Portland’s 2024 election made history with its first ranked-choice and district-based City Council race, ushering in a council that is more diverse than ever.

Meanwhile, Oregon’s 5th Congressional District flipped, electing the state’s first Black Congresswoman. At the state level, Democrats expanded their legislative majorities, while Republicans gained control of Congress and the presidency.

What explains these shifts? Was Portland’s election an outlier, or part of a broader national trend?

City Club hosted a conversation exploring the factors that shaped voter decisions in 2024. Oregonian reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh moderated a panel featuring Republican strategist Bryan Iverson, former legislator Charlie Conrad, Democratic strategist Annie Ellison, and political analyst Kari Chisholm.

Watch the recording to hear them tackle important questions, including:

• Did Portland’s new election system impact representation?
• What led to Oregon’s 5th Congressional District flipping?
• Why did local, state, and federal results diverge so sharply?
• What broader trends can we learn from?

About the panelists:

Bryan Iverson

Bryan Iverson is owner and chief strategist of Iverson Media in Prineville. He has worked on presidential, gubernatorial, congressional, and legislative campaigns. He served on the Prineville-Crook County Chamber of Commerce, the Crooked River Roundup board, and the Economic Development for Central Oregon board.

Kari Chisholm

Kari Chisholm is cofounder and partner of Swift Public Affairs and previously president of Mandate Media, both political consulting firms based in Portland. He has been a senior advisor to both of Oregon’s current US Senators and an adjunct faculty member of the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.

Annie Ellison

Annie Ellison is former Executive Director of Emerge Oregon, which recruits and trains Democratic women to enter politics. She also served as communications director for Mayor Ted Wheeler’s first Mayoral campaign. Nationally, she has worked with Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Charlie Conrad

Charlie Conrad recently was Republican State Representative for District 12 in Eastern Lane County, initially as Republican and then with the Independent Party. He has served as research coordinator for the League of Oregon Cities, at Lane County Corrections, and on the advisory committee of the Lane County Planning Commission.

Thank you to our season sponsors, AARP Oregon and Chevron, for their generous support of City Club programs.

City Club of Portland relies on organizational sponsors to help underwrite the cost of bringing our programming to our members and the public. As a nonpartisan, impartial forum for civic dialogue, City Club accepts sponsorships from a wide spectrum of organizations. Our policies prevent sponsors from influencing the content of our programming. We are deeply grateful to all who support our events and research.