Oregon
Oregon attorney general race offers Republicans best chance in decades at statewide victory
Editor’s note: Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Stay informed with OPB on the presidential race, key congressional battles and other local contests and ballot measures in Oregon and Southwest Washington at opb.org/elections.
Candidates for Oregon attorney general in 2024: left, Democratic nominee Dan Rayfield, and right, Republican nominee Will Lathrop.
Courtesy of camp
Oregon’s race for attorney general is arguably Republicans’ best shot at winning statewide office in decades.
The race pits Republican Will Lathrop, an experienced prosecutor pushing a public safety message, against former Speaker of the House Dan Rayfield, a Democrat, who represents the political establishment that, for years, has been responsible for shaping policies and laws.
Despite that, both candidates have a lot in common. Both are white men in their mid-40s, and both attended law school at Willamette University around the same time.
Of course, there are differences too.
What you need to know about voting in Oregon and Southwest Washington
Lathrop, a former prosecutor in Marion and Yamhill counties, recently returned to the United States after working for a Christian human rights nonprofit in Uganda and Ghana. He’s running on his experience in law enforcement prosecuting crimes, such as homicides and human trafficking, and has stressed he’s not a politician.
“If you don’t actually have a law enforcement background, or that buy-in or credibility with the law enforcement community, you can’t actually get the laws executed,” Lathrop said in an interview with OPB. “That’s where we’ve really struggled in Oregon.”
Rayfield, a personal injury lawyer, spent nearly a decade representing the Corvallis area in the Oregon Legislature, ascending to Speaker of the House in 2022, until stepping down this year to run for attorney general. He says if elected he’d build on his work in politics and law to defend the state’s abortion laws, protect the environment and go after scams.
“Whether it’s housing and homelessness or it’s a substance abuse crisis, or you see seniors and consumers that are being taken advantage of in their community, the attorney general’s office in Oregon — with the right leadership — can have an important impact on those issues,” Rayfield told OPB in an interview. “That’s why I wanted to run for this position.”
Regardless of who Oregonians elect as the state’s next top law enforcement official in November, it’ll be a significant change. Since 2012, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, a Democrat, has won the statewide race three times, but isn’t seeking reelection this year.
Issues important to Oregon voters
The attorney general essentially runs Oregon’s largest law firm, the Oregon Department of Justice. The agency boasts a nearly $900 million biannual budget and nearly 1,500 employees.
The department defends state laws and agencies in court. The attorney general is also responsible for protecting residents through lawsuits against the federal government and companies that cheat, lie or harm Oregonians.
Under Rosenblum’s tenure, Oregon’s Department of Justice has fiercely defended the state, whether it’s the troubled child welfare system, how the state dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic in its prisons or its efforts to implement a voter-approved measure regulating firearms.
Ballot Measure 114 bans the manufacture and sale of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and requires anyone who wishes to obtain a firearm to get a permit first. Permits will require taking a safety course and completing a federal background check.
OPB interviewed both candidates and asked them to complete a series of written questions. In them, both Lathrop and Rayfield agreed they would continue the agency’s vigorous push to implement the law, which has been blocked in the courts after it narrowly passed in November 2022.
“It is the role of the Attorney General to uphold the law,” Lathrop wrote. “Ballot Measure 114 was passed into law in 2022, and will remain the law pending the ruling of the higher court.”
“I would continue to move the process forward,” Rayfield responded. “Oregon voters passed Measure 114 to protect our communities and kids from acts of gun violence that are all too common in this country, while respecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.”
Both Rayfield and Lathrop indicated they’re familiar with the DOJ’s reputation for aggressively defending state laws, and both signaled they might take a more moderate approach, especially in instances where state employees, agencies or laws have caused harm.
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Lathrop, who grew up on a cattle ranch in Wallowa County, spent time prosecuting sex abuse cases before joining International Justice Mission. The Christian-backed human rights organization said it works to protect people living in poverty from human trafficking and violence.
“I’ve got statewide, national and international law enforcement experience,” Lathrop said. “Each year I would come back to Oregon when I was living overseas and just watching the decay of law and order and particularly victim protection.”
During the pandemic, violent crime increased in Oregon and across the country, but has dropped sharply since.
While Lathrop boasts his leadership at International Justice Mission as an asset, a 2023 BBC documentary raised concerns about its work in Ghana when Lathrop served as country director for the nonprofit. According to the BBC’s reporting:
“IJM has removed some children from their families in cases where there was scarce-to-no evidence of trafficking and this aggressive approach may have been fuelled by a target-driven culture inside IJM. We found two documented cases of rescue operations in which children were forcibly, traumatically and unjustly removed and the children’s relatives prosecuted as child traffickers.”
In an interview with OPB, Lathrop dismissed the BBC’s findings. He said IJC worked behind the scenes and said it was Ghanaian social workers and police who took children to court where judges made determinations about removing children from their homes.
“They accused IJM of kidnapping,” Lathrop told OPB. “IJM doesn’t have the power and never has taken a kid and never has removed a child from home. It’s always the police or social workers, and it’s all documented.”
He said to call any of that kidnapping, as the documentary suggests, is “outlandish and not supported by any of the court documentation.”
The film concludes noting that Lathrop left the Christian nonprofit and mentions his campaign for Oregon attorney general.
Lathrop has raised just over $1 million in campaign contributions and has more than $530,000 cash on hand, according to campaign finance disclosures filed with the state.
Rayfield has brought in $1.2 million in campaign contributions and has more than $940,000 cash on hand, according to the state campaign finance disclosures. A sizable chunk comes from out-of-state law firms who could get contracts from the state in future litigation. Some states call these campaign contributions “pay-to-play” and prohibit them, but not Oregon.
Rayfield is running on his experience in public office and politics. When he first ran for the Legislature in 2014, Rayfield addressed run-ins with the law he had while as a young adult, including a DUII he got when he was 18 years old that was later dismissed.
In a campaign ad for attorney general, Rayfield acknowledged he “even ended up on the wrong side of the law a few times” and had a challenging childhood and “saw up close how physical abuse and addiction impact families.” In an interview with OPB, he recalled attending recovery meetings as a kid with his mom.
Rayfield embodies many of the things that Lathrop argues he’s running against. But that political experience also allows Rayfield to point to what he said are bipartisan policy victories he helped craft, such as the legislation that rolled back Oregon’s drug decriminalization law and made possession a crime once more.
“Everybody wanted to solve the root cause of what we were seeing, which was a substance abuse crisis,” he said.
Take a deeper look at Oregon’s efforts to address addiction
OPB asked both candidates whether they support their party’s presidential candidates.
Rayfield wrote that he “enthusiastically supports Kamala Harris for President.”
Lathrop wouldn’t say where he comes down on former President Donald Trump and pivoted to critique Oregon’s political establishment that’s been dominated for decades by Democrats.
“So you have to admit if you’re a Democrat, you cannot keep electing the exact same people in different seats and expect that the results are going to be any different,” Lathrop said. “It’s just like this musical chairs of the same people who voted for, and did all of the things you’re frustrated by.”
His goal is to “redefine what an Oregon Republican really is” and rejects “any kind of radical politics from the right or left.”
“Oregon needs that,” Lathrop said. “Oregon is hungry for that.”
The Oregon Ducks clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game after their win a week ago against the Wisconsin Badgers. As for who the Ducks will play, that will not be decided until next week.
Updated Potential Big Ten Title Matchups
Heading into the final week of the Big Ten regular season, there are still three potential teams that can meet the Oregon Ducks. Those teams would be the Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, and the Indiana Hoosiers.
The Buckeyes, Nittany Lions, and Hoosiers are all 7-1 in Big Ten play. If each were to win their final game of the regular season, Ohio State would get the nod to go to the Big Ten championship game. This is due to the fact that Ohio State handed each Penn State and Indiana their only losses of the 2024 season. The Buckeyes lone loss was at the hands of the Oregon Ducks.
Ohio State gave Indiana their first loss of the season in a 38-15 rout. Penn State held on for dear life against Minnesota and won 26-25.
Ohio State, Indiana, and Penn State all have a path heading into the final week. What are each team’s scenarios for meeting the Ducks in Indianapolis?
Ohio State Clinching Scenarios
For Ohio State, it is very simple. The Buckeyes just need to beat rival Michigan at home to clinch a spot in the Big Ten championship game. Win and they are in. However, if. Michigan were to shock the college football world and beat Ohio State on the road, there is still a path for Ohio State to get in. They would need Indiana and Penn State to both lose.
-Win vs. Michigan
OR
-Indiana and Penn State both lose
Penn State Clinching Scenarios
For Penn State, they need to win at home vs. Maryland. Additionally, they will need Ohio State to get upset at home by Michigan. The Nittany Lions don’t need to worry about the Hoosiers at all.
-Win vs. Maryland
AND
-Ohio State Loss
Indiana Clinching Scenarios
The Indiana Hoosiers need some help to get in after their defeat at Ohio State. The Hoosiers will not only have to win at Purdue, but for both Ohio State and Penn State to lose as well.
-Win at Purdue
AND
-Ohio State Loss
AND
-Penn State Loss
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CORVALLIS — It was a No One Watches Bowl for the ages.
And, yeah, I think that’s probably what they ought to call this thing. Forget the Pac-2 championship or the Left Behind Bowl. The schools need to lean into that bitter mondegreen of Lee Corso’s actual quote, the one that left folks so intensely riled a year ago. Because the display from Oregon State and Washington State on Saturday, well, that was certainly worth watching.
And for Beavers fans, worth celebrating.
A week after hitting the low point of Trent Bray’s tenure, the Beavers responded with a brilliant new high: A thrilling 41-38 win over the Cougars.
It was secured when Everett Hayes’ sent a 55-yard field goal just inside the right upright with 20 seconds remaining.
If you’re the type to quibble with whether a win over a Washington State team on the periphery of the top 25 truly merited an orange crush of fans storming the field, well, you’re just going to have to let them have this one.
That’s what you do when you beat your rival. Yes, I said rival.
Maybe it’s premature, but with Oregon continuing to distance itself from Oregon State, Beavers fans should let go of the Ducks — at least in football — and embrace this new, developing rivalry that on Saturday delivered a classic.
Will it be the same? Of course not. Nothing is. But unlike with the Ducks of the Big Ten, Washington State gives the Beavers a foil that is part of a shared experience. That has fought similar battles only to end up on the same field at the end of the season.
That’s what made Saturday’s win so sweet for Beavers fans. It was catharsis.
For a long season.
For a long year.
Saturday marked 364 days since Jonathan Smith announced his decision to leave for Michigan State. (How do you plan to observe the anniversary on Monday?) And while not every issue this program has faced can be hung on that moment, it was the beginning of the unraveling.
Assistant coaches followed Smith to Michigan State. Players jumped into the transfer portal. The Beavers were left with a roster, and frankly also a coaching staff, with too many questions and not enough answers.
I’m not alone in buying that the game with Washington State has achieved genuine rivalry status.
“I do and I have, to be honest with you,” said Bray, who grew up in Pullman and played for the Beavers. “It always has been.”
Maybe to some degree. But not a full-fledged rivalry with emotion and pride on the line.
Suddenly, it has all of that.
Especially after everything the Beavers and their fans have been through, off the field and on.
By Saturday, Oregon State was 4-6, riding a five-game losing streak. If this season even had a rock bottom, you hoped it was that inexcusable 28-zilch Coach Bray seat-warmer at Air Force. But you really couldn’t be sure, especially not against a WSU team that had harbored aspirations of crashing the College Football Playoff before crashing out against New Mexico last week.
So what happened?
Starting quarterback Ben Gulbranson got healthy after missing the trip to Air Force with a concussion, offensive coordinator Ryan Gunderson simplified the playbook, and the Beavers did something they had been unable to do in close games against Nevada and San Jose State.
They found a way.
Gulbranson overcame two second-half interceptions to complete a gotta-have-it fourth-down pass over the middle to Trent Walker to set up the go-ahead field goal. Before that, Jaden Robinson got a paw on a fumble to give the Beavers the ball at midfield when it seemed like it would, in fact, be Washington State that would milk the clock and kick a game-winner.
So when the game ended, and fans streamed onto the field, it was more than just a celebration of a single game.
“They’re the best fanbase out there,” Gulbranson said, “and I’m really happy that we could finish this one off for them and finish the season off right, here at Reser (Stadium).”
Does that make up for a season of frustration? Does it render moot the questions of a week ago? Of course not. Bray has serious questions to answer about the state of his team and the roster. He has a long way to go before he has a team that can contend for the CFP. He needs to find a quarterback.
This season has been a whiff at the most important position on the field. But Gulbranson is a tough customer. After he was passed over the job for a third consecutive year, he stayed ready for a third consecutive year, and stepped into the role when called upon for the third consecutive year.
On Saturday, he completed 22 of 34 passes for 294 yards. Just enough to tough out the most meaningful victory of the year.
You have to wonder if the Beavers might not have been able to pick off a few more wins if they had just trusted their Steady Eddie, Reliable Ben from the beginning.
Now, the Beavers are likely a week away from the end of their season. At 5-6, a bowl game is almost certainly out of reach.
They would have to beat No. 12 Boise State on the blue turf next week and that’s a tough ask of any team. Especially with the way Ashton Jeanty slices through defenses and the trouble OSU has had stopping the run.
So Saturday against the Cougars felt like the Beavers’ bowl game.
And maybe that’s the way it should be for two programs caught in this awkward purgatory. They are joined at the hip, not by choice but by necessity. Whether that makes them “buddies” or not, that’s for others to Dickert — I mean, dicker over.
But since when should rivals pretend to be friends? Beavers and Ducks never did.
There’s no replacing what the annual matchup with Oregon has meant to the state, but with that game now a nonconference matchup and not even a sure bet to be played beyond next season, it is, quite sadly, hard to put too much stock into anymore.
But Washington State? The Beavers will play the Cougars twice next season to highlight a schedule held together with duct tape and bubble gum.
And if this new iteration of the Pac-12 that the schools fought so hard for is going to make it and have an identity of its own, OSU and WSU have to be at the center of it.
A good rivalry needs a name.
The Beavers and Cougars can thank Corso for theirs, even if he was misheard, misunderstood and misquoted.
Maybe nobody in the Power Four conferences wanted these two schools.
But if Saturday is an indicator of how this rivalry is going to go, everyone will be watching.
— Bill Oram is the sports columnist at The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Oregon State will look to salvage its disappointing season this weekend in the final home game of the year.
The Beavers (4-6) will return to Reser Stadium as they host Washington State (8-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday in a clash of Pac-12 rivals.
After a promising start to the year, Oregon State has cratered during the final month of the season and is in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Last week, the Beavers suffered one of the worst losses in recent program history during a 28-0 loss at Air Force.
“Last week was obviously very disappointing; we did not play well in any phase of the game,” Oregon State head coach Trent Bray said Monday. “We’ve gotta look at what we’re doing, what we’re asking them to do and what they do well and get that fixed immediately. That was really the first game that was disappointing to watch us play. I think every other game this year we’re in close games, we’re competing, we’re at it. That wasn’t it on Saturday, and that’s disappointing.”
Watch Oregon State football vs. Washington State live on Fubo (free trial)
Watch Oregon State football vs. Washington State live on Sling TV
Oregon State vs Washington State score updates
This section will be updated when the game begins.
Oregon State vs Washington State time today
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 23
- Time: 4 p.m.
- Location: Reser Stadium, Corvallis, Oregon
What channel is Oregon State vs Washington State game on today?
- TV channel: The CW
- Radio: KEJO (1240 AM, 93.7 FM, Corvallis), KKNX (840 AM, 105.1 FM, Eugene), KBZY (1490 AM, Salem), KEX (1190 AM, Portland).
- Streaming: Fubo (free trial), Watch ESPN
Oregon State vs. Washington State will be broadcast nationally on The CW in Week 13 of the 2024 college football season. Ted Robinson and Ryan Lead will call the game from the booth from Reser Stadium, with Nigel Burton reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
Oregon State vs Washington State history
- Series record: Washington State leads, 57-47-3
- Oregon State’s last win: 2022 (24-10, in Corvallis)
- Washington State’s last win: 2023 (38-35, in Pullman, Wash.)
Oregon State vs Washington State betting odds
Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Friday:
- Spread: Washington State by 11.5
- Over/under: 56.5
- Moneyline: Washington State -450, Oregon State +340
Oregon State vs Washington State weather update
Saturday’s forecast for Corvallis calls for a high of 51 with a temperature of about 48 degrees and a 24% chance of rain at kickoff.
Oregon State football 2024 schedule
- Aug. 31 — Idaho State (W, 38-15)
- Sept. 7 — at San Diego State (W, 21-0)
- Sept. 14 — Oregon (L, 49-14)
- Sept. 21 — Purdue (W, 38-21)
- Oct. 5 — Colorado State (W, 39-21)
- Oct. 12 — at Nevada (L, 42, 37)
- Oct. 19 — UNLV (L, 33-25)
- Oct 26 — at California (L, 44-7)
- Nov. 9 — San Jose State (L, 24-13)
- Nov. 16 — at Air Force (L, 28-0)
- Nov. 23 — Washington State
- Nov. 29 — at Boise State
- Record: 4-6
Washington State football 2024 schedule
- Aug. 31 — Portland State (W, 70-30)
- Sept. 7 — Texas Tech (W, 37-16)
- Sept. 14 — at Washington (W, 24-19)
- Sept. 20 — San Jose State (W, 52-52 2 OT)
- Sept. 28 — at Boise State (L, 45-24)
- Oct. 12 — at Fresno State (W, 25-17)
- Oct. 19 — Hawai’i (W, 42-10)
- Oct. 26 — at San Diego State (W, 29-26)
- Nov. 9 — Utah State (W, 49-28)
- Nov. 16 — at New Mexico (L, 38-35)
- Nov. 23 — at Oregon State
- Nov. 30 — Wyoming
- Record: 8-2
Oregon State football news
Oregon State’s abysmal 2024 football season reaches new low with loss to Air Force
(Men’s basketball) ‘We learned quite a lesson;’ Oregon State shows signs of progress in close loss to Oregon
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Jarrid Denney covers high school sports and Oregon State for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at JDenney@salem.gannett.com or on X @jarrid_denney.
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