The dark-money group Center Forward, which is buying the ads, has received millions from the pharmaceutical industry in recent years.
By David Moore, Sludge
Conservative House Democrat Kurt Schrader is getting a boost from Center Forward, a pharmaceutical industry-funded “dark money” group, in his competitive primary race against challenger Jamie McLeod-Skinner in Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District.
Center Forward reportedly plans to drop over $300,000 in the Bend, Oregon media market from March 25 through the Democratic U.S. House primary on May 17, according to a media monitoring service alert viewed by Sludge. The group is closely aligned with the Blue Dog Coalition, the moderate bloc that Rep. Schrader has co-chaired in the past, and now helps lead as the PAC chair.

The expenditure will be the largest outside spend in the primary to date when it is reported to the Federal Election Commission. In a comment to The Intercept, Schrader highlighted his cause fighting “dark money in politics,” but now is benefiting from a home-stretch ad blitz by a dark money group closely tied to him and other Blue Dogs.
Recent Posts
Let’s Fund Real Public Safety, Not ICE
September 3, 2025
Take Action Now We should be funding schools, health care, and education, not $50,000 signing bonuses for ICE agents.By Sonali Kolhatkar,…
The DNC’s Dark Money Hypocrisy Was On Full Display In Minneapolis
September 3, 2025
Take Action Now Party leaders decried secret political influence while lobbyists worked the room to kill a Gaza resolutionBy Nadia B. Ahmad…
Buttigieg Has A Flip-Flop Problem That Could Hurt In 2028
September 2, 2025
Take Action Now Buttigieg, appearing on “Pod Save America,” avoided taking a position on whether the U.S. should continue with shipping arms to…
Support For Labor Unions Near Historic High As Trump Trashes Working Class
September 2, 2025
Take Action Now “Working people want unions and the numbers prove it,” says one labor leader. “While billionaires and their yes-men…