House Speaker Paul Ryan Comes to Portland’s Waverley Country Club Aug. 23 to Raise Money for Greg Walden

Top GOP Congressmen seeking support in one of the country's most Democratic cities.

House Speaker Paul Ryan

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) will venture into unfriendly territory this week as he travels to Portland to host a fundraiser for his colleague, U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.)

The event will be held in Portland on Wednesday Aug. 23 from 4 to 5:30 pm and will benefit the Walden Victory Fund, which he uses to support other candidates.

The price tag: $2,700 per person for a "photo opportunity" or $1,000 per person simply to attend the reception.

The location of the event is something of a secret—it's only available upon RSVP, according to the invitation.

Updated at 12:05 pm: The event will take place at the Waverley Country Club, which claims on its website to the be "the oldest continually operating golf course west of the Mississippi River."

Walden, a ten-term incumbent from Hood River, owns a huge registration advantage in Oregon's sprawling second congressional district: Republicans outnumber Democrats in the mostly-rural district 187,000 to 141,000.

Walden also has $2.2 million in his campaign fund, which a separate account from the Walden Victory Fund.

In a normal year, Walden would not be sweating re-election. But 2018 may not be a normal year, given the unpopularity of the Republican standard-bearer, President Donald Trump.

Walden also faces potential backlash from Republicans' failed attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which could have thrown more than 20 million people off Medicaid, known here as the Oregon Health Plan.

A report earlier this year found that the Affordable Care Act provided new health insurance to 129,000 of Walden's constituents, the biggest increase of any Republican-led district in the country. Walden also serves as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is where the House effort to repeal the ACA began.

Democrats have traditionally struggled to find a candidate strong enough to push Walden and although several potential challengers have surfaced this year, none has yet emerged with the name recognition or backing to be much of a threat.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.