Incumbent District Attorney Mike Schmidt was elected in 2020 with 77% of the vote, despite his opponent receiving the incumbents endorsement. Schmidt was appointed by governor Kate Brown to start his term earlier than expected in order to replace Rod Underhill, who retired in the middle of his term.
Schmidt, who has announced his intention to run for reelection, has been a controversial District Attorney. He is considered a progressive, and famously refused to prosecute people who were arrested for participating in the George Floyd protests that began in early May of 2023 unless there was "deliberate property damage, theft, or threat of force." By August 11 of that year, the office only prosecuted 47 felonies out of 550 referred protest cases.[2]
