The far-left district attorney of Portland, Oregon, has conceded defeat in his reelection bid to a tough-on-crime contender as voters blame the rising crime in the city on his policies.
Multnomah County DA Mike Schmidt gave up the race to challenger Nathan Vasquez Wednesday evening shortly after election projections were posted, the local NBC station reported.
“It is looking as if I will not be serving another four years as Multnomah County District Attorney,” Schmidt said in a statement obtained by the outlet. “I have called Nathan Vasquez to congratulate him on his victory.”
“While we do not always see eye to eye, I am committed to a smooth transition,” the DA continued. “Thank you to this amazing community for the support they have shown for this campaign. And thank you for the opportunity to serve these past four years. It is an honor I will cherish for a lifetime.”
Schmidt, described as a “Soros-backed progressive” by the Daily Mail, was elected in 2020 with 77 percent of the vote after running on an “equity”-focused platform.
As of 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, Vasquez had won 54 percent of the vote, with Schmidt garnering 46 percent.
Vasquez, labeled a “centrist” by Politico, was a deputy prosecutor under Schmidt who ran on hard-on-crime policies in the nonpartisan primary election that took place this week between the pair. As they were the only two candidates, Vasquez will replace his predecessor after his term ends on December 31.
“I am humbled by and grateful for the support I have received from the voters and from this community throughout my campaign. The voters have made it clear that they are ready to take our county in a new and safer direction,” Vasquez said in a Facebook post.
“I am committed to ending open air drug dealing and drug use while helping connect individuals to treatment, to rebuilding the broken relationships between the DA’s office and the community, and to ensuring that victims are the number one priority of my office,” he continued, before thanking Schmidt for his professionalism and service.
I am humbled by and grateful for the support I have received from the voters and from this community throughout my…
Posted by Vote for Vasquez on Wednesday, May 22, 2024
In an interview on Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) in April, the now-incoming DA bashed his boss for mismanaging his office.
“… he set the bar incredibly low for me, and when I come into office, it will literally be me trying not to trip over that bar,” Vasquez said on OPB’s daily talk show, Think Out Loud.
Vasquez’s “accountability” platform states that he will “take lawless behavior seriously and enforce our laws.”
Studies show the best way to deter crime is the certainty of getting caught, the swiftness of the penalty, and the severity of the punishment. Even ‘petty’ crimes, like theft, vandalism, and littering, public use of illicit drugs and public highs, all contribute to the overall feeling of safety and wellbeing of a community. It’s all of the ‘small things’ that have added up to create an environment of chaos, and completely broken the social contract we all agree to as citizens of a community. When we don’t enforce, we tell our community we don’t care.
His win comes as the fentanyl crisis surges in Portland, the county seat of Multnomah.
