U.S. House · District 4 candidate · U.S. Congress · November 3, 2026

Monique DeSpain

Retired Air Force colonel and attorney.

Campaign website (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Campaign photo · moniqueforcongress.com ↗

Reach the campaign

As published in their pamphlet statement and campaign site.

In their words

Said: Monique is running for Congress because we deserve leaders with commonsense solutions.

Voters’ pamphlet

Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 pamphlet; posted by the Secretary of State September 9, 2026; extracted September 21, 2026

Oregon voters’ pamphlet candidate statement · PDF page 17 ↗

Verbatim opening of the candidate's own statement; publication by the state does not verify the claims. Skipped before it: unpunctuated headings, an endorsement list lead-in and the labels “REAL LEADERSHIP. NOT A CAREER POLITICIAN.” (no predicate). The first sentence is exactly 12 words, so it stands alone.

The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.

What they say they would do

Our summary of their platform, in our words

Supports stronger border and criminal-law enforcement, expanded treatment capacity, faster housing development and active forest management.

Allow a one-time route to lawful status for long-settled, noncriminal undocumented residents who meet screening, tax and work requirements; distinguish this from automatic citizenship.
Expand treatment and recovery housing with measured outcomes.
Reduce construction barriers and support sustainable timber harvests.

Our reading

Our interpretation, not their words

Enforcement plus treatment
Regulatory relief

Her immigration plan pairs tighter enforcement with a one-time route to legal status, and her homelessness plan pairs camping enforcement with more treatment; both need money her tax and spending cuts would have to leave in place.

Oregon voters’ pamphlet candidate statement · PDF page 17 ↗DeSpain · priorities ↗

Where they stand

Housing and homelessness

Fewer building rules

What: Said: Would end permitting costs, building regulations, local codes and land-use restrictions she says stifle construction, with the federal government lifting housing restrictions and encouraging workforce housing.
How: Not in their sources
Measured by: Not in their sources

Public safety and immigration

Enforcement plus treatment

What: Said: Would expand shelter, treatment and recovery housing with measured outcomes, enforce laws against public camping and drug use, fund border security with barriers, sensors and staffing, remove noncitizens who commit serious crimes, and offer long-settled noncriminal residents a one-time earned path to lawful status.
How: Said: Deflection and diversion programs before the justice system, outcome-measured funding for homelessness programs, an all-of-the-above border toolkit, national employment verification, and a registration-and-background-check route to lawful status for long-settled residents.
Measured by: Said: Judge every homelessness program by whether people recover, become self-sufficient and return to stable housing, and stop funding those that do not; no numeric target or date is given.

Taxes, spending and your bills

Lower taxes, cut fraud

What: Said: Would cut regulations, fix permitting systems and reduce what she calls punitive taxation, end tax-and-spend policies she says fuel inflation and the national debt, and root out fraud and failed programs.
How: Not in their sources
Measured by: Not in their sources

Transportation, energy and climate

Active forest management

What: Said: Would restore active forest management with thinning, salvage and prescribed fire, rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule, require rapid fire suppression, and pursue an all-of-the-above energy strategy without bans or forced transitions.
How: Said: Thinning, sustainable-yield and salvage harvests, prescribed and tribal burning, road and evacuation-route maintenance, rapid initial attack by federal, state, tribal and private crews, and public comment already filed for rescinding the Roadless Rule.
Measured by: Said: Ending what she calls the smoke season; no acreage or date is given.

The choices this office faces

Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Monique DeSpain is on record on 3, with 5 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.

No answer we could find

Keep H.R. 1’s Medicaid work rules, six-month renewals and SNAP cuts, or repeal them?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Restore the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that expired December 31, 2025?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
End the tariffs and take tariff power back from the president?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Direct the president to end U.S. military involvement in the war with Iran?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Should federal policy rein in data centers’ power, water and cost impacts, or keep fast-tracking them?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.

On record

Fund the $70 billion expansion of ICE and Border Patrol through 2029 (the Secure America Act)?
Said: Would fund an all-of-the-above border toolkit of barriers, sensors and drones and remove noncitizens who commit serious crimes, with a one-time earned path for long-settled residents; she does not address the $70 billion ICE package.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Pass the Fix Our Forests Act: faster thinning and logging on federal forests with shorter windows to sue?
Said: Says she supported the Fix Our Forests Act from the beginning and has filed public comment backing rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule; wants thinning, salvage harvests and rapid fire suppression.
Expand the federal role in housing, from the new ROAD to Housing law to more vouchers and tax credits?
Said: Would have the federal government lift housing restrictions and encourage workforce housing, ending permitting costs and land-use rules she says stifle construction; she does not address vouchers or tax credits.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.

Compare every candidate

A question the evidence leaves open

Who would qualify for lawful status, and how would you fund treatment expansion while changing federal spending?

Sources (4)

DeSpain · prioritiesCandidate statement · Undated page; reviewed September 18, 2026
2026 qualified filing · RepublicanElection authority · Checked September 18, 2026
2026 qualified filing · LibertarianElection authority · Checked September 18, 2026
Oregon voters’ pamphlet candidate statement · PDF page 17Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 pamphlet; posted by the Secretary of State September 9, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.