Alex Spenser, a writer and political campaign strategist from Klamath Falls, is the Democratic candidate for the 2nd Congressional District.

Spenser’s political role in the past has been behind the scenes. She coached Jamie McLeod-Skinner, the CD2 Democratic nominee in 2018, on public speaking and debates. Spenser had signed on as 2020 campaign manager for Raz Mason of The Dalles.

When Mason dropped out before the primary for personal reasons, Spenser jumped in and ran herself. She won the May 19 primary with 32.1% of the vote, outpacing her nearest challenger, Central Point business consultant Nick Heuertz, by 797 votes.

A native of Dallas, Texas, Spenser earned an associate degree in biology from Richland College in Dallas and studied English at Texas A&M University in College Station. She moved west, working at Lava Beds National Monument and Death Valley National Park.

Spenser has lived in Klamath Falls for 10 years. A single mom, she has homeschooled her daughter to the fifth grade.

Spenser says she wants to go to Congress to help unify the country after four years of divisiveness under President Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress.

“We need a path to unity,” Spenser said in a statement for the 2020 Voters Pamphlet.

The coronavirus pandemic that has killed over 212,000 Americans this year has upended the way lawmakers should approach their jobs, Spenser said.

“The ‘COVID-19 Revolution’ that has been thrust upon us has left us needing leadership-leaders willing to stay in the room and do the hard work of communication,” she said.

Spenser said the pandemic has shown the need for universal health care so that all Americans can get treatment for the virus, not just those able to use influence or money to get top doctors and medicines.

“We need health care as a matter of good government infrastructure,” she said. “Just as good government ensures our roads and bridges are safe.”

Spenser has also campaigned on ensuring an equitable distribution of clean water for families, irrigation and wildlife.

She believes in “common sense gun responsibility” that will build safeguards for the storage and transportation of firearms and increase safety instruction while protecting gun ownership rights.

Spenser advocates improving and seismic retrofitting for highways and bridges to ensure they can withstand a possible 9.0 earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the coast of Oregon.

She supports building a high-speed rail system both as a way to improve the state’s economy and create a “relief valve” for movement other than by car in the event of an earthquake.

Spenser knows she has an uphill fight on her hands. Republicans have a 50,000 voter registration edge on Democrats. The district gave Donald Trump 57% of its votes in 2016 — he received 39% statewide.

McLeod-Skinner, the 2018 Democratic nominee, was able to crisscross the state, visiting communities in one of the largest districts in Congress. With COVID-19, that’s not an option for Spenser.

Spenser holds a “virtual town hall” every Thursday at noon using the online meeting website Zoom. The Zoom app for computers and cellphones can be found at Zoom.us. Anyone can join Spenser’s meetings and ask questions or get more information. The Zoom meeting ID is 901-379-3861.

Also on the CD2 ballot on Nov. 3 is Robert Werch, a registered nurse from Grants Pass, the Libertarian party nominee.

Spenser’s website is spenser2020.com.

“We need health care as a matter of good government infrastructure. Just as good government ensures our roads and bridges are safe.”

—Alex Spenser, Democratic candidate for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District