SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Republican senator who once led Oregon’s GOP party, blaming pandemic safety measures, Democratic senators and even members of his own party, has suddenly resigned.
And, at least for now, the stormy political career of Senator Dallas Hurd, a congressman from rural Southwest Oregon, will come to an end on January 1, midway through his four-year term. It will go into effect on Thursday, it said.
Hurd publicly called fellow lawmakers ‘idiots’ Once escorted from the Oregon Senate floor for refusing to wear a maskHe said he would wear a mask if asked, but objected to being ordered to do so.
The Republican party’s disappointing results in the November election may have influenced Hurd’s decision, but he said he was resigning because he wanted to devote his time to his children.
During a demonstration by former President Donald Trump supporters outside the Oregon State Capitol on January 6, 2021, Heard pointed to the building and yelled through a megaphone: Fool in 2022.
But in November, Democratic candidate and former House Speaker Tina Kotek He defeated Republican candidate Christine Drazan by 3.5 points. Democrats also retained control of Oregon’s House and Senate.
In a note on Thursday, Hurd expressed disappointment at the low turnout of conservative voters.
“We have lost this state and nation because collectively we are doing very little to put up a good fight,” Hurd wrote. “We have to do better than this to have a chance.”
In March, Hurd stepped down as chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, saying “communist psychological warfare tactics” were being used within his own party.
Last year, Heard showed up at his district’s high school intending to give a speech on basic individual rights. He was approached by the school’s resource officer and told to leave, local newspaper News Review reported..
Without sharing a specific example, Heard said on Thursday, “Across the country, we have seen a growing and growing movement of evil determined to separate the hearts and minds of children from their parents.” .
The county commissioner for the Heard District in southwestern Oregon plans to select a replacement to complete his term ending in January 2025.
When asked for comment on his resignation, a spokesperson for Senate Republican leader Tim Knopp forwarded a statement in which Knopp thanked Heard for his achievements.
Oregon Rep. David Brock Smith, a Republican from southwest Oregon, said Friday he would like to succeed Heard. I heard he endorsed Smith in a joint statement.