Sen. Ron Wyden addresses mail-in voting, ‘another Trump fable’ and more in KOIN 6 interview

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has a lot to say regarding recent developments in mail-in voting, redistricting, as well as where rural Oregonians stand on potential fallout from Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

For one, the president announced on Monday his intention to sign an executive order that would eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

In a sit-down interview with KOIN 6 News, Wyden – the first Democratic Senator elected by mail in 1996 – called Trump’s intention “preposterous” and claimed the President decided to double down on this stance against mail-in voting after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.

“What Donald Trump is trying to do is play to his far right base,” Wyden said. “They’ve often said when they can’t win an election, the problem is vote by mail. But we’ve had Democrats, we’ve had Republicans, we’ve had people all across the political spectrum say that this is a good thing for democracy.”

In an interview with Newsmax’s “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE” on Thursday, Higbie asked Donald Trump Jr. about the president joining law enforcement and the National Guard in patrolling Washington, D.C. He then went on to state, “Maybe we should roll out the tour to Portland, Seattle, the other of what we call craphole cities of the country.”

Wyden called the comments toward Portland not only unwarranted, but “another Trump fable.”

“When you land at our airport, you are landing at the best airport in the United States. We have, for example, it’s a hot day. We’ve got pools in the parks. You can go for a shady walk out through the forest,” he said. “We’re a community that’s good for families, good for people, and certainly we deserve high praise, rather than those kinds of comments.”

Given recent efforts to redraw congressional lines in both California and Texas, some are now calling for Oregon to join in the redistricting fight. To that, Sen. Wyden says already “Oregon got it right.”

“You ought to pick up again when you want solutions that make sense from our state,” he said. “How we did it, we basically said we’re going to get Democrats and Republicans together. There was one district where there were some challenges, but we got it right. It got cleared by the courts. Really, reapportionment is about two things. It’s about math and it’s about fairness. And Oregon got it right.”

Further, new numbers show Democrats falling behind in voter registrations since 2020, while polls have shown the party has its lowest approval ratings in decades. In spite of these numbers, Sen. Wyden says the party’s current actions will ultimately speak louder than statistics.

“I tell everybody the best politics is doing good policy and that’s what we’re working on. We’re working for secure rural schools, we’re working to hold down the cost of prescription medicine, we’re working on the issues where the second word is ‘bill,'” he noted. “I think those kinds of issues, when you talk about them, and particularly taken on the President’s tariffs, which raised the cost for small businesses and individuals. “Those are the issues that, when the real polls count in 2026, we’re going to do just fine.”

Sen. Wyden and Oregon’s Democratic caucus also continue to speak out against looming cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, as a result of President Trump’s implementation of the “Big, beautiful bill.” Wyden has been all over the state holding town halls these last few weeks, predominantly in rural Oregon, where he says – even in an area where Trump received more than 70% of the vote – “you will find lots of support” for efforts to hold back the bill.

Now, Wyden said close to 70% of Americans are against the “big, beautiful bill,” because “they find out what’s really in it.”

“There wasn’t any need to cut Medicaid by a trillion dollars. There were plenty of things that could be done in a bipartisan way,” he noted. “For example, Mike Crapo, the Republican senator from Idaho, he and I have reined in prescription medicine by going after these pharmaceutical benefit managers, the middle men. Those are the kinds of things that the public wants to hear.”

He continued, “And when I go out to those areas where Donald Trump got 70% of the vote, my views with respect to these issues connect.”