Brett Smith (Oregon)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Brett Smith

Independent Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Personal

Profession

Entrepreneur

Contact

Campaign website

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Brett Smith (Independent Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Oregon's 5th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Brett Smith's career experience includes working as an entrepreneur.

Elections

2024

See also: Oregon's 5th Congressional District election, 2024

Oregon's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 21 Republican primary)

Oregon's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 21 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Oregon District 5

Janelle Bynum defeated incumbent Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Brett Smith, Sonja Feintech, and Andrea Townsend in the general election for U.S. House Oregon District 5 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Janelle Bynum (D)	47.7	191,365
		Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R)	45.0	180,420
		Brett Smith (Independent Party)	4.7	18,665
		Sonja Feintech (L)	1.5	6,193
	Submit photo	Andrea Townsend (Pacific Green Party)	1.0	4,155
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	495

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 401,293
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Andrew Aasen (No Party Affiliation)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 5

Janelle Bynum defeated Jamie McLeod-Skinner in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 5 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Janelle Bynum	69.4	55,473
		Jamie McLeod-Skinner	29.9	23,905
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	510

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 79,888
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Kevin Easton (D)
• Lynn Peterson (D)
• Cameron Pahl (D)
• Matthew Davie (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 5

Incumbent Lori Chavez-DeRemer advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 5 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lori Chavez-DeRemer	98.2	54,458
		Other/Write-in votes	1.8	1,009

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 55,467
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Smith in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brett Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smith's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Who am I. . . Well, I can puff up my chest and tell you about my inventions and the patents I hold, or the children's book my wife and I made. I can play to your sympathies and tell you my tragic back story and the obstacles I have had to overcome. Maybe talk about building natural gas compressors and being a pipe fitter and a welder, try and relate to my blue-collar brothers.

       That stuff may be true, but that's not me. Not really.

Every positive thing I have ever done. Every accomplishment, no matter how minor. Has come from a position of caring. My ambitions and goals, from learning a trade, getting a better job, inventing things. . . Running for congress.

      Every time I try and every time I try again. Has always been because I cared enough to. I care about my family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. I care because the world doesn't. I care because I have been cold, and hungry, afraid and vulnerable. I care because I have looked in the mirror and found myself lacking and the only reason, I could go on is because someone else cared for me. 

I hope that gives you an idea. I hope you care enough to participate in this mess we call America. We have to put in the work. Whatever comes next will be our fault if we don't.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am an inventor. I hold several US patents. I am currently working on a system that can incapacitate an active shooter. Not addressing the mass murder of children in our schools is insane to me. I am a gun owner I am pro 2A. The willingness of the Democrats and Republicans to let American children die for social clout is disgusting and anti American. It is 2024 it's well past time to act like it.
• They are just fundraising and this district is just a prize to be won. They do not care and they are incapable of helping in any meaningful way. The RNC and DNC are private corporations and they will never put the needs of the people above their own. Never.
• I will put in the work. I have the skillsets and temperament to either: A. Support Donald Trump or Kamala Harris build this country up. Or: B. Stand against either, if they try to continue to tear it down. I am beholden to the American people and the American people only.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Modernization. There are people leading this country who have never been taught about DNA in school. AI and modern technology are light years beyond legislation. I am done living in the past.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Watch Erin Brockovich. Then look up what actually happened and realize that only a small potion of people were compensated and an actual line on a map determined if you could afford medical bills or go die in a ditch. Also PG&E still profited.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, Integrity, Accountability, and the ability to reason

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Representation (we built an entire nation for this reason), Stewardship (we have to allow our future generations to thrive), Protection (you are an arbiter for the people.)

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Space Cowboy (I was 5)

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The ability to be truly representative of the people. In theory.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Not the House, how can you represent the general populous in you are not of the general populous. Senate and Presidency I believe experience would be beneficial.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Stopping the blatant corruption of the two major parties. Their continued existence depends on the continued fracturing of this nation.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

Sure

What are your thoughts on term limits?

The current state of our government is a more compelling argument for term limits that I could ever make.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

No

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

Yeah. "This one time I couldn't afford to eat" and "I can't afford a doctor"

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

necessary

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

This gives the House the ability to tackle bloat and government waste.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

With transparency and without partisanship

What committees interest you?

Science, Space, and Technology, Oversight and Accountability, Ethics

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I feel like this question shouldn't make me laugh out loud.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Smith’s campaign website stated the following:

“	This is my pledge to you I will not use your vote to send our children to foreign wars and commit genocide. I will not use your vote to get into congress and manipulate our financial systems for personal gain. I will not use your vote to allow corporate or foreign interests to poison our land, water and air. I will not use your vote to subjugate our citizens with rules and laws that our political leaders are exempt from. I will not put any political party above the health, safety, security or well-being of this nation or its citizens. I will stand against these things as I stand with you. I will represent you. This is the bare minimum. The absolute least you should expect from your elected officials.	”
—Brett Smith’s campaign website (2024)

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Brett Smith campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Oregon District 5	Lost general	$8,727	$7,907
Grand total			$8,727	$7,907
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

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Candidate

U.S. House Oregon District 5

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Footnotes

[show]

Oregon's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jeff Merkley (D)

Ron Wyden (D)

Representatives

District 1

Suzanne Bonamici (D)

District 2

Cliff Bentz (R)

District 3

Maxine Dexter (D)

District 4

Val Hoyle (D)

District 5

Janelle Bynum (D)

District 6

Andrea Salinas (D)

Democratic Party (7)

Republican Party (1)