Joe Biden was elected in November of 2020 as the 46th President of the United States. He won the state of Oregon with 56% of the vote. Biden's history of campaigning in the Beaver state goes back much farther than most might think. Many people can remember him campaigning during the Obama years for Jeff Merkley and John Kitzhaber and most recently for Tina Kotek. What few probably know is that Joe Biden has been visiting Oregon for politics since the late 1970s.
In this post we will document his various visits to Oregon over the years from his earliest to the most recent. If there are items from any of these events we will be sure to let you know too! Also if there is a visit we have missed, please let us know so we can update.
April 1, 1978
The first known visit was in 1978 to the Democratic Party of Oregon Platform Convention. He was the keynote speaker at the dinner held in Springfield, Oregon. The Rodeway Inn hosted the convention and the 600 some delegates attending from various counties across Oregon. Biden was booked as 'the youngest person ever elected to the US Senate'. The dinner cost Delegates and others $10 to attend. Oregon Democratic Party Chair Jim Klonoski said at the time "[Biden] will be a candidate for the presidency within 20 years". Below is the article from the Albany Democrat-Herald covering his remarks.
October 22, 1980
The next known trip to Oregon by Joe Biden was in the final stretch of the 1980 campaign. Biden would come stump for Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Ted Kulongoski in Salem and Corvallis. The future governor of Oregon would face off against current Senator Bob Packwood. Biden was a member of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) that by the time of his visit to the state had contributed over 67,000 dollars to Kulongoski's campaign. Kulongoski would go on to lose against Packwood in November.
I have a signed press photo from this event that Vice President Biden signed for me at party in 2019 in Portland. Biden spoke at the home of Senator Cliff Trow in Corvallis on the same trip
October 22, 1986
Congressman Les AuCoin is running for re-election in Oregon's 1st Congressional District in a high profile race against State Senator Tony Meeker. Senator Joe Biden visited to campaign for his friend AuCoin at a special birthday bash held at Catlin Gable School. AuCoin would win re-election to Congress that year.
This was a moment when Joe Biden was preparing to enter the 1988 presidential campaign. Many of his campaign stops involved the media commenting on the possibility of a Biden campaign.
October 17-18, 1992
Joe Biden was the keynote speaker at the annual Democratic Party of Oregon Wayne Morse Dinner. While it was important for the keynote speaker to raise up presidential nominee Bill Clinton, Biden spent a large part of his comments talking up U.S. Senate nominee Les AuCoin who was running in a neck & neck race against incumbent Bob Packwood.
The day after the dinner Biden joined AuCoin for a press conference to call out the lack of progress Packwood and Republicans had made on crime issues.
July 8, 2010
After being elected Vice President in 2008, Joe Biden made a campaign stop for Oregon Congressman Kurt Schrader at the Tiffany Center in Portland.
Oct. 8, 2014
Joe Biden came to Oregon during the fall of 2014 to campaign for U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley who was in a tight race with Republican challenger Monica Wheby.
It was this trip that Biden made his famous stop at Ice Cream shop Salt & Straw.
Nov 30, 2017
Joe Biden's first visit to Oregon after finishing his term as Vice President was in November of 2017 on his national book tour.
Oct. 14-15, 2022
Joe Biden stumps for Kotek and Oregon Democrats at SEIU Headquarters
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