Oregon AG candidates discuss abortion, gun violence and election security in final debate

The two candidates running for Oregon attorney general squared off in their final debate Wednesday evening on abortion, gun violence and election security, giving voters one last chance to weigh their differences before the November elections.

Democrat Dan Rayfield, a former House Speaker and attorney, and Republican Will Lathrop, a former Oregon prosecutor in Marion and Yamhill counties, are vying to replace Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, a Democrat who is not running for re-election.

This is the first time in 16 years that the race has been open, and it has attracted a lot of money: Rayfield raised more than $1.8 million this year while Lathrop contributed more than $1.3 million.

The 55-minute debate, televised on KOIN, was taped Tuesday and hosted by the City Club of Portland.

Lathrop highlighted his experience as a prosecutor and his work in Africa, where he focused on human rights issues such as trafficking and child labor, stressing that he is not a career politician. He presented himself as a law-and-order champion who would target drug cartels and fentanyl floods across the state.

Rayfield, who has served in the House for nearly a decade, including two years as speaker, said he has the right mix of public and private experience, with his years of experience as a personal injury trial attorney. He said he would fight the drug addiction crisis as well as work to protect seniors and consumers while confronting national attacks on reproductive health rights.

The attorney general is in charge of the Oregon Department of Justice, which has nearly 1,500 employees and an annual budget of about $406 million. The office is also responsible for consumer protection, with the authority to sue dishonest companies, protect the elderly and collect child support.

The attorney general is the state’s chief lawyer, but they can take on cases of a national profile. Rosenblum has often joined colleagues from other states in cases, including a recent lawsuit against TikTok. He also sued DuPont, 3M and other companies over firefighting foam containing PFASs, also called forever chemicals, that caused health problems.

PUBLIC SAFETY APPROACH

Lathrop repeatedly criticized Rayfield for not addressing Oregon’s problems as speaker, pointing to Oregon’s failure to protect children in foster care and the state’s high rate of fentanyl overdoses.

“Drug cartel people are making millions of dollars exploiting addiction and crushing communities, and we need to make it very difficult to bring fentanyl and meth into our state,” Lathrop said.

Lathrop said Oregon is also struggling with crime, addiction rates and a lack of affordable housing.

“If you point a stick at Oregon right now, we’re doing it wrong,” Lathrop said.

During the debate, Lathrop alluded to incidents from Rayfield’s youth, saying he had been arrested for shooting women in cars. Rayfield said Lathrop was lying but did not elaborate. At age 18, Rayfield was cited by Tigard police for reckless endangerment in an incident in which he and his friends were caught shooting BB guns at cars. The charges were dismissed and Rayfield later said he learned valuable life lessons.

As attorney general, Rayfield said he would target drugs and organized crime and pointed to his work on House Bill 4002, which passed this session. It recriminalized drug possession while laying the groundwork for diversion programs to help people access treatment and recovery services.

Rayfield stressed that it is important to address the root causes of the problem, including substance abuse issues.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

The two disagreed over what role, if any, the attorney general should play in protecting abortion rights.

Lathrop said the attorney general’s role is to enforce laws, and he said he would do that. Oregon has no restrictions on access to abortion, unlike many other states since the US Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion in 2022.

Rayfield said she would advocate for Oregon women against a national abortion ban if the federal government ever passes it.

“That is a wonderful and clear difference between the two of us,” said Rayfield. “Things are well-established laws until they’re not well-established laws. And that’s what you’re seeing here.”

The two also had different approaches to combating gun violence. Rayfield said he has worked to pass laws supporting universal background checks and bans on “ghost guns,” which can’t be traced and don’t have serial numbers. He said he would defend the constitutionality of these laws.

Lathrop said the passage of gun laws has not curbed the violence. The problem is the lack of enforcement of existing laws, he said.

“We don’t have a law-making problem, we have a law-enforcement problem,” he said.

Both candidates have proposals for the 2025 legislature.

Rayfield said he would work to create a “working families” unit to investigate issues such as wage theft and child labor violations.

Lathrop said he would look for ways to improve the state’s mental health system, drawing on his experience working in Marion County’s mental health court system.

There were points of agreement.

The two, when asked how they would handle lawsuits against the industries, both agreed that social media companies should be held accountable for the harm they do to children, an issue Rosenblum has addressed with the lawsuit TikTok and a lawsuit against Apple.

CONFRONTATION FOR ELECTORAL SECURITY

The two disagreed when asked about how to ensure election security and combat voter fraud following the recent discovery that more than 1,500 people who had not provided proof of US citizenship were registered to vote through of the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division. Election officials say 10 voted, but five were actually citizens who hadn’t given the DMV their passports or birth certificates.

Rayfield said he was frustrated by the problem and supported Gov. Tina Kotek’s decision to stop automatic registrations at the Oregon DMV.

Lathrop criticized Rayfield, saying he voted for legislation that automatically registers people without fully understanding how it works.

Rayfield fired.

“My opponent here is again trying to score political points with misrepresented facts,” Rayfield said, adding that Republican states have passed similar laws. “This was bullshit within the Department of Motor Vehicles, and nothing more than that.”

Lathrop responded that it’s “sloppy leadership” and Oregonians want to hear solutions, not excuses.

— Ben Botkin, Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Oregon Capital Chroniclefounded in 2021, is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on Oregon state government, politics and policy.