Portland, Oregon

Maine state Rep. Grayson Lookner argues in an opinion piece that rising visible homelessness in cities like Portland stems from decades-old policy failures, tracing roots to Reagan-era deinstitutionalization that closed asylums without building adequate community housing and treatment supports. He cites the pandemic-era federal Emergency Rental Assistance program as proof that solutions work, noting it kept people housed and reduced visible homelessness before expiring. Lookner contrasts Maine's roughly $400 million annual spending on jails and prisons, which he says function as de facto homelessness and mental health providers, with inadequate funding for eviction prevention. With federal action absent, he calls on the state to fund alternative housing and treatment systems at a comparable scale.

Maine's Senate race between five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins and Democratic state Senate President Troy Jackson has become a referendum on Collins herself, with polls showing a tight contest. Jackson, a logger-turned-legislator who entered the race after primary winner Graham Platner withdrew amid sexual assault allegations he denies, has hammered Collins over economic anxieties, heating costs, and a ProPublica report on a past FBI bribery inquiry she denies wrongdoing in. Collins has leaned on her record steering federal funding to Maine and warns her seniority loss would hurt the state. A debate exchange over road-salt tariff exemptions went viral, encapsulating the race's focus on her decades-long incumbency rather than Jackson's own candidacy.

Portland's City Council voted 8-4 to join the Oregon Arena Joint Authority, a state-mandated body overseeing a potential renovation of the Moda Center alongside representatives from Oregon and the county. The joint authority will oversee construction and future capital improvements, a requirement tied to the state bill that set aside renovation funding. Some councilors objected to speculative budget-impact language and limited council representation among the city's three appointees; an amendment to strike that language failed. Council President Jaime Dunphy said the city still needs a finalized budget, clear lease terms, labor standards, and a community benefits agreement before final funding action. Councilors unanimously approved the city administrator, a building official, and a budget office representative as appointees.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned in Portland, Maine, for Democrat Troy Jackson, who is challenging Sen. Susan Collins in one of the midterms' most closely watched Senate races. Jackson, a logger from rural northern Maine, entered the race after Graham Platner's campaign collapsed amid sexual assault allegations. Ocasio-Cortez praised Jackson's willingness to campaign alongside a progressive New York lawmaker in a politically different state, and touted policies including Medicare for All and abortion and transgender rights. Jackson addressed concerns from Mainers wary of progressive politics, drawing on his own working-class upbringing. Democrats need to flip Maine and several other GOP-held seats to retake Senate control.

Montana Republican congressional candidate Aaron Flint, a retired lieutenant colonel and fifth-generation Montanan, has sharpened his attacks on Democratic opponent Sam Forstag ahead of the race for the state's U.S. House seat. Speaking on Breitbart News Saturday, Flint called Forstag "an absolute phony," citing his past work as a lobbyist for the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and the cities of Missoula and Bozeman, where he supported higher property taxes and a state sales tax. Flint also criticized Forstag's past LGBTQ advocacy work and ties to progressive figures. Flint framed the contest as part of a broader Democratic push, backed by national money, to flip traditionally conservative districts, predicting Republicans will retain House control despite the effort.

The Department of Justice has sued St. Paul, Minnesota, and Portland, Oregon, over city ordinances barring federal law enforcement officers — including ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents — from concealing their faces while on duty and requiring agency and name identification on their uniforms. The lawsuits argue the measures violate the Constitution's Supremacy Clause by unconstitutionally regulating federal officers and endangering officer safety and federal operations. These filings bring the DOJ's total challenges against such state and local laws to 11, including a recent suit against Denver.

Named defendants in the St. Paul case include the city, Mayor Kaohly Her, the St. Paul Police Department, Chief Axel Henry, and City Attorney Irene Kao. St. Paul's mask ban, passed in February, followed the end of the Trump administration's Minnesota immigration enforcement surge and came weeks after a masked ICE agent fatally shot U.S. citizen Renée Good in Minneapolis. Violations are misdemeanors in St. Paul, while Portland's ordinance, proposed in September 2025, allows civil enforcement. At least eight states and nine localities have enacted similar restrictions nationwide.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson met for their final debate before the final stretch of the Maine Senate race, this one hosted by Maine Public and The Portland Herald. Jackson again sought to tie Collins to President Trump's agenda, pointing to her vote advancing Trump's tax and spending bill despite her later opposition to the final version. Collins countered that she sides with Trump roughly 72 percent of the time, not the higher figures Jackson cited, and touted her votes to confirm three Democratic-nominated Supreme Court justices and her unsuccessful effort to block Pete Hegseth's confirmation as defense secretary. The Iran war remained contentious, with Jackson arguing Collins failed to use her Appropriations Committee chairmanship to cut off funding, while Collins defended her War Powers votes and said Congress should have been consulted.

A notable moment came when Jackson, who had pledged to reject billionaire and corporate PAC money, admitted receiving billionaire donations and $15,000 from oil and pharmaceutical interests, which he said he donated to charity. Collins also criticized his delayed financial disclosure. A protester briefly interrupted over AI data center concerns.