Democrat Party and Union Money Backs Javadi Post Party Switch as Republicans Go All-In On Sherman Campaign

Columbia / Tillamook County, OR. — Organized political groups are financing most of Oregon’s House District 32 race, with Democratic incumbent Cyrus Javadi drawing roughly three-quarters of his support from party organizations and labor groups, while two Republican-aligned PACs provide a similar share of challenger Max Sherman’s funding.

Both campaigns have reported more than $1 million in 2026 contributions, including cash, donated services and, for Sherman, loans. Named individual donors account for a small share of either campaign’s fundraising. Most identified contributions came from Oregon mailing addresses, although major institutional support flowed through organizations based outside the North Coast district.

The supplied account summaries put Sherman at $1,267,381.35 in total contributions and Javadi at $1,099,643.81. However, Sherman’s transaction export extends through October 21, while Javadi’s ends October 14. Restricting both files to transactions dated through October 14 reduces Sherman’s advantage to approximately $17,280.

Calendar-year 2026 account measure	Javadi	Sherman
Cash contributions	$401,114.90	$884,822.28
In-kind contributions	$698,528.91	$366,059.07
Loans received	$0	$16,500.00
Total contributions, including loans	$1,099,643.81	$1,267,381.35
Ending cash balance	$120,746.10	$23,102.04

Party switch reshapes the funding landscape

Javadi won the seat as a Republican before announcing on September 5, 2025, that he would seek reelection as a Democrat. In his explanation, he cited disagreements with Republican colleagues over health care funding, transportation and other policies, saying Democrats had been more willing to support his district’s priorities. Those were Javadi’s stated reasons for the switch.

The financial realignment is visible in the donor records. Bring Balance to Salem, which provided Javadi $238,616 in cash and in-kind support in 2024, is now Sherman’s largest contributor. Oregon Business & Industry Candidate PAC gave Javadi $30,000 in 2024 and Sherman $50,000 in 2026. ORLAPAC gave Javadi $38,199.77 in 2024 and Sherman $5,000 in 2026.

Those comparisons document changed financial relationships across election years. They do not establish that every previous supporter abandoned Javadi or that the party switch alone explains each organization’s decisions.

Javadi is now supported by organizations tied to Oregon’s governing majority. Democrats have held the governorship since 1987, the Senate majority since 2005 and the House majority continuously since 2013. They also controlled the House in 2007–2010, before a 30–30 split in 2011–2012.

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PAC and institutional support

Sherman’s two largest contributors, Bring Balance to Salem and Evergreen PAC, supplied a combined $983,641.42. That represents 77.6% of his total contributions including loans, or 78.6% excluding loans.

Bring Balance provided $683,754.79, comprising $560,000 in cash and $123,754.79 in-kind. Its cash support included three $150,000 contributions dated September 25, October 6 and October 13, followed by $90,000 on October 20. Its donated services included door-to-door canvassing and printed materials.

Founded by former Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, the PAC supports Republican legislative candidates. Its backing has included timber companies and major contributions from Nike co-founder Phil Knight, who contributed another $3 million in October 2025. The candidate records do not trace particular Sherman receipts to particular underlying PAC donors.

Evergreen, the House Republicans’ campaign committee, supplied $299,886.63: $121,000 in cash and $178,886.63 in-kind, including broadcast advertising and polling.

Sherman also received $50,000 from Oregon Business & Industry Candidate PAC, $31,026.03 from Oregon Right to Life PAC, $30,000 from Friends of Anna Scharf and $25,000 from the Committee to Elect Lucetta Elmer.

Other industry support included $10,000 each from the automobile dealers’ PAC and AGC Committee for Action, $5,000 each from the nursery industry’s PAC and ORLAPAC, and $3,000 each from Oregon Farm Bureau PAC and Oregon Forest Industries Council PAC. Oregon Business & Industry advocates for the private sector, while ORLAPAC represents restaurant and lodging interests.

Javadi’s largest contributor was Future PAC, House Builders, which provided $339,417.55 entirely in-kind. FuturePAC is the campaign arm of Oregon House Democrats. The Democratic Party of Oregon supplied another $115,885.43, also entirely in-kind.

Identifiable unions and union-affiliated political funds contributed an additional $381,017.29. Together with FuturePAC and the state Democratic Party, those sources supplied $836,320.27, or 76.1% of Javadi’s total contributions.

Major labor-related contributor to Javadi	Reported support
Citizen Action for Political Education, SEIU Local 503’s PAC	$95,950.00
Oregon Nurses Political Action Committee	$77,944.22
Local 48 Electricians PAC	$75,722.00
AFSCME and Oregon AFSCME Council 75, combined	$50,000.00
Oregon Laborers Political Action Committee	$40,000.00
OEA-PAC, Oregon Education Association	$22,222.00

Smaller union contributions bring the labor total above the amounts listed in the table. These organizations include both public-sector and private-sector labor interests; their contributions do not establish that they operate under common control.

The relationship with public-employee unions has policy significance. Oregon AFSCME explains that decisions by the governor and legislators affect its members’ wages, benefits and working conditions. Business groups supporting Sherman likewise have interests in taxation, regulation and public spending.

Javadi also received funding from health care employers and professional groups, including $36,222 from Oregon Health Care Association PAC, $25,000 from Oregon Hospital PAC and $12,500 from Dentists of Oregon PAC. The health care association represents long-term-care interests, while the hospital PAC represents hospitals and health systems. Oregon Trial Lawyers Association PAC gave $35,000, Friends of Ben Bowman gave $30,000 and Friends of Rob Nosse gave $19,500.

Institutional funding accounts for the largest flows from outside the district. Javadi received just over $1 million from nonindividual contributors listing Portland, Salem, Tualatin, Tigard or Wilsonville mailing addresses. Sherman’s two largest PACs listed Scappoose and Rainier addresses and operate as broader Republican campaign organizations.

A committee’s mailing address does not establish where its members, underlying donors or economic interests are located.

Out-of-state institutional contributors supplied Javadi $33,000, led by $25,000 from AFSCME and $5,000 from UFCW Active Ballot Fund, both listing Washington, D.C., addresses. Other contributors included Airbnb, CVS Pharmacy, Fresenius Care and Genentech.

Sherman received $9,000 from institutions listing out-of-state addresses, including $3,000 each from Koch GA Inc. in Kansas and Southwest Ditch Inc. in California; $1,000 each from Weyerhaeuser in Washington and American Property Casualty Insurance Association PAC in Illinois; and $500 each from Albertsons Companies in Arizona and Port Blakely US Forestry in Washington.

These direct receipts do not measure out-of-state money that may first have passed through Oregon-based PACs.

Some local economic interests supported both candidates. Tillamook County Creamery Association contributed $3,000 to Javadi and $2,000 to Sherman.

Individual donor support

Javadi had 76 named donors classified as individuals, contributing $34,801. Sherman had 50, contributing $22,552.98. Individuals supplied approximately 3.2% of Javadi’s total contributions and 1.8% of Sherman’s.

Grouping each individual’s cumulative 2026 cash and in-kind contributions shows where that support fell:

Total per named individual	Javadi: donors	Javadi: dollars	Sherman: donors	Sherman: dollars
$100 or less	9	$750.00	4	$375.00
More than $100 through $250	37	$8,051.00	21	$4,240.00
More than $250 through $500	17	$7,850.00	20	$8,626.98
More than $500 through $1,000	9	$8,650.00	3	$2,950.00
More than $1,000 through $5,000	4	$9,500.00	2	$6,361.00
More than $5,000	0	$0	0	$0

Javadi’s largest individual contributor was Judith Huck of Astoria at $3,500, followed by Eric Halperin of Gearhart at $2,500, Sharon Gibson of Nehalem at $2,000 and Beatrice Michel of Seaside at $1,500.

Sherman’s largest individual contributor was Patrick Nofield of Cannon Beach at $5,000, identified in the filing as a lodging company owner with Escape Lodging Company. Carol M Leuthold of Tillamook contributed $1,361. Andrew Bornstein of Astoria and Don Vollum of Portland each gave $1,000.

At least 24 of Javadi’s named individual donors listed communities clearly outside the district, contributing $8,326, or 23.9% of his itemized individual total. That included $5,201 from Portland addresses and $1,000 from Eugene, along with donations from other communities outside the district and out of state.

At least nine Sherman individual donors listed clearly out-of-district communities, contributing $4,150, or 18.4% of his itemized individual total. That included $2,000 from Portland addresses and $500 each from Corvallis, Lincoln City and Yuma, Arizona.

These are conservative mailing-address counts, rather than a complete address-by-address verification of legislative district residency. Remaining addresses have not all been certified as inside the district.

Five Javadi individual donors listed out-of-state addresses, contributing $1,225: $950 from Washington, $200 from California and $75 from New Mexico. That represented 3.5% of his itemized individual donations.

Sherman’s only named individual donor listing an out-of-state address was Diane Barnicle of Yuma, who gave $500, or 2.2% of his itemized individual total.

Across named institutional and individual contributors combined, direct support listing out-of-state addresses totaled $34,225 for Javadi and $9,500 for Sherman.

The individual figures exclude separately classified candidate and immediate-family support. Sherman received $6,785.28 in that category, including forgiven personal expenditures and excluding loans.

Both campaigns also reported pooled small contributions without donor identities: $12,196.94 for Javadi and $7,928.54 for Sherman, including cash and in-kind support. Those entries prevent a complete count of small donors, and fundraising totals alone do not measure voter support.

In-kind support and remaining cash

In-kind support accounted for approximately 64% of Javadi’s total contributions and 29% of Sherman’s. Such services also appear as expenditures, so adding contribution and expenditure totals together would double-count that support.

Javadi’s records contain six online-advertising entries valued at $22,222 or $22,222.22 from five committees: FuturePAC, the nurses’ PAC, Local 48 Electricians PAC, OEA-PAC and Oregon Health Care Association PAC. The nurses’ PAC reported two entries. Together, they totaled $133,332.22.

The repeated valuations raise a question about how advertising costs were allocated. The supplied records do not explain whether the entries reflect a shared vendor, a common service package or another arrangement.

Despite Sherman’s higher latest fundraising total, Javadi retained substantially more cash: $120,746.10 compared with $23,102.04. Javadi also reported $16,801.24 in outstanding personal expenditures; Sherman reported $7,500 in outstanding loans.

Sherman’s support is concentrated in a few large Republican-aligned committees, while Javadi’s is distributed across more organizations within the Democratic Party and labor network, alongside health care and professional interests. The filings document those financial relationships, but do not establish that contributions purchased particular votes or commitments.