Field Report: Chris Beck fundraiser

Chris Beck is the Democratic candidate for Oregon's Second Congressional District. It is a bright-red district.

Beck is out meeting voters, telling his story, and raising money.

He did a good job at a Saturday event.

Beck's uphill battle is not uncommon. There are 131 districts with a Republican skew of 10 points or greater; this district is given an R+14 rating by the Cook Political Report.

Disclosure: I attended the fundraiser both as a voter and as an opinion journalist expecting to write a report on the event. I expect to vote for Beck in November. Moreover, we talked by phone after the meeting when I—in my role as an opinionated campaign know-it-all—gave him observations on what I thought he did right and what he should change. I am not impartial; I donated $500.

The event took place on the lovely patio of a couple in an East Medford neighborhood. About 35 people attended. Most attendees were about my age (in their 70s). That is not surprising for an invitation-only RSVP event hosted by people also in their 70s, as people naturally invite their own network of friends.

Beck began by establishing his bona fides as a politically-engaged person going back to his childhood. His parents knew former governor Tom McCall well. Beck grew up in Portland and was a three-term state representative representing a Portland district, so within one minute of speaking, he began establishing his in-district connections. He now lives in the Second Congressional District. His father was from Central Oregon, and they vacationed, hunted, fished, and spent time "east of the mountains"—the part of the district that is Mountain-West in geography and politics, rather than "west of the mountains," which is wetter, more urbanized, and more Democratic.

Because this was a Democratic group, he described his six years working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as time he "worked in the Obama administration."

Then he delivered what I think is his simple value proposition—one that gives him a small but real shot at winning in this district. He would be a Democratic check on President Trump. He may have read and absorbed what I wrote two weeks ago, that winning a campaign like this requires self-discipline from the candidate to keep the focus on the main thing: Donald Trump. 

Who Chris Beck is is secondary. If anything, the unique qualities of a Democratic candidate in a bright-red district is a distraction from the main point. This election must not be a head-to-head comparison of personalities. The question is whether to elect a Republican, who will vote to let Trump have his way on everything, no matter how corrupt and dangerous, or whether one will be part of a majority that says NO to Trump. The Democrat would restore checks and balances. Just be a reasonable, acceptable person—and Beck is.

Trump supporters will vote for Cliff Bentz, the Republican incumbent. Beck's campaign goal is to give a simple clear choice to people who want a change from the status quo because they think Trump is on the wrong track. There is a majority there.

Beck spent just the right amount of time—maybe three minutes—establishing himself as an intelligent, well-spoken, competent adult with a qualifying backstory. Then he began listing the things that a majority of Americans find uncomfortable or dangerous about Trump. Cliff Bentz is a cipher who votes with the GOP majority to enable Trump. He brings nothing interesting to the table to engage voter interest. He is a red dot on the graph.

Beck listed the things Trump did that make him unpopular and Bentz complicit:

--  Trying to overturn the 2020 election

--  Supporting the health insurance changes that make coverage unaffordable for many working people, which could bankrupt district hospitals due to uncollectible bills

--  Purging federal agencies

--  Attacking vote-by-mail systems

--  Disregarding the problem of affordable housing

--  Overseeing inflation and high gasoline prices

--  Iran. Beck said, "The Iran War we just lost. We are pretending we didn't, but we did."

--  Covering up the Epstein scandal

Beck then executed an essential element of every fundraising event: He explained his strategy and mechanism to win, giving hope to donors that their contributions have a purpose. Democrats are energized, he said, and non-affiliated voters are unhappy with the status quo. He will have social media. He will have field workers. He will knock on doors and remind Democratic-leaning voters to turn out. 

The candidate's speech and Q&A lasted about an hour and a quarter, after which the event segued into one-on-one visits with attendees.

I have attended or hosted well over a hundred events of this kind in the past 55 years. The Anna Karenina rule is in effect: All happy fundraisers are alike; every unhappy fundraiser is unhappy in its own way. This was a happy one. This is how they look when the candidate does well.

Can Beck win? If Trump continues to frighten and offend people with his corruption and a deteriorating economy, and the public's restless desire for change persists, then yes he can.

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