Oregon — A recent Facebook post from Representative Cyrus Javadi criticized the Republican legislative majority in D.C. for abusing power and blaming the current minority Democrats has drawn attention not only for its timing but also for its irony.
“When you’re the majority, you have the power, and with power comes responsibility,” Javadi wrote Thursday. “Blaming the minority for not accepting your terms isn’t leadership. It’s like a bully who throws the first punch and then claims the other kid ‘made him do it.’”
Javadi went on to criticize continuing resolutions and the failure to reach bipartisan budget deals. “It’s been three years of continuing resolutions. Three years without a budget both sides could agree on. And now, just two months before ACA subsidies expire, millions of people are about to lose health insurance.”
The post continues, “No one is obligated to rubber stamp another CR. Legislators can vote yes or no, that’s democracy. Republicans could also draft a CR that compromises, one that could get the 60 votes needed. They haven’t. They could also authorize the reserves to fund food stamps tomorrow, without a single Democratic vote. But they don’t.”
He drew contrast with the current government shutdown in D.C. and previous situations in Oregon where Republicans staged walk-outs to deny the Democrat majority quorum and the ability to hold a vote. In his October 28 post, Javadi drew a bright line between “voting no” and “refusing to show up at all,”. He has maintained consistency in messaging as in a post from August 8, 2025 he criticized Texas Democrats for using the walkout strategy to deny the Republican majority the ability to hold a vote.
The most recent walkout in Oregon in 2023 shutdown the legislature for weeks and effectively stopped dozens of bills from going through. It also precipitated voter-approved Measure 113, which now bars legislators with too many unexcused absences from seeking reelection, and resulted in multiple Republican Senators not being eligible for reelection following a decision from the Oregon Supreme Court related to Measure 113.
At the same time, Javadi is at odds with Oregon political history as Democrats utilized walkouts in 1971, 1995, and 2001. Oregon Democrats also supported the recent walkout in the Texas legislature, which drew criticism as deeply hypocritical after they put substantial support behind Measure 113 following the Republican walkout. While it seems Oregon voters were ready to change this practice, Oregon does have an established bipartisan history of the minority party using walkouts when they’ve felt they’re being unfairly pushed around by the majority.
This contrast raises the question of whether Javadi’s post chiding those in power for forcing terms on a minority aligns more with the arguments Oregon Democrats once dismissed as obstructionism, the frustration of voters who approved Measure 113, or is playing to the choir of his new party affiliation. “Three years of continuing resolutions” may sound like a complaint from the minority benches, but Javadi is now seated firmly with the party that controls both chambers and the Governor’s office. A party which the minority Republicans have repeatedly cast as bullying them for not accepting their terms.
Christian Honl who is contending in the Republican Primary, with retired teacher Max Sherman, and aiming to ultimately challenge Javadi in the general election provided the following written statement regarding Javadi’s recent position on the federal shutdown.
“Representative Javadi is casting blame on Washington D.C. because he doesn’t want to take ownership for the unaffordable $4.3 Billion tax and fee bill that he ensured passed out of the legislature. He’s right that voting is his basic duty, and he chose to use his vote to make the lives of North Coast working families even less affordable. It’s our basic duty to vote him out of office, and I’m eager to take this case to the voters next year.”
From critic of majority control to member of it
Only weeks ago, Javadi once a Republican voice for fiscal restraint stunned Oregon’s North Coast by announcing he was switching parties to become a Democrat. His new affiliation gave the state’s long dominant Democratic majority another seat in Salem and set off waves of political upheaval.
As Right Now Oregon reported previously, Javadi’s decision “transformed Oregon’s North Coast House District 32 race, prompting a strong GOP challenge from Astoria community advocate Christian Honl.” Javadi, a Tillamook dentist first elected in 2022, claimed his “convictions hadn’t changed, only [his] party had.”
“Had enough? I have,” he wrote at the time. “I didn’t run for office to chant slogans or toe a party line.”
Yet, since joining the Democrats, Javadi has aligned with Governor Tina Kotek on several key initiatives, including her transportation funding package that raised gas, payroll, and vehicle registration taxes. A piece of legislation billed by the Governor as needed to address “an imminent threat to the safety, health and welfare of Oregonians” but which has sat on her desk unsigned for a month. Javdi’s vote proved decisive, helping push the controversial measure across the finish line and triggering intense backlash from conservatives who saw it as a betrayal.
Political stakes on the coast
The political fallout from his defection is already reshaping the race in District 32, which covers Clatsop, Tillamook, and parts of Columbia counties. Current registration data show 16,419 Democrats to 14,029 Republicans, a slim but meaningful Democratic edge in a district that has swung both ways in recent cycles.
Javadi won his last election by just 1,717 votes, a margin of under 5 percent. His new Democratic alignment now leaves him vulnerable to challenges from both sides, while no other candidates have filed to challenge Javadi in the Democratic Primary it would not be surprising to see a primary contest from more progressive elements. The general election may well see a revitalized push from Republicans, as many Republican voters have expressed feeling betrayed by Javadi’s party switch.
Christian Honl echoed that sentiment as he announced his candidacy, calling Javadi’s switch “a betrayal” of coastal voters. “Our current state representative has chosen to trust those who created this mess and not the people who put him in office,” Honl said.
The irony of the moment
For longtime observers of Salem politics, Javadi’s post carries a certain irony, a former Republican now criticizing the misuse of power by a legislative majority, directly after switching to a majority party which has long faced criticism from the minority for abusing power. A majority which resoundingly supported Texas Democrats using walkouts after decrying the same action when done by Oregon Republicans.
Whether Javadi’s appeal to “responsibility” and other recent policy positions signal genuine frustration or a recalibration for his new party base remains to be seen and judged by voters. But on Oregon’s North Coast, where voters seem weary of political gamesmanship, Javadi’s words may prove a test of whether voters take his statements on face as focusing on policy over party, or decide he’s playing the same game he claims to stand apart from.
Editor’s Note: RNO reached out to Representative Javadi but had not received comment as of the time of publishing the article.
About the Author
