Oregon Republicans have finally had enough of Rep. Cyrus Javadi — and this week, the mask came all the way off. After months of voting with Democrats on nearly every major issue, the coastal legislator made it official: he’s ditching the GOP, joining the Democratic Party, and running as a full-blown liberal in 2026. For many conservatives in Salem, it’s not a surprise. It’s simply confirmation of what they’ve been watching for months: a Republican In Name Only turning into a Democrat in fact.
Javadi, a dentist by trade, tried to spin his defection as noble. “Being an elected leader has never been about party loyalty to me,” he said. “It’s about how I can best fight for our community and our state.” But voters know better — and so do his former Republican colleagues. His “switch,” they say, didn’t happen this week. It happened last session, when he began voting like a progressive activist instead of the Republican voters thought they were electing.
The most blatant examples came fast and furious. Javadi backed a bill that protects controversial, sexually explicit school library books from removal — aligning himself squarely with far-left activists who want gender ideology and graphic content in classrooms. He also proudly supported a resolution honoring Black drag performers, after Republicans refused to give the fringe measure legitimacy by even appearing for the vote.
But the final straw came this week, when Javadi became the lone Republican to support Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek’s massive package of tax increases and fee hikes. The bill — a gift to Oregon’s bloated bureaucracy — would have died without Javadi’s vote. Instead, he rescued it, delivering the Democrat governor yet another win while saddling Oregonians with higher costs in the middle of an affordability crisis.
Javadi even admitted that his vote likely cost him any chance of winning reelection as a Republican. And he was right. Furious constituents had already launched a recall effort, and several Republicans were preparing to primary him. Switching parties was his only path to political survival — especially in House District 32, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 2,000 voters. And conveniently, Javadi has already been working with FuturePAC, the Democrats’ campaign arm.
On his Substack, Javadi played the victim, insisting his GOP colleagues called him “vile,” a “traitor,” and even a “criminal.” But Republicans say the anger stemmed not from personal disagreements, but from Javadi’s pattern of siding with Democrats on expanding Medicaid taxes, protecting obscene library content, and rubber-stamping progressive social agendas.
His justification? The tired old line every defector uses: “I didn’t leave the party — the party left me.” Voters aren’t buying it.
House Republicans responded quickly through Evergreen PAC, making clear that Javadi’s abandonment only strengthens their resolve to fight for lower taxes, real school improvement, safer streets, and policies that serve working Oregonians — not the Portland political machine.
In the end, Cyrus Javadi didn’t just switch parties. He confirmed exactly what Oregon conservatives have been saying for months: when the pressure hit, he chose the Democrats’ priorities over the North Coast’s values.
And now, voters will get the final say.
