Oregon House District 52 is a microcosm of modern American politics. No one party holds majority control. Winning the district might come down to bucking the trend of hyper-partisan politics.

Inside a two-floor community center in Northwest Oregon with teal walls, wooden floors and a teenager manning the front desk, nearly 30 people are in attendance to hear Nick Walden Poublon speak. Most are silver-haired, but there is a rambunctious toddler and even a balloon artist on hand. Walden Poublon makes his way to the front. His campaign launched its first event in Sandy, Oregon — population 12,953 — which sits in House District 52. This is a swing district, historically wavering between red and blue. His campaign needs steam, especially since the incumbent he’ll be up against in November is perhaps the most powerful Republican in the state — House Minority Leader Jeff Helfrich. 

“I know that this is going to be a really hard process,” said Waldon Poublon. “And it's going to take a lot of time and energy.” 

Unlike many of the Democrats in the state, Walden Poublon says he has to choose his words and positions carefully; he’s a rural Democrat. 

“Fifty-two is an interesting district because it has a variety of small to midsize towns and cities rather than any large urban area,” Lori Kuechler said. Kuechler is a former District 52 representative. She employed Walden Poublon as an aide when she was in office. “And then there's a lot of rural constituents with varying interests and needs and farming and timber, and environmental interests as well.”

District 52 exemplifies Oregon. With Mt. Hood in the heart of the district, it spreads roughly 50 miles in each direction from the mountain. Some refer to District 52 as the “real Oregon,” a meeting point for the conservative East and the progressive West. 

Making this section of Oregon even more intriguing is the recent promotion of state Senator Daniel Bonham to Senate Republican Leader, whose Senate District 26 overlaps House District 52. Unlike House District 52, Senate District 26 has been a Republican stronghold since 2010. Sen. Bonham was part of a 2023 walkout that paralyzed the Oregon legislature for weeks. 

In response, Oregon lawmakers passed a law to prevent this action in the future. As a result, Bonham is banned from seeking reelection when his term ends in 2027. However, his backing now of incumbent Republican Jeffrey Helfrich could be pivotal. 

“I only lost by 84 votes,” Rep. Helfrich said about his 2020 loss to then-incumbent Anna Williams. He lost to her in 2018 by a wider margin — nearly 900 votes — even as he was serving as the representative. In 2022, he won by 1,634 votes against Darcy Long, a last-minute candidate for the seat. 

Rep. Helfrich’s ascension from freshman representative to house minority leader has been notable, claiming his quick rise in party power is due to his ability to work across the aisle. “And I enjoyed working with them [Democrats] because we actually worked together on solutions.” 

According to many polls conducted by the Pew Research Center, since 2019, concessions between party lines are less common in modern politics. In a district that is neither a majority Republican nor Democrat, sticking to one party could make winning the seat that much harder.

Kuechler, who served the remainder of Anna Williams’ term when she stepped down in 2022, thinks Helfrich’s status as minority leader complicates this race. “I think when it comes to being a house minority leader, for either party, they need to be able to commit to the party line, they must be able to, in good conscience, say to the leadership of the party, ‘I will stay very close to what it is that I am, that what our party is trying to accomplish in this state without variance,’” Kuechler said.

 She believes Helfrich’s position as minority leader could bolster Walden Poublon’s campaign. “One of the reasons I think Nick could win is because Jeff is not going to be able to deviate from that platform in any way, shape, or form,” Kuechler said.

The race is already beginning to heat up — cold calls are being made, doors are being knocked on, money is being donated, speeches are being given and candidates are being slammed.

In March, Helfrich was accused by a political science professor from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, of an antisemitic dog whistle when Helfrich placed some of the blame for Measure 110’s passage on groups funded by George Soros. It’s an accusation that “lacked evidence,” the Anti-Defamation League said.

When Peter Courtney, the longest-ever serving state Senate president and a former House member, entered politics, things were different. 

“I was very fortunate to mingle with some very good legislators on both sides of the aisle,” Courtney said. “I was learning, and I was learning by observing and listening. You kept your word, you gave your word. I also was trained by Republicans as well as Democrats back then, because that's the way it was.”

“Your freshmen [representatives] come in, they don't really listen much. They just start talking first day, or a person who gets freshly appointed to a vacancy talks on the first day. So that's all changed,” Courtney said. He’s concerned for the future. “I do think that things are really bad right now, very serious. And your generation [Millennials, Gen Z]  is going to have to save the day. Because if you can’t do it, then we’re done.” 

Courtney believes that by refusing to collaborate with counterparts on the other side of the aisle, simply because of the party they’re affiliated with, politicians also exclude the constituency they are sworn to represent. Lost then is the ability to bring communities together. That unity is something Courtney is hopeful will return as Gen Z becomes more involved with politics and less concerned with conforming to labels like red or blue.