Amid National Surge of Women Seeking Office, Emerge Oregon Claims Best Night Yet

Organization that prepares women to run in Oregon races posts 82 percent win rate.

Susheela Jayapal in a County Commission debate. (WW staff)

Women are running for office all over the country at extraordinary rates, the New York Times has reported.

On Tuesday night, female candidates in Oregon came out victorious in a series of contested races around the state.

Former House Majority Leader Val Hoyle (D-Eugene) defeated Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden in the race for labor commissioner. Former state Rep. Shemia Fagan (D-Clackmas) trounced incumbent Sen. Rod Monroe (D-East Portland) in perhaps the night's biggest victory. Metro councilor Kathryn Harrington outpointed County Commissioner Bob Terry and former State Sen. Ryan Deckert (D-Beaverton) in the race for Washington County chair (Harrington and Terry now will compete in a November run-off). And Susheela Jayapal defeated Sharon Maxwell and Bruce Broussard to become the first south Asian elected to the Multnomah County Commission.

All four women are graduates of Emerge Oregon, a local non-profit that prepares women to run for office.

Coming into this year, Emerge candidates had done well, winning 53 percent of their races according to the organization's statistics, but on Tuesday night, Emerge grads won 82 percent of their races—10 points better than their performance in 2016.

"We help women position themselves for an eventual run, making them competitive candidates well before the campaign even starts," Jillian Schoene, the co-executive director of Emerge said in a statement. "In addition to the knowledge and tools to run solid campaigns, they also develop relationships with other women who live near them to keep them inspired and motivated on the campaign trail. Women supporting women is our recipe that has proven successful for nearly 10 years now."

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