Until Tuesday, the last time a Democrat won Oregon’s Senate District 27 seat was in 1980. That decades-long Democratic drought ended this week with Anthony Broadman’s win over Michael Summers (R).
Broadman, a city councilor in Bend since 2020 and a lawyer for Tribal governments, earned 59% of the vote to Summers’ 41%, according to the Deschutes County Clerk’s most recent report.
The district has seen shifts in its boundaries over the years, with the most recent change being in 2023 when new lines were drawn further North, which meant including Sisters while losing Sunriver. Long-time senator Tim Knopp (R) was ineligible to run this year after leading the longest walkout in the state’s history. Knopp has held the seat since 2012 but found himself in a tight race against Eileen Kiely (D) in 2020, eking out a win by 1.6%.
For Broadman, the flipped seat means a chance to bring the “Central Oregon way” to Salem.
“Our region is above the politics, in some ways,” Broadman said, “and I hope that my election is an example of Central Oregon leading from the middle across the state.”
“I think people were really fed up with the walkouts and my commitment to showing up, even when it’s tough, is something that is really important to me, and I think really important to my constituents,” Broadman said. Throughout the campaign, Broadman committed to never walking out of a session.
“The best antidote to extremism is good, practical government, where we show up, and we do our jobs.” —Anthony Broadman
Upon being sworn in next January, Broadman said there are five main issues he looks to tackle: housing and homelessness, public safety, economic development, climate and wildfire resilience.
“And they’re all intertwined,” he said. “Like housing is intertwined with climate and wildfire resilience. How we build, making sure that people have abundant homes inside climate and wildfire-resilient communities that are complete so that we’re meeting our obligation to the future on climate. But none of that works if our communities aren’t safe,” he added, pointing to the need for fully-funded and just public safety institutions.
And while Oregon Democrats saw many wins this week, the sea change at the national level is a concern for lawmakers looking to safeguard rights around abortion and access to healthcare.
“As a state senator, I will do everything legally in my power to protect women’s rights to choose, which we know are going to be under attack by the Trump administration,” Broadman said, adding that Central Oregon has already seen an influx of people seeking healthcare access from other states.
“The best antidote to extremism is good, practical government, where we show up, and we do our jobs. And we block and tackle, and we make people’s lives better,” Broadman said. “That’s my approach to protecting Oregonians. Good, pragmatic government is an antidote to extremism.”
This article appears in Source Weekly November 7, 2024.
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