem. The Salem Swamp is the entrenched political establishment: Democrats and Republicans alike who have turned state government into a closed club. Their mission is simple: protect their power, perks, and special interests by keeping outsiders from winning primaries and taking their seats. While both parties play this game, the most damaging players right now are the insiders within the Oregon Republican Party. These Salem Swamp Republicans talk conservative values on the campaign trail, but their votes tell a different story. They supported the controversial Menstrual Dignity Act that forced schools across Oregon to stock tampons in boys’ bathrooms—wasting taxpayer dollars and pushing ideology over common sense and parental rights. This includes current candidates in Oregon such as Christine Drazan (Governor) and David B. Smith (US Senate) who are running as Republicans. Their CPAC voting records are extremely poor while they try to convince us that they are strong conservatives on the campaign trail.&nbsp;They continue to promote expanded trade with Communist China, our strategic adversary, instead of protecting American jobs, farmers, and national security by limiting trade with a regime that steals our technology and undermines our economy. They answer first to PACs and lobbyists, not to the hardworking families in Grants Pass, Bend, Medford, or Eastern Oregon. And when election season arrives, they circle the wagons: propping up fellow insiders, denying grassroots challengers media exposure, and refusing party endorsements to anyone who threatens their comfortable status quo.The Oregon Republican Party establishment obsesses over who has the biggest PAC war chest rather than who is the strongest, most qualified candidate to defeat Democrats in November. They act as gatekeepers, promoting safe, uninspiring insiders and sidelining grassroots Republicans who often bring stronger resumes, better ideas, and deeper connections to the real concerns of Oregonians. This preference for mediocrity over merit is exactly why the Republican Party is shrinking in Oregon. Talented, educated outsiders with fresh solutions are blocked, while the swamp rewards loyalty over results.Oregon deserves better. Russ McAlmond is the outsider ready to drain the Salem Swamp. A proud U.S. Marine veteran who answered the call to serve our nation, Russ brings proven courage, discipline, and leadership. He holds an MBA and a Master of Science in Financial Services, is a Certified Financial Planner, and built a successful career as a businessman and investment professional. As founder of the Center for Human Equality, he champions ethical individualism, common-sense solutions, and putting all Oregonians first—not special interests. Russ isn’t beholden to PACs or Salem insiders. He is running a genuine grassroots campaign focused on the issues that matter most to Oregon families: lowering the cost of living, addressing homelessness with real accountability, securing our borders, protecting women’s sports and parental rights, enforcing term limits (just two terms in the Senate), and pursuing America First trade policies that put Oregon workers and farmers ahead of Beijing. He will fight for fiscal responsibility, strong national defense, and a Republican Party that welcomes new voices and rewards merit over connections.The choice is clear. If we send Salem Swamp Republicans to Washington, we will keep getting the same shrinking, ineffective opposition. But if Oregon Republicans and independents reject the insiders and nominate Russ McAlmond, we will send a fighter to the U.S. Senate who will drain the swamp, restore power to the people, and make the Republican Party a force again in Oregon. This primary season, vote for the Marine, the businessman, and the true conservative outsider. Vote to drain the Salem Swamp.Vote Russ McAlmond for U.S. Senate.

Drain The Salem Swamp

In America, faith has always played a vital role in public life. From the Founding Fathers who invoked divine providence in our founding documents to modern leaders who end speeches with “God bless America,” belief in a higher power is woven into the fabric of our republic. Conservatives and Republicans, in particular, cherish the Judeo-Christian values that built this nation—values of personal responsibility, moral clarity, and humility before God. Yet there is a profound difference between quietly living one’s faith and publicly wielding it as a political weapon. Russ McAlmond believes that when candidates cross that line, they do a disservice to both their fellow believers and the democratic process itself.Consider the case of Jo Rae Perkins, a perennial candidate for the U.S. Senate in Oregon who has once again told voters in a 2026 public interview that she audibly heard the voice of God instructing her to run. Perkins has made this claim before—repeatedly. She has lost race after race by staggering margins: for U.S. Senate, for Congress, and in multiple cycles stretching back more than a decade. Each time, the verdict from Oregon voters has been decisive. Yet she persists, offering the same divine mandate as her central qualification. Even if one accepts her personal experience at face value—and Russ McAlmond, a man of genuine faith, does not question anyone’s private relationship with God—the decision to broadcast it in campaign interviews, videos, and public appearances raises serious concerns. When a candidate with no other compelling record of achievement or policy depth repeatedly leans on “God told me to run,” it ceases to be testimony and becomes strategy.This approach is manipulative, plain and simple. It preys on sincere Christian voters who want leaders who share their values. Many faithful Republicans feel an instinctive pull to support someone who claims a direct call from the Almighty, fearing they might be opposing God’s will if they choose otherwise. The tactic creates a false moral hierarchy: vote for the candidate God supposedly chose, even if other qualified, equally devout conservatives offer superior experience, fresh ideas, and a proven track record. It asks voters to set aside judgment of results—electoral losses, lack of legislative achievements, and a platform thin on substance—in favor of an unverifiable spiritual claim. That is not honest conservatism. It is spiritual leverage in pursuit of votes from people who deserve better. Russ McAlmond will never play that game. As a proud U.S. Marine veteran, husband, father, and lifelong conservative, McAlmond deeply believes in God. He reads Scripture and prays for guidance—just as millions of Oregonians do. But he also believes that a personal calling from the Lord is exactly that: personal. It belongs between the believer and their Creator, not on the campaign trail or in media soundbites designed to sway a Republican primary. McAlmond refuses to manipulate Christian voters with claims of divine endorsement. He will not ask anyone to choose him because “God said so.” Instead, he offers something far more tangible and accountable: his education, his professional expertise as a financial professional with advanced degrees (MBA, MSFS, CFP), his service to our nation in uniform, and a clear-eyed vision for Oregon’s future.In the 2026 Republican primary, Oregon conservatives deserve a fresh voice—one grounded in reality, not rhetoric; one focused on winning in November against entrenched liberal Sen. Jeff Merkley rather than recycling the same unelectable name year after year. McAlmond brings common-sense conservatism, a commitment to fiscal responsibility, strong national defense, and protecting the freedoms that make America exceptional. He will earn your vote the old-fashioned way—by demonstrating competence, character, and results—not by invoking God as a campaign slogan.True faith does not need political validation. It stands on its own. The voters of Oregon are wise enough to discern between a candidate who respects their intelligence and one who seeks to shortcut it with spiritual storytelling. Russ McAlmond trusts God, trusts Oregonians, and trusts the process. He asks only for the opportunity to serve based on what he can prove: his readiness, his record, and his resolve to fight for a better Oregon.This primary is a choice between manipulation and merit. Choose merit. Choose experience. Choose a fresh, conservative voice who will actually defeat Jeff Merkley in November. Choose Russ McAlmond for U.S. Senate in the May primary election for the Republican nomination.&nbsp;

God and Politics - Integrity Over Manipulation

flag of United States of America hanged on brown house during daytime

The Judeo-Christian Roots of American Equality: Why Oregon Needs Russ McAlmond in the United States SenateIn an age of division and competing ideologies, Oregon voters deserve a U.S. Senator who understands the deepest sources of our nation’s strength. That source is not abstract philosophy or modern social theory. It is the Judeo-Christian conviction, first articulated in the sacred scriptures of the Bible, that every human being is made in the image of God. This single idea—that every person possesses inherent dignity and equal value before the Creator—gave the world the concept of universal human equality for the first time in recorded history. It was this ancient truth that our Founding Fathers later enshrined in the political charter of the United States. Today, as a proud Oregonian, U.S. Marine veteran, and founder of the Center for Human Equality, Russ McAlmond is committed to defending that same truth in the United States Senate. He believes this truth whether coming from a religious or secular viewpoint.&nbsp;The Book of Genesis declares: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). From this revolutionary premise flowed an ethical revolution. In the ancient world, kings, pharaohs, and emperors were viewed as divine or semi-divine; ordinary people existed to serve the powerful. Slavery, caste systems, and ritual human sacrifice were commonplace. Nowhere else in human civilization was the equal worth of every individual—regardless of tribe, status, or sex—proclaimed as a sacred, non-negotiable truth. The Judeo-Christian scriptures did exactly that. They insisted that the same Creator who made the stars also knit every person together in the womb, endowing each with unalienable dignity. This was not merely a religious doctrine; it was the moral foundation upon which Western civilization would eventually build its commitment to human rights.That moral foundation became political reality in 1776. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, he did not invent the phrase “all men are created equal.” He drew directly from the Judeo-Christian worldview that shaped the American colonies. The Declaration states, in language that still stirs the soul: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” For the first time in human history, a nation was founded on the explicit political principle that government exists to secure the God-given rights of every individual citizen—not to dispense favors to favored groups, not to engineer outcomes, but to protect the equal dignity and equal rights of each person.The Founders understood that government’s primary responsibility is therefore limited and clear: to safeguard the individual rights to life, liberty, and property (or, as Jefferson phrased it, the pursuit of happiness). They rejected the old-world notion that rights are granted by kings or majorities. Rights come from the Creator; government’s job is to defend them. This framework unleashed the greatest explosion of human flourishing the world has ever seen. It produced the freest, most prosperous, and most generous society in history—precisely because it treated every citizen as an image-bearer of God and unique rather than a pawn of the state.Russ McAlmond has spent his life living out this same principle. As a United States Marine, he defended the country founded on these truths. As a successful business owner he treated his clients with respect for their individuality. As the founder of the Center for Human Equality, he has fought against the modern drift toward identity politics that divides Americans into competing groups rather than uniting us as equal individuals created in God’s image. He believes, as the Founders did, that true equality flows from our shared human dignity—not from government programs, not from quotas, and not from ever-shifting cultural fads. That is why he champions ethical individualism: the idea that every Oregonian—rural or urban, native-born or naturalized, of any background—deserves the same protection of life, liberty, and property under the law.In the Senate, Russ McAlmond will fight to restore the constitutional order that honors these Judeo-Christian roots. He will oppose the expansion of federal power that treats government as the source of rights rather than their protector. He will protect religious liberty so that people of faith can continue to shape our culture with the same moral vision that built America. He will work to secure our borders, strengthen our military, and reduce the regulatory burden that stifles the pursuit of happiness for Oregon families, farmers, and small-business owners. Above all, he will remind Washington that every American is created equal in value and endowed by their Creator with rights that no politician can take away. Oregon has always been a place where unique individualism and moral clarity thrive. From the pioneer spirit that settled our land to the innovation that drives our economy today, we have flourished when we remember who we are. Russ McAlmond is that kind of leader—a common-sense conservative who puts Oregon values first and refuses to bow to coastal elites or Washington insiders. He understands that the greatest threat to our liberty today is the slow erosion of the Judeo-Christian foundation that gave us equality in the first place.This November, Oregonians have a chance to send a clear message: we will not abandon the principles that made America exceptional. We will not trade the timeless truth of human dignity for the latest political fashion. We will elect a Senator who honors the sacred idea that every person bears the image of God—and who will fight, every day, to make sure our government exists to protect the equal rights that flow from that truth.That Senator is Russ McAlmond. For the sake of our children, our communities, and the republic our Founders entrusted to us, Oregon should send him to the United States Senate.

The Judeo-Christian Roots of American Equality

Defending Democracy: The Real Threat Isn’t the President—It’s the Politicians Who Refuse to Accept the People’s VerdictIn recent town-hall meetings across Oregon, Senator Jeff Merkley has taken to the stage to warn his constituents that a Republican president, elected by the American people in a free and fair contest, somehow poses an existential threat to “democracy.” This claim is not only false; it is the very opposite of the truth. The election of any president—Republican or Democrat—by popular vote and the Electoral College is not a danger to our republic. It is the living, breathing definition of democracy in action. When millions of Americans go to the polls and choose their leader, that choice is the sovereign will of the people. To call that outcome a threat is to declare that the American voter is the threat. Senator Merkley’s rhetoric does not defend democracy; it dismisses it.The true danger to our constitutional order arises when elected officials, having lost the presidential election, immediately set out to discredit and destroy the winner’s ability to govern. In the first year of this presidency, Merkley and his allies have wasted no time launching investigations, leaks, media campaigns, and legislative roadblocks aimed at one goal: rendering the people’s choice ineffective. This is not oversight. This is obstruction. When a senator uses the prestige of his office to portray a duly elected president as illegitimate from day one, he is not protecting democracy—he is assaulting it. The American people did not elect their president on a trial basis, subject to the veto of the losing party. They elected him for four years to lead. Any sustained campaign to nullify that mandate before the term even begins is an attack on the consent of the governed, the central pillar of our republic.The conspiracy theory that a Republican president could somehow transform himself into a “king” or dictator collapses the moment one opens the Constitution. Our system was deliberately engineered with separation of powers precisely to prevent any such outcome. The president commands no army of his own; Congress controls the purse strings and writes the laws; the judiciary stands independent; and every two years the American people can fire half the House and a third of the Senate. No president—Republican, Democrat, or otherwise—can suspend elections, dissolve Congress, or rule by decree. To pretend otherwise is not serious constitutional analysis; it is theatrical fearmongering designed to frighten voters into surrendering their own judgment to Washington insiders. The Founders did not trust any one man with unchecked power, and they certainly did not trust any one party to define “democracy” as whatever keeps them in office.Most troubling of all is the transparent motive behind the hysteria. Democrats lost the White House. The people looked at their record, their policies, and their vision for the country and chose a different direction. Rather than accept that verdict and offer constructive opposition, some, like Senator Merkley, have chosen to delegitimize the result itself. The goal is clear: maintain power, position, and influence even after the electorate has revoked their mandate. This is not the behavior of public servants; it is the behavior of an entrenched political class that views electoral defeat as a temporary inconvenience to be overcome by any means necessary. The American people did not grant the president four years so that Congress could spend those years trying to impeach him before he has even finished his first budget. They granted him those four years to govern, to negotiate, to lead. Denying him that opportunity is an attempt to steal back through sabotage what was lost at the ballot box.Russ McAlmond rejects this cynical playbook. He believes that democracy is strengthened when the people’s choice is respected, not undermined. He understands that the real work of a United States Senator is not to fuel conspiracy theories about “threats to democracy” but to deliver results on borders, inflation, energy independence, and the everyday concerns of Oregon families. He will fight for accountability, but he will never confuse accountability with an endless partisan war against a president the American people just elected.The choice before Oregon voters in 2026 could not be clearer. We can re-elect the politics of denial, obstruction, and manufactured panic. Or we can send to Washington a senator who trusts the American people, honors their vote, and understands that the surest way to protect democracy is to stop treating the voters who disagree with you as enemies of the state.Russ McAlmond stands with the Constitution, with the separation of powers, and—most importantly—with the sovereign right of the American people to choose their president without apology or asterisk. That is not a threat to democracy. That is democracy. And it is time we defended it.

Defend Democracy - Vote Merkley Out of Office in 2026

Portland Oregon Old Town neon signage during night time

Reclaiming Our Republican Heritage: The Oregon GOP Must Become "The Human Rights Party"Fellow Oregon Republicans,The Oregon Republican Party stands at a crossroads. For too long, we have allowed ourselves to be defined by the narrow debates our opponents choose—taxes, regulations, and culture-war skirmishes—while the deeper soul of our party has been quietly set aside. It is time for a new direction. Not a reinvention, but a reclamation. The Republican Party was born as America’s party of human rights. In Oregon, we must proudly reclaim that mantle and declare ourselves, boldly and without apology, The Human Rights Party. Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, showed us exactly what that means. In the midst of a civil war, when the Democratic Party of his day was the party of slavery, secession, and human bondage, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and fought to pass the 13th Amendment. He did not do it because it was politically convenient. He did it because the Republican Party was founded on the principle that every human being possesses inherent dignity and unalienable rights. That principle did not originate in some European collectivist manifesto. It came straight from the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and rooted in the philosophy of John Locke: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” — equal in value, equal in rights, equal before God and the law.No political party in American history has a better human-rights record than the Republican Party. We ended slavery. We passed the 14th and 15th Amendments. We fought for women’s suffrage. We championed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against fierce Democratic opposition. And today, we continue that fight by rejecting every form of identity-based discrimination, including the divisive and dehumanizing ideology of DEI — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — that has swept through our universities, corporations, and government institutions. DEI is not progress; it is European collectivism dressed up in modern language. It divides people by race, gender, and grievance. It tells Oregonians they are defined by the group they were born into rather than by the content of their character. Republicans reject that lie. We stand, as we always have, for the rights of the individual.That is why I am calling on the Oregon Republican Party to make human rights advocacy the very first plank of our platform — not an afterthought, not a footnote, but our central mission. We should adopt the subtitle The Human Rights Party and engrave it on every banner, every website, and every piece of literature we produce. Let Democrats explain why they support race-based hiring, race-based college admissions, and race-based government contracts. Let them explain why they remain silent while Oregon children are taught that their skin color determines their worth. We will answer with the timeless American creed: every person is created equal in value, endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights.This commitment must be more than rhetoric. It must be grounded in a positive philosophy of human relations. For that reason, I urge the Oregon Republican Party to embrace the principles of Ethical Individualism — the human-relational philosophy I set forth in my book on human relations. Ethical Individualism rejects both selfish isolation and collectivist conformity. It teaches that true community is built when free individuals voluntarily recognize and respect one another’s inherent dignity. It is the natural political expression of the Golden Rule in a free society. It is the philosophy that animated Lincoln, that inspired the civil-rights movement, and that can once again make the Republican Party the optimistic, inclusive, and morally confident voice Oregon needs.Oregonians are tired of politics that pit neighbor against neighbor. They are hungry for a party that reminds them what we all share: the same unalienable rights, the same God-given potential, and the same desire to live in a state where every child — regardless of race, background, or zip code — can rise as high as their talent and character will take them. That is the Republican heritage. That is the human-rights tradition. And that is the new direction the Oregon Republican Party must take if we are to win not just elections, but the hearts and minds of the next generation.As your candidate for the United States Senate, I pledge to carry this banner to Washington and to fight for it every single day. But the real work begins here in Oregon. Let us stop apologizing for our history and start celebrating it. Let us stop whispering our principles and start shouting them from every mountaintop in the Cascades to the shores of the Pacific.The Oregon Republican Party must become The Human Rights Party. The time is now. The choice is ours.Together, let’s give Oregon the principled, optimistic, and freedom-loving leadership it deserves.Sincerely, Russ McAlmond Republican Candidate for United States Senate, Oregon