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

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. He was the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in Oregon's 6th congressional district in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

. Previously, Erickson was the Republican nominee for

Oregon's 5th congressional district Oregon's 5th congressional district represents Oregon's central coast through Salem, north to the southern Portland suburbs – including a sliver of Portland itself – and east to the summit of Mount Hood. It includes Lincoln, Mari ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

(losing to incumbent

Darlene Hooley Darlene Kay Olson Hooley (born April 4, 1939) is an American politician and former Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon who represented the state's . A high school teacher by profession, she served as a city coun ...

) and in 2008 (losing to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Kurt Schrader Walter Kurt Schrader (born October 19, 1951) is an American politician and veterinarian serving as the U.S. representative for since 2009. His district covered most of Oregon's central coast, plus Salem, and many of Portland's southern suburb ...

Life and career

The son of a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

, Erickson attended

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. 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 following two decades ...

where he was a

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

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. The entire ba ...

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. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

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 largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, losing to

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

. In

, Erickson was the Republican nominee for the

seat in

against incumbent Democrat

, 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 Kevin Leese Mannix (born November 26, 1949) is an American politician, business attorney, and former chairman of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Oregon. Mannix has served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, as a Demo ...

. 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 Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...

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 develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

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 in ...

'' 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 termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

. 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 U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' published a story based on claims from the woman herself, in which she described the event in more detail. 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 Gordon Smith may refer to: In politics *Gordon H. Smith (born 1952), former U.S. Senator from Oregon, and current Area Authority for the LDS Church * Gordon Elsworth Smith (1918–2005), Canadian politician * Gordon Smith (academic) (1927–2009), ...

and Congressman

Greg Walden Gregory Paul Walden (born January 10, 1957) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2021. He is a Republican. Walden is the son of three-term Oregon State Representative Paul E. Walden. In October 2019 ...

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

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 in the November 2022 general election. Erickson lost the November general election. Erickson has filed a defamation against Andrea Salinas over her use of a political ad talking about his arrest in 2016. On Thursday December 1, 2022, the judge overseeing the case allowed the case to continue. This is significant because this case cites Oregon Revised Statute 260.532, which could overturn the election results. Erickson's attorney has stated that Erickson isn't currently seeking to bar Andrea Salinas from her elected office at this time.

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