Oregon’s U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle appears headed to rematch with GOP challenger Monique DeSpain

By MIA MALDONADO/Oregon Capital Chronicle

The race to represent Oregonians living along the state’s central and southern coast and parts of the Willamette and Umpqua River Valleys in Congress will be a rematch of 2024.

U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, a Lane County Democrat representing Oregon’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, was easily fending off her Democratic challengers in Tuesday’s primary election, with nearly 78% of the votes counted shortly after 8 p.m. Melissa Bird, a small business owner from Corvallis, had received nearly 19% of the vote, and Daniel Bahlen, a Eugene resident and former behavioral health professional, was at almost 3% of the vote.

Hoyle’s primary win means that once again, in November she’ll face Republican candidate Monique DeSpain, who was winning by a landslide in her primary.

In the 2024 general election, Hoyle defeated DeSpain, an Air Force veteran and attorney, by nearly 8 percentage points. But DeSpain, who said she refuses to give up on the people in the district, had almost 87% of the votes counted by 8 p.m., handily beating Stefan Strek, a Southern Oregon University student who has run unsuccessfully for governor and Congress in the past.

Hoyle is a former state lawmaker of 8 years and led the state’s Bureau of Labor and Industries from 2019 to 2023. She is in her second congressional term, and if elected again, she said she’d use her relationships across the district and political spectrum to serve as a liaison between constituents and federal agencies. Hoyle said she supports bipartisan legislation and investments that help the district, as well as fighting back against unconstitutional attacks from the Trump administration.

Hoyle had nearly $493,000 in her campaign account, according to federal records as of late April.

DeSpain has never held elected office, but she worked for several years for one of the state’s most prominent Republicans, state Rep. Kevin Mannix of Salem. She spent much of her time in the military as an attorney with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

If elected, DeSpain said she’d prioritize public safety by addressing the fentanyl crisis and supporting border security, as well as supporting small businesses and making Oregon more affordable. She also supports stewarding Oregon’s natural resources to create jobs and support forest management, as well as accountability with tax dollars.

DeSpain had about $247,000 left in her campaign account as of late April.

Oregon Capital Chronicle is a nonprofit Salem-based news service that focuses its reporting on Oregon state government, politics and policy.