Parrish, who spews legislation and opinions with the force and frequency of Old Faithful, is a rare Republican who can win in the metro area. Democratic dominance in Salem cows some Republicans, but Parrish, 43, attacks every day as if she were the gold pioneer atop the Capitol, rather than a minority party back bencher. Now in her fourth term, she spent 2016 advising Republican Dennis Richardson on how to beat Democrat Brad Avakian in the secretary of state's race. Parrish generates strong feelings. "Both parties hate her, so I guess she's effective at something," says one lobbyist. She joined six Democratic colleagues to sponsor still pending legislation that would require employers to schedule workers fairly. Many of her other ideas went nowhere. "A random bill generator," sniffs one skeptic." Will come up with good ideas by virtue of the number of attempts." "She may have the best political instincts in the building and her voters love her," says one lobbyist. "If only her colleagues felt the same way."