State Rep. Bruun to vie for Schrader's seat

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Last year, freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader won a lopsided election victory over a Republican businessman who had been dogged by personal character issues.

Republicans think they will have a shot at claiming the seat in 2010, however, with Thursday's announcement by state Rep. Scott Bruun of West Linn that he's running for Congress.

Bruun, who touts himself as a GOP moderate, became the first Republican to enter the congressional race in Oregon's 5th District, which extends from the mid-Willamette Valley to the Portland suburbs and the central Oregon coast.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which has been searching for a strong candidate to take on Schrader, said that Bruun has shown an ability to pursue "common sense" solutions to problems while in the Legislature.

"Bruun will fight in Congress to create jobs and opportunities for Oregon's struggling small businesses and middle class families," NRCC spokeswoman Joanna Burgos said Thursday.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took aim at that assertion, noting that Bruun and the other House Republicans this year voted against a state health care expansion that will be financed with taxes on hospitals and health insurance premiums.

"Despite his claims to support Oregon's middle class families, Bruun opposed legislation that will provide health care coverage for 80,000 Oregon children and will create 1,500 jobs," DCCC spokesman Andy Stone said.

Bruun, 43, is a three-term House member who works for a real estate investment group. In 1996, when congressional district boundaries were different, Bruun ran against Democratic Congressman Earl Blumenauer, who easily defeated Bruun.

Bruun and the Republicans are hoping to win the 5th District seat by tying Schrader to a perceived spending spree by Democratic-controlled Washington, including the federal stimulus package.

Schrader, a former Democratic state senator, easily won the November 2008 election to claim the congressional seat left open by the retirement of veteran Democratic Rep. Darlene Hooley.

Schrader was opposed in that race by Mike Erickson, an anti-abortion Republican who spent much of the campaign denying his former girlfriend's allegation that he paid for her abortion in 2001.

Portland pollster Tim Hibbitts said that while the Democrats have increased their voter registration edge in the 5th District, it's still considered a swing district and that this will be Schrader's first re-election race, when incumbents are considered most vulnerable.

"You're more likely to beat them the first time out," Hibbitts said. "So Scott Bruun will have a shot."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.