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Candidates › OR-02 race › 2025–2026
Chris Beck
D Democratic nominee for U.S. House, OR-02
Has not served in Congress
- On the ballot
- On the general election ballotNov 3, 2026 · Oregon US House 2
- Where to vote
- Find a ballot drop box (opens in a new tab) · More ways to vote
- Top priorities
- Everything costs too much. Everything.
- Access to reliable health care is a vital part of rural living.
- We must uplift our agriculture and natural resources economies.
- The arts drive our rural economy in ways that are too often underappreciated.
- Money
- $276.5K raised, $163.8K spent, $112.7K cash on hand (through Oct 14, 2026). Where it comes from
- Who gives
- 30% of individual money from donors at $200 or less · 69% from Oregon · largest committee giver BLUE WAVE PROJECT, $5K
- Outside groups
- $10 supporting Beck
- Backed by
- Dr. John Kitzhaber · Cathy Shaw · Steve Grasty and 4 more. As the campaign lists them
4 priorities from chrisbeckforcongress.com, in the order they are listed there. Every heading and the text under it is copied exactly, as one passage for each page it is from, and links to that place on the page; hover a source to see which passage it opens.
When you combine the insane gas and diesel prices caused by the Iran war (which make everything pricier), the ill-advised international tariffs on just about everything we import, plus the cost and supply of housing, food, services and everything that is part of our day-to-day lives… life is simply getting harder.
We can start by ending the war and canceling tariffs, but the problem is bigger.
In towns such as Klamath Falls and Grants Pass, working families can't afford a home, and young people are leaving because of it. Low-cost housing should be folded into our existing Main Street neighborhoods, not scattered into the outer fringes on our farms and forest resource lands.
Here’s what I’ll fight for:
- Adjusting excessive tax breaks on vacation and luxury homes and funneling those savings into programs that provide low-interest financing for first-time rural home buyers.
- Reforming and leveraging federal housing programs such as the USDA’s Community Facilities Program and Rural Housing Services to 1) restore and support public service buildings and 2) prioritize favorable lending terms for homes on and near our small-town Main Street districts.
- Empowering land-grant universities—or any public university—to fund senior housing facilities on or near campuses for low and moderate income seniors, staffed by trained professionals and students. Let’s pilot it at Eastern Oregon University, Southern Oregon University, and at one of our community college campuses.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · chrisbeckforcongress.com/district2issues
We must immediately repeal HR-1, aka the Big Beautiful Bill, which is having devastating effects on rural healthcare. It has always been harder for people in rural areas to find even basic wellness care, not to mention reliable emergency services, and now it’s getting worse.
The bill promises drastic cuts to Medicaid, a lifeline for nearly 40% of people in District 2, including over half (55%!) of the district’s children. But in fact, those cuts hurt everybody, because all hospitals and clinics depend on Medicaid reimbursements for their survival, and without that revenue they will struggle to stay open.
The bill has also caused premiums for everybody with Marketplace plans to skyrocket!
I will find allies in Congress from both parties who want to reform healthcare and stabilize rural health services. Thanks to legislators like my friend, the late Senator Alan Bates, and Governor John Kitzhaber, Oregon pioneered a transformative healthcare system that provides basic services while controlling costs, and we should do the same at the national level.
Some ideas that can strengthen our rural healthcare landscape include:
- Phasing in an affordable public care option for all Americans covering the most essential preventive services and treatments. This is long overdue.
- Using the Farm Bill to promote healthy food options and reallocate government subsidies to prioritize affordability and variety.
- Incentivizing doctors and nurses to live and practice in rural areas, and better supporting the network of existing community clinics across rural Oregon.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · chrisbeckforcongress.com/district2issues
The careless and haphazard policies imposed by President Trump have hit rural economies hard. Whether it’s the loss of wheat and fruit markets abroad (caused by the tariffs), the absence of workers and their families who have gone into hiding, or the staggering cost of diesel and fertilizer thanks to the Iran war, the damage won’t be undone quickly.
In addition to repealing the tariffs and seeking a sensible, bipartisan approach to legal immigration, I will put forward ideas that refocus existing federal programs.
I want to:
- Support and preserve our working lands—farms, ranches and forests—for economic use for generations to come. One way to do this is to expand proven federal programs such as the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) and the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
- Establish a rural service corps—teams of young and mid-career professional outdoor workers in each rural county devoted to rehabilitating and nurturing our forests and watersheds. (I see similar teams aiding in the health and dignity of our senior populations and helping children learn to read by the 3rd grade.) These will be good-paying jobs with benefits that AI can’t do, and team members will become vital residents, consumers and family builders in our towns.
- Bolster the USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher programs to help young people launch careers in farming, forestry and ranching. We need the government to finance more farm land purchases and more training via land-grant institutions and community colleges.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · chrisbeckforcongress.com/district2issues
The Trump administration has eviscerated our federal cultural programs and partnerships with local arts and culture providers. Our congressman, however, has said nothing, and seems to not even care about the slowing of our state’s artistic heartbeat.
The people of rural Oregon love arts and culture activities. The singular and nationally recognized Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, the nearby Britt in Jacksonville, the Pendleton Roundup, the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo, the Nez Perce Tamkaliks gathering in Wallowa, the Bluegrass Festival in Fossil—all treasures that date back generations. Simple street murals and the arts programs in our public schools supported by dedicated teachers who inspire our kids—these, too, help define rural Oregon culture and enhance our lives.
For six years I represented the USDA as part of a national philanthropy consortium aimed at supporting local arts investments and advocated for rural communities. I was a champion for the arts when I served in the Oregon Legislature and will do the same in Congress.
Two ideas I’ve had for a while that I’d love to pursue in Congress include:
- Helping the National Park Service think big. I’d like to fund a beautiful and iconic new lodge at Crater Lake, built by local workers and infused with local artists and traditions. Think Timberline Lodge for the 21st century. And while we’re at it, we must restore the historic and endangered Oregon Caves Chateau, recently listed as one of America’s 11 most endangered places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
- Establishing a new federal program enabling land-grant universities (as designated by USDA) to create a network of live/work spaces for artists on rural Main Streets throughout Oregon and across rural America.
source ↗ (opens the page at this passage) · chrisbeckforcongress.com/district2issues