Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, was a lead petitioner in the No Tax Oregon campaign, which blocked portions of a 2025 transportation law from taking effect. In this photo, he shakes hands with supporters at a campaign launch event for his bid for governor in the May 2026 primary. (Photo by Mia Maldonado/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey on Friday chided the chamber’s sole gubernatorial candidate, Republican Rep. Ed Diehl of Scio, for violating self-imposed House rules by collecting campaign donations during this year’s short legislative session.
In aletter of correctionsent to Diehl on Friday, the Eugene Democrat urged Diehl to return the money and refrain from accepting further contributions during the session, which must end by March 8.
But while Fahey said future violations of House rules will be “dealt with accordingly,” she acknowledged that there is some uncertainty around the rule’s legal viability. A Jan. 23 legalopinionlegislative attorneys have put forth suggested the rule violates free speech rights and would likely be struck down in court.
“The exact manner of enforcement of this has never been made an issue. It was well understood that the House members would not want to be engaged in conduct that might cause reasonable people to be suspicious of their motives for performing the duties of their office,” Fahey wrote on Friday. “Consequently, it has always been a matter of voluntary compliance. It appears that this agreement has been broken by you in this case.”
The letter marks the latest escalation in a dispute over fundraising limits House members imposed upon themselves. Chamber rules prohibit campaign fundraising “during a regular session or during the period between the organizational session and the regular session scheduled during the odd-numbered year.”
Though other Republicans have reported campaign contributions during the session, it does not appear they were officially reported to the House for doing so. The fundraising prohibition has not been subject to significant interpretation because violations have been conducted at limited levels or have not been reported to the House, according to Fahey.
But the Oregon Senate does not operate by such rules, a move that allowed former state representative and now state Sen. Christine Drazan, a Canby Republican and one of Diehl’s opponents, to avoid fundraising limits.
Diehl, a prominent social conservative who has gained traction for his role gathering signatures for Republicans’ anti-gas tax campaign, has openly flouted the rules. He has described them as disrespecting the will of the voters and publicly stated that he is weighing “all legal options” to respond to the rules. He told the Capital Chronicle on Friday that he was reviewing the letter and would have further comment later.
In her letter, Fahey asked Diehl to correct the record if reports on the state’s campaign finance records database are incorrect, pointing to contributions to Diehl’s political action committee such as a $500 donation on Feb. 7 and two separate $100 and $250 donations on Feb. 4, alongside multiple contributions under $100. The legislative session started Feb. 2.
“I understand there are opinions and arguments about the Constitutional implications of this particular House rule,” Fahey wrote. “Regardless, this prohibition has been an element of House Rules since 2007, and since then has been consistently observed as a standard of conduct that the members of the House have agreed to uphold.”
Pressed for an answer during a press conference last week, Fahey suggested she has a limited number of tools beyond a letter of correction. She called the House a “self-enforcing body” and compared the fundraising limitations to the agreements lawmakers in the chamber make to not swear during floor speeches or to wear professional attire.
“The first step is a letter,” she told reporters. “And then we’ll see what happens after that.”
It’s not the first time a House lawmaker has gone against the fundraising rules. In 2015, then state Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend,donated$12,000 to his own campaign and received a letter of correction. Campaign finance records indicate he did not continue the practice during the session after that single donation.
Both Drazan and Gov. Tina Kotek, the House’s minority leader and speaker of the House before they began their 2022 campaigns for governor, resigned from the House before the start of the 2022 session to focus on campaigning.
Oregon Public Broadcasting firstreportedon Diehl’s campaign contributions during the session.
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