District 32: $1 million a piece as Javadi and Sherman duel on the Oregon Coast

Two candidates in Oregon House District 32 have each raised more than $1 million for their campaigns. The spending level could make this contest the most expensive state House race in the state this year. Both campaigns have used those funds to purchase advertising in the Portland market, which reaches the coastal district.

Cyrus Javadi, 49, won the district twice as a Republican. He is now seeking election as a Democrat. Javadi changed his party registration last year after providing the deciding vote for Gov. Tina Kotek’s transportation tax package. That package included a 6-cent increase in the gas tax. Javadi said he concluded that new money was necessary to fix the wind- and rain-damaged roads in his district.

His opponent is Max Sherman, a 69-year-old farmer and retired high school teacher from Hebo. Sherman describes agriculture, fishing, and forestry as the economic engines of the North Coast. His campaign promotes standard Republican themes, including cutting regulation and dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. He also criticizes Javadi’s shifting positions. Sherman said, “A lot of people here have lost trust in him.”

Lisa Lamping, chair of the Clatsop County Republicans, described Javadi as an opportunist. She noted that Javadi once opposed taxes and abortion but is now endorsed by Planned Parenthood. Lamping said local reactions range from anger to “good riddance.” Betsy Johnson, a former Democratic legislator who represented the area for two decades, has also endorsed Sherman in television ads.

House District 32 stretches from Astoria south to Neskowin. The district has approximately 55,800 voters. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 2,000. However, nonaffiliated voters outnumber both parties and could determine the winner. Republicans flipped the seat in 2020 after Democrats held it for 16 years.

Javadi frames his party switch as a strength. He was raised in a conservative Mormon family in Utah and said he found his Republican colleagues’ arguments unconvincing. Last year, he supported a Democratic bill making it harder for school districts to ban books. He cited his gay son in that decision. He also helped argue for a measure using taxes on healthcare providers to raise federal Medicaid funding. He was the only Republican to back Kotek’s $4.3 billion transportation tax plan.

Voters rejected the transportation tax package by a landslide in May. Javadi believes the state must find more money for roads. He said the vote showed that voters want repairs without a 6-cent gas tax. He reports that the vote rarely comes up when he meets with people on the doorstep. He can meet as many as 30 or 40 people in a day.

Sherman called the race “a total toss-up” that “could be a nail-biter.” Javadi’s campaign is promoting the message that he stands by his values. Some Democrats have welcomed his switch. Javadi writes lengthy Substack posts explaining his changes in position. He uses artificial intelligence mainly as an editor and organizer. He plans to keep knocking on doors until Election Day.