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In the summer of 2026, as America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, Oregon voters have a rare opportunity to send a true American original to the United States Senate. Russ McAlmond, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, is not a career politician. He is a United States Marine Corps veteran—the only veteran running in this race—and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) who has spent decades helping Oregon families build secure futures. Uniquely positioned with support from both Republican and Democratic voters, McAlmond offers something the other candidates simply cannot: proven service to country, practical financial expertise, and an unshakable commitment to American-made values. McAlmond’s story begins with service. As a Marine, he answered the call when his nation needed him most. That same sense of duty now drives his campaign for the Senate. While his opponents talk about national security from the comfort of the sidelines, McAlmond has lived it. He understands the sacrifices made by Oregon’s veterans, active-duty service members, and their families. In the Senate, he will fight relentlessly for better veterans’ healthcare, stronger military readiness, and policies that honor the men and women who wear the uniform.But McAlmond’s patriotism doesn’t stop at the barracks. It rides right alongside him on the open roads of Oregon. For years he has been a proud Harley-Davidson rider, and in 2026 he upgraded to the new Liberty Edition trike—Harley-Davidson’s special commemorative model celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. He traded in his previous Harley-Davidson trike to make room for this rolling tribute to freedom, built right here in the United States. That trike isn’t just transportation; it is a statement. Every mile McAlmond logs on it reminds him—and everyone who sees it—that the best motorcycles in the world are still made by American hands, for American riders, in support of American values.Harley-Davidson has long stood as a beacon of American manufacturing excellence and a steadfast supporter of the U.S. military. Unlike companies that ship jobs overseas or rely on cheap imported parts from China, Harley-Davidson keeps its production lines humming in American factories, pays American wages, and invests in American communities. When you buy a Harley, you are not sending your dollars to foreign governments or propping up authoritarian supply chains. You are putting food on the tables of welders, engineers, leatherworkers, and assembly-line heroes right here at home. That money stays in Oregon and across the United States—supporting local Harley-Davidson dealerships that sell the bikes, service them, and employ Oregonians who know these machines inside and out.This is economic patriotism in action. McAlmond’s choice to ride American steel is more than personal preference; it is a daily reminder of the policies he will champion in the Senate. He will fight to keep tariffs off American-made products because American manufacturing should never be penalized for succeeding on American soil. He will push back against trade deals that flood our markets with cheap foreign goods while our own factories struggle. And he will demand that federal purchasing priorities favor companies like Harley-Davidson that hire veterans, support military families, and embody the spirit of self-reliance that built this country.As a Certified Financial Planner, McAlmond brings something else critical to the Senate: real-world expertise on the economy that affects every Oregon family. He has spent his career helping people plan for retirement, buy homes, and weather financial storms. He understands the crushing cost of living in Oregon—sky-high housing prices, energy bills, and taxes that drive families out of the state. Unlike the Washington insiders who lecture from afar, McAlmond has balanced real budgets for real people. He knows how to cut wasteful spending, protect Social Security and Medicare for those who earned them, and grow the economy so that Oregon workers—not just coastal elites—can thrive.Oregon deserves a senator who lives the values he preaches. Russ McAlmond lives them every day on his Liberty Edition Harley trike. He lives them in the way he raised his family, served his country, and built his business. He lives them by choosing American over imported, by supporting the men and women who wear the uniform, and by refusing to accept the decline of American manufacturing as inevitable.The choice in this Senate race could not be clearer. The other candidates offer more of the same: more regulations, more foreign dependence, more empty promises. One of his opponents actually promotes China trade. Russ McAlmond offers something different—a Marine’s discipline, a financial expert’s clarity, and a rider’s freedom by someone who buys American made products as much as possible.&nbsp;He offers a vision of an Oregon and an America that builds things again, buys American again, and stands tall again. So this November, Oregon voters should do what patriots have always done: support the candidate who has already proven his commitment to this country. Elect the only Marine veteran in the race. Elect the CFP who understands your wallet. Elect the Harley rider who proudly flies the flag of American excellence every time he hits the road. Ride a Harley. Support American workers. Keep dollars in American communities. And send Russ McAlmond to the United States Senate. Make America better—starting right here in Oregon.

Harley Davidson and McAlmond

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.&nbsp;This is not political conservativism or love your neighbor.&nbsp;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.&nbsp;

Republican Hate in Oregon

white concrete building near trees during night time

As a U.S. Marine veteran who deployed overseas I learned one ironclad rule: you don’t let personal politics undermine the chain of command when American lives and national interests are on the line. That’s exactly what Senator Jeff Merkley did in his X post on April 6, 2026, and it’s why I sat down today with KVAL-TV’s Brandon Kamerman in Eugene to call it out for what it is: raw emotion, not rational leadership.Here is what Merkley wrote:“President Trump’s profanity-laden Easter threat to attack Iran’s civilian infrastructure—power plants and bridges—are the words of a frustrated and immoral madman. Many experts agree that such attacks would be war crimes under international law. To our military leaders, remember this: You are legally required to refuse orders to commit war crimes.” This wasn’t measured oversight. It was a public temper tantrum aimed squarely at the Commander-in-Chief during active tensions with Iran—tensions that include attacks on shipping lanes, American interests, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In my KVAL interview with Brandon Kamerman this evening, I told Oregon viewers the truth: Senator Merkley cannot separate his well-documented, years-long hatred of President Trump from his responsibility to put Oregon and America first. That lack of maturity is dangerous.Let’s be clear. I am not defending every word the President chooses. I am defending the constitutional order that every service member swears to uphold. I raised my right hand and took that oath. Senator Merkley never did. He has never worn the uniform and never had to execute lawful orders from a president as Commander in Chief. Yet he feels entitled to tweet at four-star generals and tell them to consider disobeying the elected President of the United States in a time of crisis.That is not “speaking truth to power.” That is undermining the President’s authority while our adversaries are watching. Iran sees a U.S. Senator from Oregon publicly labeling the Commander-in-Chief a “madman” and floating the idea of war crimes. That kind of rhetoric doesn’t strengthen our negotiating position—it signals weakness and division.In the KVAL studio today, I explained to Brandon Kamerman why this matters to every Oregonian. Under the Law of Armed Conflict that I studied and lived by in the Marines, dual-use infrastructure that supports an enemy’s military command, logistics, or war-making capacity can be legitimate targets when strikes are proportional and necessary. Power plants and bridges that enable Iran’s military operations are not automatically “civilian” just because Merkley calls them that. Reasonable military planners and legal experts inside the Department of Defense make those calls every day. But Merkley skips the facts and jumps straight to “immoral madman” because that’s what his personal feelings demand.This isn’t new. Merkley’s record is littered with the same reflexive anti-Trump outrage on issue after issue. He has spent the better part of a decade treating every Trump policy as an existential threat instead of evaluating it on the merits for Oregon families, veterans, and national security. When the stakes are this high—when American sailors, Marines, and airmen could be called upon to respond to Iranian aggression—a senator’s inability to rise above partisan venom is not just embarrassing. It is disqualifying.Oregon deserves better. We deserve a senator who understands that leadership in wartime or near-wartime requires maturity, not social-media grandstanding. We need someone who has actually served, who has saluted smartly and executed lawful orders even when the president in the Oval Office wasn’t his first choice. That is the discipline our military expects and that our Constitution demands.In my interview with Brandon Kamerman, I made one promise to the people of Oregon: if you send me to the United States Senate, I will hold the administration accountable without undermining it. I will demand answers on strategy, on rules of engagement, and on protecting our troops—but I will never tweet at generals to disobey the President during a crisis. That’s not how adults govern. That’s not how Marines lead.Senator Merkley’s X post revealed more about his own emotional immaturity than it did about President Trump’s policy. Oregon cannot afford a senator who puts personal hatred ahead of national security. The choice in 2026 is clear: emotion and eight more years of the same, or a battle-tested Marine who puts country over party and duty over derangement.I’m Russ McAlmond, United States Marine Corps veteran, and I’m running for U.S. Senate to bring real adult leadership back to Oregon.

Merkley's Childish X Post Attacking the President

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;