"I am running because we are in a time of crisis for our environment, our families, and our democracy."  (Campaign website)

 

"Big Pharma and corporate interests spent over $3 million against us – but we persevered…. We won because Oregonians are frustrated with politicians who are beholden to their corporate donors, instead of delivering for us."  (Statement following primary victory 5/17/22)

 

"How is it that Congress can be horrified into action by a war in Ukraine, but not by a war on our children and teachers in their classrooms, or on Black people in a grocery store, or on parishioners in a church?"  (Twitter 6/1/22)

"Extremist politics has won the day over our fundamental right to make decisions about our own bodies. History will hang its head on this somber step backwards by the U.S. Supreme Court Majority." (Twitter 6/24/22 following SCOTUS reversal of Rowe v. Wade)

 

 

BACKGROUND + EXPERIENCE

Jamie McLeod-Skinner is a small-business owner and emergency response coordinator. Raised by a single mom, Jamie watched her work three jobs to put food on their table. Jamie paid her own way through college and law school — she knows how tough it is to make ends meet. That’s why she focused her career on rebuilding communities and protecting our natural resources. A former union member, she is an outspoken advocate for Oregon’s working people, family farmers, and urban and rural communities.

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Jamie began public service managing repairs of schools and hospitals in Bosnia and Kosovo before returning to the U.S. to manage refugee resettlement programs, work in city and regional planning, and serve on a city council. She has led organizational change, mediated community disputes, helped develop affordable housing, and managed teams through crises. In 2021, Jamie led wildfire recovery efforts as Talent, OR’s Interim City Manager, bringing in millions of dollars in aid and emergency housing.

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Jamie graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in civil engineering in 1992. She received a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Cornell University in 1995 and attended Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2006. In 2016, she earned a J.D. from the University of Oregon. with a focus on Natural Resources Law. She serves as an elected board member of the Jefferson County Education Service District and was appointed by Governor Kate Brown to serve on the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.

Jamie is a stepmom and lives with her wife in Central Oregon where they raise dogs, goats, and chickens. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with family and hiking with her dogs.

 

ON THE ISSUES

• My public commitment to reproductive freedom and abortion rights began in1992, when I linked arms with other volunteers to put our bodies between Operation Rescue aggressors and those seeking access to reproductive health and abortion services in Buffalo, NY. (twitter.com) 

• Recently, I helped Planned Parenthood identify abortion-service advocates  in Eastern Oregon to ensure access for patients seeking reproductive and abortion services in rural areas. We must continue our work to secure, protect, and expand reproductive rights and abortion care.  (twitter.com)

• The climate crisis is destroying our homes, crops, and the air we breathe. We must set policies and create incentives to change this trajectory as well as improve our responses to the resulting disasters. (Campaign website)

• Our social safety net has been systematically eroded over the past few decades…people are struggling with both a health pandemic and an inequality pandemic. We need a responsive government that provides critical physical and social infrastructure.  (Campaign website)

 

OREGON POLIITCS

Democrats have held OR-05 for 25 years and Biden won the district in 2020. Oregon leans Democratic as a state; both U.S. Senators are Democrats as are four of the five Representatives.  But the 5th is now one of the most competitive districts in the country, in large part due to redistricting. In fact, The Cook Political Report moved this race from “Lean Democratic” to “Toss-up.” The GOP has OR-05 on their hit list. Jamie McLeod Skinner must raise at least $5 million to keep OR-05 blue.

 

Jamie defeated incumbent representative Kurt Schrader in the Democratic primary. She will face Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican mayor of Happy Valley, OR who has pledged to advocate for a stronger Southwest border and a parental rights bill. The leading super PAC for the House Republicans has announced it will spend $3.3 million to pick up the seat.

Oregon 05 has been significantly redrawn, adding a degree of unpredictability to the ace. In 2021, Shrader was added to the DCCC’s list of “frontline members,” meaning party officials believe the seat is at risk of turning red this fall.