Mike Schmidt’s actions in Portland have sparked controversy, yet the left shows support for his reelection bid.
Mike Schmidt, the leftist prosecutor in Portland, Ore., is seeking another four-year term as head of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.
In an interview with local media last October, he gave himself an “A” grade for his performance.
However, if the past four years of increasing homicides, decriminalized antifa rioting, and rising street overdoses are considered Schmidt’s best, Portland might not survive another four years with him in charge.
Schmidt is facing a re-election challenge from his colleague, Nathan Vasquez, a senior deputy district attorney and moderate candidate who pledges to prosecute crimes and mend the office’s relationship with law enforcement, which was damaged by Schmidt’s anti-police stance.
Law and Order
Vasquez’s law and order platform is resonating with Portland voters, even in the liberal city that has grown tired of crime and drug abuse after tolerating them in 2020 following George Floyd’s death.
The aftermath of that period is still visible today.
The city’s population has decreased for the first time in decades due to outward migration.
Between 2020 and 2022, Portland lost approximately 18,200 residents, or 2.8% of its population.
According to US Census Bureau data, this decline has continued each year since then.
Downtown Portland, in particular, has suffered with businesses fleeing after enduring the effects of the pandemic lockdown, months of nightly rioting by the Black Lives Matter-antifa movement, and violent homeless encampments.
Residents are craving change.
Polls show Vasquez leading Schmidt by almost 20 percentage points.
Fearing a humiliating defeat in the election and setback to his higher office aspirations, Schmidt is now trying to spin his record by rebranding himself as a “Democrat” prosecutor tough on crime.
However, Schmidt cannot escape the trail of devastation left by his legacy.
He won a landslide victory in the 2020 election, securing over 76% of the vote while running as a progressive prosecutor.
He was part of a wave of leftist district attorneys, many of whom received support from George Soros through various political action campaigns, and pledged not to prosecute crimes due to racial disparities among suspects and convicts.
Despite limited experience in prosecuting crimes (only six years as a lower-level prosecutor in Multnomah County without handling a murder case), he was placed in charge of the largest county in Oregon.
Heavy Consequences
The consequences have been severe.
Schmidt assumed office in August 2020, during the peak of the Black Lives Matter-antifa riots.
His office immediately announced the decriminalization of most riot-related offenses.
Actions like interfering with an officer, felony rioting, disorderly conduct, criminal trespass, escape, and harassment were all decriminalized.
During his inauguration speech, Schmidt voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Prior to taking office, he insinuated his views on leftist crime by stating in a Facebook livestream that “the foundations of this country were also built on protests that destroyed property, and sometimes it’s necessary to get people’s attention.”
