Progressive Portland DA Ousted as Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Soft-on-Crime Policies | National...

Confronted with a surge in crime and homelessness, Portland voters have chosen a onetime Republican to be their next district attorney, ousting incumbent Mike Schmidt and the progressive agenda he was elected to implement following the riots of 2020. The contest between incumbent Multnomah County district attorney Schmidt and moderate opponent Nathan Vasquez, one of Schmidt’s former deputies, has drawn national attention as a bellwether for the fate of the progressive prosecutor movement that gained steam after the murder of George Floyd four years ago. In running against his former boss, Vasquez — a registered Republican until he dropped his affiliation due to “disgust” with Trump’s rise — has emphasized the decline in police staffing numbers and prosecutions during Schmidt’s tenure. Portland shattered its homicide record in 2021 with 92 murders and again the next year with 101 killings.