Kurt Schrader | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromOregon's5th district | |
| In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Darlene Hooley |
| Succeeded by | Lori Chavez-DeRemer |
| Member of theOregon Senate from the20th district | |
| In office January 13, 2003 – December 18, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Verne Duncan |
| Succeeded by | Martha Schrader |
| Member of theOregon House of Representatives from the23rd district | |
| In office January 13, 1997 – January 13, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Jerry Grisham |
| Succeeded by | Wayne Scott |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Walter Kurt Schrader (1951-10-19)October 19, 1951 (age 74) Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | Cornell University (BA) University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BS,DVM) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website |
Walter Kurt Schrader (born October 19, 1951) is an American politician and veterinarian who served as theU.S. representative forOregon's 5th congressional district from 2009 to 2023. His district covered most of Oregon's central coast, plusSalem, and many ofPortland's southern suburbs, and a sliver of Portland itself. A member of theDemocratic Party, Schrader served in both houses of theOregon Legislative Assembly from 1997 to 2008.[1]
Schrader ran for reelection in2022. His district had undergone a major change after Oregon gained a seat, moving away from the coast and east of Salem, and taking in a chunk ofDeschutes County.[2] Despite his campaign's stronger funding and endorsement from PresidentJoe Biden, Schrader lost renomination to more progressive challengerJamie McLeod-Skinner,[3] who subsequently lost in the general election to RepublicanLori Chavez-DeRemer.[4] Schrader was known as "Manchin of the House" due to him being aconservative Democrat who often broke the party line.[5][6][7][8]
Schrader was born in Connecticut and received a Bachelor of Arts degree fromCornell University in 1973. At Cornell, Schrader metMartha Northam and the two married in 1975.[9] Schrader earned hisDoctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from theUniversity of Illinois in 1977. A year later, the Schraders moved to Oregon, and Kurt opened the Clackamas County Veterinary Clinic inOregon City.[9]
Schrader served for 16 years on the Canby Planning Commission.[10][11]
Schrader served three terms in theOregon House of Representatives. He first ran for the office in 1994, losing by 38 votes to RepublicanJerry Grisham.[12] In 1996, Schrader ran again, defeating Paul Kraxburger.[13] He was reelected in 1998 and 2000.[citation needed]
In 2002, Schrader ran for theOregon State Senate seat vacated by the retiringVerne Duncan, representing the 20th district in southwesternClackamas County, including the cities ofBarlow,Canby,Gladstone,Johnson City,Oregon City and parts ofMilwaukie. He defeated Oregon House member Kathy Lowe in a contentious Democratic primary, then faced no Republican opposition in the general election.[14] His wife,Martha Schrader, was the Democratic nominee to succeed Schrader for his vacant House seat; she lost the general election toWayne Scott.[14] She then served as a Clackamas County commissioner until 2009, when she was appointed by the same commission (recusing herself from voting) to replace her husband in the State Senate.[15]
In the Oregon Senate, Schrader co-chaired the Joint Ways and Means Committee in the2003[16] and2005 sessions and chaired the Interim Joint Legislative Audit Committee in the 2005 session.[citation needed] To prepare for his U.S. House seat, Schrader resigned effective December 17, 2008.[1]
In May 2008, Schrader won the Democratic nomination forOregon's 5th congressional district for the seat being vacated byDarlene Hooley.[17] In the general election, he defeated Republican nomineeMike Erickson[18] with 54% of the vote to Erickson's 38%. Schrader won all seven counties in the district.
Schrader was challenged by Republican nominee andOregon State RepresentativeScott Bruun and Pacific Green nominee Chris Lugo. Despite several polls showing Bruun ahead andNate Silver ofFiveThirtyEight predicting Schrader would likely lose, Schrader won with 51% of the vote to Bruun's 46%. It was the closest House race in Oregon in 2010, a year in which Republicans picked up at least 63 House seats, but onlyone on theWest Coast.
Schrader was reelected, 54.0% to 42.4%.
Schrader was reelected, 53.7% to 39.3%
Schrader was reelected, 53.5% to 43.0%. He was absent from the Congressional swearing-in on January 3, 2017, because he was on his honeymoon. He was the only member of Congress not to be sworn in that day.[19]
Schrader was reelected, 51.9% to 45.2%. His Republican opponent was Amy Ryan Courser. The Libertarian candidate, Matthew Rix, received 2.8%.[20]
On May 17, 2022, Schrader lost the Democratic primary toJamie McLeod-Skinner, 56.9% to 42.7%.[21] McLeod-Skinner's victory was largely due to her support in Deschutes County, an area that Schrader had not previously represented. Schrader was the first sitting member of Oregon's Congressional delegation to lose a primary challenge since 1980.[3]Politico characterized Schrader's loss as resulting from progressive backlash against aspects of his voting record. They noted that Schrader was endorsed by Joe Biden and received support from two outside groups associated with moderates.[22] Commentary fromThe Wall Street Journal's editorial page, which called Schrader "Oregon'sJoe Manchin", said that his loss was an example of how endangeredconservative Democrats had become.[23]
During his tenure in the House, Schrader was considered amoderate toconservative Democrat.
Schrader was ranked the 50th-most bipartisan House member during the114th United States Congress (and the most bipartisan House member from Oregon) byThe Lugar Center andMcCourt School of Public Policy's Bipartisan Index, which ranks members of Congress by measuring how often their bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and how often they co-sponsor bills by members of the opposite party.[24] As of March 2022, Schrader had voted in line withJoe Biden's stated position 96.4% of the time.[25]
In December 2016, Schrader criticizedNancy Pelosi's election as Minority Leader, saying, "I'm very worried we just signed the Democratic Party's death certificate for the next decade and a half".[26] The Democratic Partywon control of the House of Representatives in 2018, and Pelosi served asSpeaker from 2019 until 2023,when the Republican Party won control of the House of Representatives in 2022.
After the2021 United States Capitol attack, Schrader called possible impeachment proceedings againstDonald Trump a "lynching."[27][28] One of Oregon's top political consultants announced he would no longer work with Schrader due to the comment. Schrader later apologized for his comments and supported thesecond impeachment of Donald Trump.[29]
In May 2012, Schrader voted against the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2012, introduced by RepresentativeTrent Franks.[30] The bill proposed criminal penalties for giving abortions in special cases, notably when based on gender, race or color of the child or parent.[31]
Schrader supports theAffordable Care Act. He and former RepresentativeAllyson Schwartz co-chaired the New Dem Health Care Task Force, which set forth an agenda of "more effectively implementing health care policy in this country that improves payment and delivery systems."[32][non-primary source needed]
In July 2017, Schrader led a group of ten House Democrats who proposed to augment Obamacare with a $15 billion "annual reinsurance fund to pay health insurers that enroll higher-cost, sicker individuals."[33]
In September 2021, Schrader,Scott Peters, andKathleen Rice opposed allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices except in a small subset of cases.[34][35] Schrader's opposition was characterized as a threat to the passing of President Biden’s social and environmental infrastructure package.[36] Advocacy groups have criticized Schrader for "doing the backroom bidding of Big Pharma"[34] because he has received $614,830 from thepharmaceutical industry since he became a Congressman, $144,252 of it during the2020 election cycle.[37] He has denied that these donations influenced his vote, saying he opposed the bill because he thinks it could not pass the Senate and that he is working on a different bill that he thinks will get more support.[37]
In March 2017, Schrader told a district audience that the Trump administration seemed determined to deregulate agriculture. He said that agriculture regulations "were a bit of an overreach", causing problems for both dairy and dirt farmers.[38]
Schrader coauthored theVeterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2014 (H.R. 1528; 113th Congress), a bill that would amend theControlled Substances Act to clarify thatveterinarians are not required to have separate registrations to dispensecontrolled substances outside of their principal place of business, such as when treating animals on afarm.[39][40][41]
In December 2017, Schrader was one of only six House Democrats to support legislation allowing concealed handgun licensees to carry their weapons in all 50 states.[42]
On June 8, 2022, Schrader voted against the Protecting Our Kids Act, gun safety legislation the House passed in the wake of the May 2022,Robb Elementary School shooting. He was one of only two Democrats to vote against the bill, which would raise the age for purchasing semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21, limit ammunition magazine size, and require safe storage of guns and ammunition with penalties and/or liability for non-compliance.[43]
On July 29, 2022, Schrader and four other Democrats joined the Republicans in voting against a bill banning assault weapons.[44]
In February 2021, Schrader was one of two House Democrats to vote against theAmerican Rescue Plan Act of 2021. He said he voted against it because he felt there had been "no legislative process." He previously voted against increasing stimulus check payments to $2,000.[45][46]
In July 2019, Schrader was one of six House Democrats to oppose a bill that would incrementally increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2025.[47]
In August 2021, Schrader joined a group of conservative Democrats, dubbed "The Unbreakable Nine", who threatened to derail the Biden administration's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package meant to tackle the nation's infrastructure.[48][49]
.jpg)
After leaving Congress, Schrader joinedWashington, D.C. lobbying firm Williams and Jensen.[56]
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Kurt Schrader | 181,577 | 54.3% | Mike Erickson | 128,297 | 38.3% | Sean Bates | Independent | 6,830 | 2.0% | Douglas Patterson | Constitution | 6,558 | 2.0% | Alex Polikoff | Pacific Green | 5,272 | 1.6% | Steve Milligan | Libertarian | 4,814 | 1.4% | Write-ins | 1,326 | <1.0% | |||||||||
| 2010 | Kurt Schrader | 145,319 | 51.2% | Scott Bruun | 130,313 | 46.0% | * | Chris Lugo | Pacific Green | 7,557 | 2.7% | * | Write-ins | 367 | <1.0% | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Kurt Schrader | 177,229 | 54.0% | Fred Thompson | 139,223 | 42.4% | Christina Jean Lugo | Pacific Green | 7,516 | 2.3% | Raymond Baldwin | Constitution | 3,600 | 1.1% | Write-ins | 402 | <1.0% | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Kurt Schrader | 150,944 | 53.7% | Tootie Smith | 110,332 | 39.3% | Marvin Sandnes | Independent | 7,674 | 2.7% | Raymond Baldwin | Constitution | 6,208 | 2.2% | Daniel K. Souza | Libertarian | 5,198 | 1.8% | Write-ins | 732 | <1.0% | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | Kurt Schrader | 199,505 | 53.5% | ** | Colm Willis | 160,443 | 43.0% | Marvin Sandnes | Pacific Green | 12,542 | 3.4% | Write-ins | 618 | <1.0% | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Kurt Schrader | 197,187 | 55.0% | ** | Mark Callahan | 149,887 | 41.8% | Daniel K. Souza | Libertarian | 6,054 | 1.7% | Marvin Sandnes | Pacific Green | 4,802 | 1.3% | Write-ins | 539 | <1.0% | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Kurt Schrader | 234,863 | 51.9% | Amy Ryan Courser | 204,372 | 45.1% | Matthew Rix | Libertarian | 12,640 | 2.8% | Write-ins | 771 | <1.0% |
* In the 2010 election, Scott Bruun was co-nominated by the Oregon Independent Party and Chris Lugo was co-nominated by the Oregon Progressive Party.[58]
** In the 2016 and 2018 elections, Kurt Schrader was co-nominated by the Oregon Independent Party.[59][60]
Schrader and formerOregon state senatorMartha Schrader divorced in 2011.[9][61] He has five children.[62] On December 31, 2016, Schrader married formerPepco lobbyist Susan Mora.[63] He is anEpiscopalian.[64]
Schrader's residence is the Kraft-Brandes-Culberston Farmstead in Canby, also known as Three Rivers Farm, which is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[65]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromOregon's 5th congressional district 2009–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| New office | Democratic Co-Chair of theProblem Solvers Caucus 2013–2017 Served alongside:Reid Ribble,Tom Reed | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theBlue Dog Coalition for Communications 2013–2015 Served alongside:John Barrow (Administration),Jim Cooper (Policy) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theBlue Dog Coalition for Administration 2015–2017 Served alongside:Jim Costa (Communications),Jim Cooper (Policy) | |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| Territorial (1849–1859) |
|  | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At-large seats (1859–1893) |
| ||||
| Districts (1893–present) |
| ||||
| 3rd district | |||||
| 4th district | |||||
| 5th district | |||||
| 6th district | |||||
