Salinas raises $277,000 as GOP challenger Russ brings in $250 in Oregon’s 6th District

Rep. Andrea Salinas raised $277,000 for her re-election campaign in Oregon's 6th Congressional District between July 1 and Sept. 30, while Republican challenger David Russ brought in $250.

That fundraising gap, first reported by the Oregon Capital Chronicle in the Valley Times, emerged from federal filings posted the same week ballots arrived in mailboxes across Tigard and Tualatin.

The 6th District, created after the 2020 Census, stretches from Portland's southern suburbs through the Willamette Valley. It covers parts of Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah counties. Of the district's 486,286 registered voters, about 30% are Democrats, 25% are Republicans and nearly 39% are unaffiliated, according to The Oregonian.

For the full election cycle, Salinas has raised $1.6 million compared with about $13,000 for Russ, federal records show.

Russ, a former Dundee mayor, accountant and real estate broker, previously ran for Congress in the 2022 and 2024 Republican primaries, The Oregonian reported. Salinas, the first Latina elected to Congress from Oregon, won her initial race in 2022 by a 2.4-percentage-point margin. She expanded that to 6.8 points in 2024, according to a Valley Times commentary published Sept. 18.

The Cook Political Report rated the district "solid Democratic," the Valley Times reported Sept. 25. DHM public opinion researcher John Horvick told the Valley Times that the race did not attract a high-profile challenger, and that disproportionate fundraising and growing disillusionment with the Trump administration are likely to keep the district blue.

In an Oct. 10 profile by The Oregonian, Salinas said advancing legislation under Republican control of Congress has been frustrating, though she pointed to a bipartisan geothermal research bill she co-sponsored that passed the House. "Everybody has been feeling the pain of this administration," she said.

Russ, in the same profile, said the country needs a return to the Constitution's "intended limits on federal power" and advocated for stricter immigration enforcement.

Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Nov. 3.