What's Jamie McLeod-Skinner been up too?

Since the election, she’s continuing with her community work and “doing some of that self-care stuff". She's, "very, very strongly considering" running again in 2024.

Jamie McLeod-Skinner is a household name in Central Oregon. 

The southern Oregon native made her bones in the area by running against the longtime U.S. House Representative Greg Walden. In 2018, Walden was seeking an 11th term for his seat representing everything east of the Cascades. Though many people were moving from the Bay Area, the district, which included all of Eastern Oregon, was still ruby red.

Jamie lost by 17% but she was the first candidate ever to come within less than 36% of Walden. She forced him to dump more money than he ever had into his re-election campaign and defend his vote to replace the Affordable Care Act.

Jamie, a graduate of Ashland High School, still holds the 800-meter track record. Courtesy: Jamie McLeod-Skinner

Two years later, she ran for Secretary of State and faced a crowded field that included Shemia Fagan. Fagan, who had a lot of name recognition in the Portland metro area ended up winning - and ousting third place Jamie by 7%. 

After Shemia Fagan resigned from a recent ethics scandal, Jamie’s name has swirled as one of the potential replacements. 

Last year, after Deschutes County was redistricted with much of the Portland suburbs and the eastern half of Willamette Valley, she decided to primary Kurt Schrader - one of Congress's most conservative Democrats, dubbed “Oregon's Joe Manchin”. 

Schrader, the longtime House representative, had enraged constituents and large swaths of voters all over the county by voting against a $15 minimum wage and the American Rescue Plan - which later passed. Jamie, who had garnered a lot of name recognition and grassroots support, defeated Schrader in a historic Democratic primary, despite being outspent 10-1. Even an endorsement from President Joe Biden couldn’t help Schrader overcome the energy to oust him. He was the first sitting member of Oregon's Congressional delegation to lose a primary challenge since 1980. 

Many voters thought Biden and Pelosi were “out of touch” with Oregonians Credit: The Deschutes Chronicle

In the general election, she faced Lori Chavez-Deremer, a former Mayor who ended up beating Jamie by seven thousand votes. It was a heartbreaking loss for Democrats and an invigorating win for Republicans, who flipped the seat from red to blue and won back the House majority in 2022.

Since the election, she’s been continuing with her community work, supporting her partner’s aspirations, and doing some of that “self-care stuff”. Regarding the Congressional District 5 race in 2024, Jamie is “very, very seriously considering it” and will make a decision by “the end of June”. 

In one of her first interviews since the 2022 midterms, Jamie McLeod-Skinner spoke with the Deschutes Chronicle about life after the election and previews what's ahead. 

For Jamie, having a strong foundation at home has been the key to keeping positive and having the energy to pursue public service after all these years. She points to her longtime partner who has supported her tooth and nail, since the beginning. “I’ve been really blessed in that regard”, she spits out after choking up about her wife. Now, she feels it's time to support her partner's professional aspirations and give back some of the support she’s received over the years. 

This isn’t to say she has been busy with her own work. It’s still full steam ahead for the McLeod-Skinner household.  

“I’ve always been really inspired by public service.” Jamie mentions as she talks about her work on "New Spirit Village”, an affordable housing project that is set “pour concrete” around June. 

Jamie started the project in 2021 driving back from Talent where she was serving as interim city manager and working on wildfire recovery. She was just outside of La Pine when she received a call from Barry and Kathryn Falden of Medford, who were putting millions of their own money into an affordable housing project that they wanted Jamie to get off the ground. Almost a third of the small town of Talent was destroyed in the 2020 Almeda wildfire. 

Renderings of New Spirit Village, an affordable housing project in Medford that Jamie’s been working on for years. Courtesy: New Spirit Village

The housing project was inspired by the ashes of the devastating Almeda wildfire. Medford was mostly spared but it became a refuge for the more than 6 thousand people who had lost their homes in the surrounding Ashland-Talent-Phoenix area. 

Almost two years later, the groundbreaking for 87 deeply affordable homes for middle to low-income residents is happening in June. 

               Jamie with colleagues in Talent, Oregon Credit: Jamie McLeod-Skinner

She’s also wrapping up her four-year work on the Jefferson County Education Service District Board, after deciding not to refile this year. Plus, “I’m getting some time to do some of that self-care stuff.”

She still gets frequent calls asking about her next move. During a checkup, towards the end of an appointment, a nurse asked, almost eagerly, “Are you running again?”. 

If she campaigns again, she’ll still have the same grassroots operation but not everything will be the same. In 2022, her Democratic primary opponent, Kurt Schrader, not only declined to endorse or campaign for her but continued to attack the campaign in the general election - an almost unheard of occurrence.

Though Jamie lost, the lack of support from Schrader, a member of her own party, enforced in the minds of many primary voters that they “made the right choice” in not giving Schrader another term, according to interviews with The Deschutes Chronicle.

Even after the election, Schrader continued to demonize Jamie, saying that he would have won in the general election. Additionally, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee all but abandoned her in the final weeks of the general - taking ads off the air and devoting much needed resources to Rep. Val Hoyle’s campaign, along with the Oregon governors race.

National Republicans on the other hand, treated the race as a true toss up, devoting over 8 million dollars to Chavez-Deremer, while the DCCC only devoted 2 million for the McLeod-Skinner campaign.

Jamie plans to make a decision about the 2024 race, “by the end of June”.  

The race is one of the few national Democrats are eyeing to flip in 2024. Republicans are also likely to spend heavily on the district in order to keep their slim House majority. As the incumbent and with large amounts of cash behind her, Lori Chavez-Deremer is sure to be the favorite.