‘Squad’ Democrat Pramila Jayapal’s sister expected to enter House race for Oregon seat

Susheela Jayapal is expected to launch her bid for Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District after Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) announced Monday that he would not seek reelection in 2024.

Jayapal, a Multnomah County commissioner, is the sister of Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), one of the “Squad” Democrats in the lower chamber. Susheela Jayapal will announce her campaign for Blumenauer’s seat soon, multiple sources told the Oregonian.

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No Democrats have filed for the seat, but the May Democratic primary will be one of the 2024 House races to watch in Oregon. Cook Political Report rates Blumenauer’s seat as a deep lean toward Democrats, making it almost certain that it will remain in Democratic hands next November. For comparison, Blumenauer received 70% of the vote in his reelection bid in the 2022 midterm election.

Blumenauer sits on the Ways and Means Committee and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which is led by Jayapal. It is possible Susheela Jayapal would join the same caucus if she were to enter the race, as she campaigns on many of the same principles.

Susheela Jayapal appears to share her sister’s sentiments when it comes to the war in the Middle East. While the Multnomah County commissioners voted down a resolution on Oct. 13 to make a joint statement and light up a local bridge to support Israel, Susheela Jayapal and other commissioners released their own statements. The bridge in question was later lit up in Israel blue and white after Commissioner Chairwoman Jessica Vega Pederson used her executive authority to light it for five nights.

“I don’t actually have the words to express my horror on Hamas’s attack on Israel. It was and continues to be shocking and appalling in its violence and magnitude, and my heart breaks for the people across Israel and Palestine,” Susheela Jayapal said via KCBY. “No single statement can capture the complexities of the region’s history and current situation. What is clear is this: All people deserve to live in peace, safety, and freedom.”

Congresswoman Jayapal and other “Squad” Democrats voted present on a resolution offering support to Israel in its war against Hamas. Like many of her progressive allies in the House, Pramila Jayapal said in a statement that she condemns the “terrorist attack” on Israel but also condemns Israel’s “refusal” to allow humanitarian aid for Palestinians.

“I am voting present to be clear that while I still condemn Hamas’s attacks and the pain and suffering of the Jewish people everywhere, I also condemn the violations of international humanitarian law by Israel and the pain and suffering of Palestinian people everywhere that are not recognized anywhere in this resolution,” congresswoman Jayapal said on Oct. 25.

Susheela Jayapal also joined a majority of her fellow Multnomah County commissioners in approving a $62 million surplus in tax dollars to go toward homelessness. The money is set to be used for emergency homeless shelters, outdoor villages, drug detox centers, day shelters, and housing reserved for people exiting substance abuse treatment recovery programs, per Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Susheela Jayapal has lived in Multnomah County for 25 years after immigrating to the United States when she was 16 to attend college. She studied economics and earned her law degree at the University of Chicago Law School. She worked at a law firm that provided free legal services to those seeking political asylum in the U.S., according to her staff biography.

She has served as a board member for Planned Parenthood and All Hands Raised, an education-based equity organization.

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Blumenauer is leaving the House after nearly three decades. He has represented Portland at the state and local levels before rising to the U.S. House in 1996 to replace now-Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) in 1996.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Susheela Jayapal and congresswoman Jayapal for comment.