A recent campaign fundraising text message from Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read alarmed some recipients because of its urgent tone.
While campaigns often set fundraising goals to encourage people to donate, Read’s text prompted several people who received the message over the weekend to reach out to The Oregonian/OregonLive with concerns that it may be a scam. People are often urged to be wary of unsolicited messages that create a sense of urgency and prompt recipients to click unfamiliar links.
The text message from Read said his campaign was aiming to raise $25,000 within the next 72 hours and asked recipients if they would “rush a donation right now to defend Oregon, protect our elections, and have my back?” It then included a link that recipients could click to donate.
A spokesperson for Read’s campaign confirmed Monday that the text message was legitimate and said Read was raising money so he “can communicate directly with Oregonians about what is at risk” as he fights back against the Trump administration’s attempts to compel Oregon to turn over detailed information about each of the state’s voters.
“We have asked our team to review the text and make clarifications and review all the links,” spokesperson Melanny Abrego said in an email. “The text takes potential contributors to his campaign website and donors are asked to use ActBlue to make any contributions. It’s wise for individuals to carefully review fundraising requests so we are glad to see that people are using their discretion.”
Abrego said the campaign would “also review future messages with an eye towards providing supporters with additional assurances about the text’s legitimacy.”
Read was elected to a four-year term as secretary of state in 2024.
Jamie Goldberg is the co-politics and education editor at The Oregonian. She manages a team of politics and education reporters covering the city of Portland, Multnomah County, homelessness, state government,… more
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