Oregon Coast Lawmaker Spends $1 Million to Defend Party Switch

Cyrus Javadi won his coastal Oregon House district twice as a Republican. This year, he is asking voters to send him back to Salem as a Democrat. The party switch, combined with a campaign budget exceeding $1 million, has made his reelection bid a focal point of state politics.

Javadi, 49, represents House District 32, which stretches from Astoria south to Neskowin. He changed his party registration to Democrat last year after providing the decisive vote to pass Gov. Tina Kotek's transportation tax package. That package included a 6-cent gas tax increase that drew widespread criticism. Javadi said he concluded that new money was necessary to repair the wind- and rain-battered roads in his district.

The district contains roughly 55,800 voters. Nonaffiliated voters outnumber both registered Democrats and Republicans. While Democrats hold a slight numerical edge of about 2,000 registered members, that margin has not determined recent outcomes. Republicans captured the seat in 2020 after Democrats held it for 16 years. Javadi has been canvassing neighborhoods along the coast to reach these unaffiliated voters.

Max Sherman, a 69-year-old farmer and retired high school teacher from Hebo, is Javadi’s opponent. Sherman points to his background in agriculture, fishing, and forestry as the North Coast’s economic engines. He combines standard Republican themes, such as cutting regulation and dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, with criticism of Javadi’s shifting positions. Sherman said, "A lot of people here have lost trust in him." He positions himself as an anti-tax candidate, though he agrees that funding the Oregon Department of Transportation must be a priority.

Local party leaders have reacted sharply to Javadi’s move. Lisa Lamping, chair of the Clatsop County Republicans, described him as an opportunist. She noted that he once opposed taxes and abortion but is now endorsed by Planned Parenthood. Lamping said reactions among local Republicans range from anger to "good riddance." Betsy Johnson, a former Democratic legislator who represented the area for two decades, has endorsed Sherman in television ads.

Both candidates have raised more than $1 million. This funding level could make the contest the state’s most expensive House race this year. The money has allowed them to purchase ads in the Portland market, which reaches the district. Sherman called the race "a total toss-up" that "could be a nail-biter."

Javadi presents his political evolution as a strength. He grew up in a conservative Mormon family in Utah and said he increasingly found his former Republican colleagues' arguments unconvincing. Last year, he supported a Democratic bill making it harder for school districts to ban books, citing his gay son. He also helped argue for a measure using taxes on healthcare providers to raise federal Medicaid funding.

Javadi was the only Republican to back Kotek's $4.3 billion transportation tax plan. He said the reward for doing the right thing was worth the potential costs. Voters rejected that tax package by a landslide in May. Javadi still believes the state must find more money for roads, but he says the vote showed that voters want repairs without a 6-cent gas tax. He reported meeting as many as 30 or 40 people in a day during his door-knocking, noting that the vote rarely comes up in conversation.

His campaign promotes the message that he stands by his values. Some Democrats, including a self-described "big-time liberal" from Tillamook, have welcomed the switch. Javadi writes lengthy posts on Substack to explain his changes of position. He said he uses artificial intelligence mainly as an editor and organizer while writing the bulk of each entry himself. He plans to keep knocking on doors until Election Day.