Two Republicans competing for 4th Congressional District nomination hope to unseat Hoyle

BY ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle

A lawyer and Air Force veteran and a marketing consultant and former Keizer City councilor are vying for the Republican nomination to represent Oregon’s 4th Congressional District in the May 21 primary.

Monique DeSpain has no previous elected experience, though she’s worked in recent years as a lawyer for Salem area Rep. Kevin Mannix, a prominent state Republican. Amy Ryan Courser spent four years on the Keizer City Council and ran twice for her party’s nomination to represent the 5th and 6th Congressional districts. She secured the nomination in 2020, but lost in the general election to the incumbent, Kurt Schrader.

Oregon’s 4th Congressional District was redrawn in 2021, and today is home to more than 800,000 people in seven counties and runs from northern California to north of Lincoln City. It includes much of the southwest coast, and its voter base favors Democrats: Unaffiliated voters who often vote for Democrats make up 36% of registered voters compared to 32% for Democrats and 23% for Republicans, according to the Secretary of State. Still, it is among several dozen congressional seats now held by Democrats that are targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee and GOP groups, who hope to expand the Republican majority in the U.S. House. Both candidates hope to replace incumbent Rep. Val Hoyle, a first-term congressional member who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Hoyle, former labor commissioner, is facing scrutiny over her relationship with the troubled founders of a cannabis company that’s under federal investigation. The company, La Mota, owes millions in state and federal taxes, and the founders are being investigated by federal regulators over their ties to former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, who worked as a private consultant for them while her office conducted an audit of state cannabis regulations.

Here’s a look at the Republican contenders:

DeSpain helped Mannix sue former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown over her use of clemency powers to release nearly 1,000 people from prison early during the COVID-19 pandemic. A circuit court judge in Marion County halted the release, but the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned the ruling and affirmed Brown’s power to commute sentences.

She got involved in local politics following her retirement from the military and the onset of the pandemic, she said.

“It kind of slowed us all down. It scared a lot of us. And that’s when I became involved with supporting Lane County Republicans, just as a volunteer. I just literally went in there to connect with other conservative voices where we weren’t constrained to a mask,” she said.

Her two twin sons – who she raised as a single mom and who she credits with imploring her to run – had just graduated from the University of Oregon. She said she was concerned they were entering a world with less opportunity than she had at their age.

She served as a precinct committee person for the Lane County Republicans, and she volunteered to door knock and campaign on behalf of local Republican candidates and conservative school board candidates. She said some in the party asked her to run for the 4th Congressional District.

“I really, honestly, would rather have supported a good, prepared candidate that could win and could be effective when they are in office,” she said, “There just wasn’t, and still isn’t, anyone else standing up for this race against Val Hoyle.”

If elected, DeSpain said her primary focus would be investing in public safety, including police and border security. She said her other priorities include lowering inflation, increasing housing nationwide and improving government transparency and accountability around taxes and spending.

“These Congress people are interviewing committee members and people who come in to testify – this is something I’ve been doing for years – and I know how to keep going until the person answers the question. And that’s how you get to the truth, and I believe progress begins with the truth,” she said.

DeSpain previously told the Capital Chronicle that she agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which for nearly 50 years federally protected the right to an abortion. Since it was overturned in 2022, state politicians have been left to decide whether residents can access legal abortions. DeSpain said the decision should remain with states and that she would not support a nationwide ban on abortion or efforts to codify Roe v. Wade in Congress. Oregon has among the least restrictions on abortion access nationwide, something that’s not likely to change with a Democratic majority in the state House.

In the U.S. House, Republicans now hold a slight lead. DeSpain said she would use her skills as a lawyer if she were elected to craft policy.

“I’m adept at negotiating, at identifying common interests and getting things done through mediation and being a good investigator,” she said.

Her biggest donations came from members of CPI Holdings, a group of companies involved in electronics research, design and manufacturing, who gave a combined $13,200, according to Open Secrets. She’s also received $10,000 each from Value in Electing Women PAC, which supports Republican women candidates, and employees of C2Squared, Inc., a Portland technology services company.

Ryan Courser said she’s succeeded at securing votes in the past in three of the seven counties that currently make up parts of the 4th District, and she sees the incumbent Democrat, Hoyle as vulnerable with the current federal investigation of La Mota.

“When we looked at the data and voting history, and looked at the current congresswoman holding the seat, I felt it was a good decision to run,” she said.

She describes herself as a business and marketing strategist and was, for years, a consultant for contestants in global beauty pageants, according to her website. Her LinkedIn profile shows that more recently, she worked as a consultant for a Florida-based modeling and talent agency.

She created and hosts a podcast offering commentary on current politics. It’s called Amy Across America, a nod to the recreational vehicle she and her husband live and travel in, taking it across the state and country, she said. She often focuses on American exceptionalism, a belief that the U.S. is distinctive and unique, and her belief that “we are on a slippery slope to Marxism,” her website said.

She said her four years on Keizer City Council provide good training to be a congressional representative.

“From emergency management issues to law enforcement to budgeting, I’ve worked really hard in my community to represent these issues at the city and county level,” she said.

Her priorities would be increasing border security, lowering inflation and government accountability, she said.

“We have a lot of programs and bureaucracies that are not held accountable,” she said.

She’s also interested in changing the foster care system.

“I was a foster kid and I know what a disaster our system is,” she said. “We need someone federally who can be involved with the kids in state programs and manage the federal budget to support programs,” she said.

Ryan Courser, who is endorsed by the anti-abortion group Oregon Right to Life, did not answer a question about whether she would support a federal abortion ban, but said she agreed with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade and to leave state politicians to decide whether residents have access to legal abortions.

Ryan Courser’s biggest donations were a combined $2,000 from members of Associates International, a Delaware-based marketing firm, according to Open Secrets, and a total of $2,000 from employees of Servo Group, a national mechanical services company with an office in Eugene.