Michael Kurtis Erickson (born January 27, 1963) is an American businessman and political candidate in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Erickson has been the Republican nominee for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

four times, losing each time: in Oregon's 6th congressional district in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, and in

Oregon's 5th congressional district Oregon's 5th congressional district stretches from the Southeast corner of Portland through the eastern half of the Willamette Valley and then reaches across the Cascades to take in Sisters and Bend. It includes a sliver of Multnomah County, ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Life and career

The son of a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

, Erickson attended

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

where he was a

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

and punter on Portland State's football team from 1985 to 1988, and ranks second on the school's list for

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

made with 32. Erickson earned a business degree from Portland State in 1987. After college, he started AFMS Logistics Management Group, which helps companies negotiate competitive shipping contracts. The company made '' Inc.'' magazine's list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the United States twice: in 2004, it was number 319 and in 2005, it was number 350.

Early political career

In 1988, Erickson was the Republican candidate for the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

seat representing Tigard, but lost to Democrat Tom Brian. In 1992, Erickson again ran for a different Oregon House seat in Southeast

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, losing to

Kate Brown Katherine Brown (born June 21, 1960) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 38th governor of Oregon from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms as the state representative from the 13th distr ...

. In

, Erickson was the Republican nominee for the

seat in

against incumbent Democrat Darlene Hooley, who defeated Erickson.

2008 congressional campaign

In 2008, Hooley announced her retirement from the House. Once again, Erickson ran for the Republican nomination, as did Republican opponent former gubernatorial candidate Kevin Mannix. In the closing weeks of the Republican primary, Mannix mailed 60,000 of his supporters copies of an email that alleged that in 2000, Erickson drove his pregnant girlfriend to a Portland

abortion clinic An abortion clinic or abortion provider is a medical facility that provides abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers, private medical practices or nonprofit organizations such as Planned Parenthood. Statistics Canada *There were ...

and paid for her to have an abortion. The author of the email, a friend of the

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

woman, originally sent the email in 2006 during Erickson's first congressional campaign, but had declined to give on-the-record interviews at that time. In May 2008, both women were interviewed by the ''

Portland Tribune The ''Portland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes a number of community newspapers in the Portland metropolitan area. Launched i ...

'' about the incident. Erickson denied the charges, stating that he drove a former girlfriend named Tawnya to a doctor's appointment and gave her $300, but did not know she was pregnant or had an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. In June, ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'' published a story based on claims from the woman herself, in which she described the event in more detail and provided photos, medical procedure and billing records. Erickson narrowly won the Republican nomination, but Mannix refused to endorse him in the general election, as did Oregon Right to Life. The two Oregon Republican members of Congress, Senator Gordon Smith and Congressman

Greg Walden Gregory Paul Walden (born January 10, 1957) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2021. He is a Republican Party (United States), Republican. Walden is the son of ...

, also declined to endorse Erickson. Erickson lost in the general election to Democrat Kurt Schrader.

2022 congressional campaign

On March 8, 2022, Erickson filed to run for Oregon's newly created 6th congressional district. He won the Republican primary election and faced Democratic nominee

Andrea Salinas Andrea Rose Salinas (born December 6, 1969) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023. Oregon's 6th congressional district includes all of Yamhill and Polk counties, the part of Marion County that includes ...

in the November 2022 general election. Erickson lost the November general election. Erickson has filed a defamation against

over her use of a political ad talking about his arrest in 2016. While the case was brought under a state law which could overturn the election result, Erickson's attorney stated in a December 2022 hearing that he wasn't currently seeking to prevent Salinas from taking office. The case is ongoing as of February 2024.

2024 congressional campaign

On January 31, 2024, Erickson announced a second run for the 6th district. He defeated three other candidates in the May 21, 2024, Republican primary and will face incumbent Andrea Salinas in the general election. Salinas defeated Erickson in the November general election.

Electoral history

References

External links

Campaign websiteAFMS Logistics Management Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, Mike 1963 births Businesspeople from Seattle Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Living people Oregon Republicans Politicians from Tigard, Oregon Politicians from Lake Oswego, Oregon Portland State Vikings football players Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections