Gordon Friedman

Statesman Journal

Do Oregon’s top elected Republicans support Donald Trump for president? It’s tough to know, since they won’t endorse or repudiate the candidate.

Oregon Republican Party leaders, however, expressed cautious support and even criticism of their candidate.

Rep. Greg Walden, Oregon’s only Republican member of Congress, declined an interview request seeking comments about Trump's rhetoric. So did state Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day.

Ferrioli did release a statement Monday, in which he said the media should focus on other issues: Oregon’s low graduation rate, expensive public pension system, stressed infrastructure and looming budget deficit.

House Republican Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, was the only elected Republican leader in Oregon to answer questions for this story. He said he would decide whether to vote for Trump at a later date.

McLane also noted that he will not vote for Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton and that he was a supporter of Ohio Gov. John Kasich during the primaries.

Trump has made headlines throughout the campaign for his unprecedented and often controversial statements.

Some have been rated as false by journalists and researchers working at FactCheck.org, the Washington Post Fact Checker, PolitiFact and other organizations. Many of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s statements have also been fact checked, with some being proven false.

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PolitiFact, which is operated by the Tampa Bay Times, rated Donald Trump’s statements as true 4 percent of the time, and false or “pants on fire” 55 percent of the time. Twenty-two percent of Clinton’s statements were rated as true by PolitiFact, with 13 percent found to be false or pants on fire.

Last week, Trump falsely claimed that Barack Obama was the founder of the Islamic State terrorist group. When given a chance to recant the comment by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump said, “No, I meant he's the founder of ISIS. I do.”

Later, Trump posted on Twitter that he was being sarcastic.

Trump has also criticized an immigrant Gold Star family, doubled down on a proposed ban on Muslims wishing to enter the United States, suggested “Second Amendment people” could stop Hillary Clinton from appointing judges and said the election is going to be "rigged.”

During the primaries, he received criticism for falsely claiming that the father of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was involved in the Kennedy assassination, and for mocking a New York Times reporter with a physical disability.

McLane said Tuesday that Obama is not the founder of the Islamic State and that people with disabilities shouldn't be made fun of. In response to questions about Trump's "Second Amendment people" statement, McLane said, "Violence has no place in our political system."

Leaders within the Oregon Republican Party also shared their thoughts on Trump.

Party chairman Bill Currier said he supports Trump for president, though not some of his behavior.

Currier said many of Trump’s comments have been twisted by the media, though his “antics are unusual for a presidential candidate.”

“There’s no getting around that,” Currier said.

Kevin Mannix, chairman of the Marion County Republicans, said he will vote for Trump. He also said Trump's statement about Obama being the founder of the Islamic State was “radical campaign rhetoric.”

Mannix, who was a member of the state House of Representatives and twice a candidate for governor, also said Trump’s mocking of the Times reporter was “inappropriate” and “an unfortunate distraction from the campaign.”

He continued: “I think that sometimes Mr. Trump thinks the things he says and does are humorous when many of us don’t take it that way. Socially he is not always the most smooth and velvety character.”

When asked about Trump’s imitation of the reporter, Currier said, “I can’t say that if I were up there I would have expressed myself in the same way.”

Mannix and Currier both expressed interest in future discussions about Trump's policy proposals.

Trump has said he plans to put Oregon in play for the Nov. 8 election. So far, he’s gotten little public support from elected Republicans here, whose praises he may need to truly challenge for the state.

On the other hand, Clinton has been championed by top state Democrats — including Gov. Kate Brown and Sen. Ron Wyden — despite a strong Oregon primary victory by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Statistical analysis website FiveThirtyEight.com gives Clinton a 93.5 percent chance of winning Oregon based on four public opinion polls.

Trump is planning a private fundraiser in Portland later this month. The election is Nov. 8.

Send questions, comments or news tips togfriedman2@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6653. Follow on Twitter@GordonRFriedman

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