PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In a surprise for many, the White House announced President Biden plans to head to Oregon in a week for the second time in six months.
They say he’ll be here Friday and Saturday but have yet to announce the reason for his trip or really many details at all.
While waiting on the details of his visit, it’s hard to ignore this is coming at a time when some Republicans are ahead in the polls in some key local races.
Reed College Political Science Professor Chris Koski told KOIN 6 News he thinks the timing of President Biden’s trip to Oregon shows his administration is clearly concerned about congressional races in Oregon and the third district of Washington.
He says he’s probably keeping an eye on the governor’s race here as well and says he thinks President Biden might want to use this time to talk about his recent federal marijuana pardons and public policy that Oregonians favor like the inflation reduction act.
“I think the timing of the trip with regards to political fortunes of some of the democratic candidates in the state makes a little bit of sense to me because the members of the Republican party have been salivating at the prospect of a Republican governor sitting in a deep blue state, this state has some national importance,” said Koski.
When asked if he thinks the president could be going as far as to view Oregon and Washington as battleground states he says he doesn’t think we will be swing states for the presidency and this is about midterms.
KOIN 6 News has reached out to the White House for more information but has not heard back yet.