Oregon just ranked 42nd in the nation as a place to live.
Now Democrats are furious that someone is pointing it out.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis flew into Hillsboro last weekend and Oregon Democrats melted down over what he said about their state.
Democrats Protest a Man Whose State Beats Theirs by 32 Spots
DeSantis headlined the Oregon Republican Party's Reagan Dinner alongside gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan.
The Latino Network Action Fund and the Democrat Party of Oregon rushed to hold a counter-rally.
Oregon Democrat Party Chair Nathan Soltz delivered the protest's defining moment.
"Trump's values, DeSantis' values, are not Oregon values," Soltz declared.
Oregon Republican Party Chair Connie Whelchel had the perfect answer.
https://twitter.com/davidmedinapdx/status/2104605414788874377?s=20
She called the protesters "partisan extremists" for condemning a governor whose state ranks 10th best in the nation – while Oregon sits at 42nd.
That's not spin.
Consumer Affairs confirmed it this year – Oregon ranked 42nd out of 50 states, dragged down by a high cost of living, above-average crime, and an affordability crisis that has people packing up and leaving.
Florida ranked in the top 10.
The protesters apparently didn't check those numbers before showing up.
“This was an inspirational evening for Oregon Republicans,” Whelchel said. “We were honored to welcome Governor DeSantis to Oregon and grateful to hear directly from a governor leading a state that is producing impressive results in a number of important areas. With a critical election just weeks away, it was exciting to see a sold-out room filled with Republicans who are energized, optimistic, and ready for the work ahead.”
What Tina Kotek Has Built Over Four Decades of Democrat Control
Drazan – the former Oregon House Republican Leader who came within three points of ending the state's 40-year Democrat stranglehold on the governorship in 2022 – launched her rematch campaign with one question for Oregon voters.
"Our governor may be in charge, but her state is out of control," she told workers in Portland last October. "So we have to stop and ask ourselves – why, despite all of this, are people leaving?"
https://twitter.com/davidmedinapdx/status/2103979858179338492?s=20
It's a legitimate question.
Under four decades of Democrat rule, Portland became the national symbol for everything Democrats claim they oppose – skyrocketing homelessness, open drug use, crime surging through neighborhoods that used to be safe, and housing costs that have priced working Oregonians out of their own communities.
Governor Tina Kotek now carries one of the highest disapproval ratings of any sitting governor in the country.
Her opponents aren't saying that.
Oregon Republicans are saying it.
The Math Democrats Don't Want You to See
Here's what the rally organizers didn't mention when they showed up in Hillsboro to call DeSantis' values un-Oregonian.
Florida has no state income tax.
Oregon's top marginal income tax rate is 9.9 percent.
Florida's crime rate is falling.
Portland had one of its worst homicide years on record under Democrat leadership.
People are moving to Florida.
People are leaving Oregon.
When DeSantis walked into that Reagan Dinner, he wasn't just fundraising for Drazan.
He was a living exhibit of what conservative governance actually produces – and Oregon Democrats know it.
Drazan has spent her career fighting Democrat supermajorities in Salem that have blocked serious reform.
https://twitter.com/Oregon_GOP/status/2100089015903113281?s=20
She led Republican walkouts to deny quorums – the only tool the minority had against a majority that steamrolled the state's biggest policy failures into law.
Now she's running for governor in a state where voters are finally running out of patience with the party that promised to fix everything and delivered 42nd place.
Oregon hasn't elected a Republican governor since 1986.
If Drazan wins in November, it ends one of the longest single-party gubernatorial streaks in the country – and DeSantis just flew across the country to help make it happen.
Democrats showed up in Hillsboro to protest a man whose state is thriving while theirs is hemorrhaging residents.
That's not a protest.
That's a confession.
Sources:
- Fox 12 Staff, "Oregon Democrats condemn Drazan's appearance with Florida Gov. DeSantis at Hillsboro dinner," KPTV, September 27, 2026.
- Consumer Affairs Research Team, "Best and Worst States to Move to in 2026," Consumer Affairs, 2026.
- Shaanth Nanguneri, "Republican Christine Drazan mounts 2026 bid for Oregon governor," Oregon Capital Chronicle, October 27, 2025.
- Monique DeSpain Campaign, "Val Hoyle Endorsed By Most Disliked Governor in the Country," moniqueforcongress.com, July 8, 2026.
