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Maxine Dexter
Maxine Dexter
Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives; from Oregon's 3rd district
	Assuming office; January 3, 2025
Succeeding	Earl Blumenauer
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives; from the 33rd district
	In office; June 14, 2020 – August 30, 2024
Preceded by	Mitch Greenlick
Succeeded by	Shannon Jones Isadore
Personal details
Born	Maxine Elizabeth Johnson; December 5, 1972 (age 52); Bothell, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of Washington (BA, MD)
	Maxine Dexter's voice Dexter in an interview before the 2020 Oregon House of Representatives election; Recorded April 20, 2020

Maxine Elizabeth Dexter (née Johnson, born December 5, 1972) is an American physician and politician who served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2020 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, she was appointed in June 2020 after the death of Mitch Greenlick. She formerly represented the 33rd district, which covers the Northwest District and Northwest Heights of Portland, as well as Cedar Mill, Oak Hills, and most of Bethany.

On November 5, 2024, Dexter was elected to the United States House of Representatives representing Oregon's 3rd district.^[1]

Early life and medical career

Dexter grew up in Bothell, Washington, and graduated from Inglemoor High School. She received her bachelor's degree in political science and communication from the University of Washington, and her Doctor of Medicine from that university's School of Medicine.^[2]

Dexter served her medical residency in Aurora, Colorado, and moved to Portland with her husband in 2008. She works as a pulmonologist with Kaiser Permanente in Hillsboro.^[3] In 2023, it was reported that she would continue to work part-time at Kaiser Permanente as a pulmonologist and critical care medicine specialist during her congressional run.^[4]

Oregon House of Representatives

Dexter ran to succeed Mitch Greenlick as representative for the 33rd district in the Oregon House of Representatives in the 2020 election. Dexter said she was inspired to run for office following the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation hearing, during which Christine Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, which he forcefully denied.^[5]

She won the Democratic primary to succeed Greenlick on May 17, 2020, with 40% of the vote, defeating three other candidates, including Christina Stephenson.^[6] Greenlick died on May 15, so Dexter was appointed to finish out his term a month later.^[7] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dexter treated patients with the disease, and wrote a letter urging Oregon Governor Kate Brown to close Oregon schools in April 2020.^[8] She was reelected in the 2022 election. On July 31, 2024, Dexter announced she would resign from the legislature to focus on her campaign for Congress, effective August 30.^[9]

Tenure

As a representative, Dexter introduced a bill expanding access to the opioid antidote medication naloxone, allowing first responders to distribute the drug to members of the general public, and decriminalizing fentanyl test strips.^[10] The bill was signed into law on August 8.^[11]

In 2023, Dexter served as chair of the House Housing and Homelessness Committee in the legislature. She was credited with helping to pass a $200 million spending bill on housing and homelessness issues.^[4]

2024 congressional candidacy

On December 5, 2023, Dexter announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Oregon's 3rd congressional district to succeed retiring Representative Earl Blumenauer.^[12] Dexter stated in an interview that she planned to run for Congress since she was 20.^[4]

In the primary, she faced opposition from former Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal and Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales. She was the top recipient of independent expenditure spending in the primary, with 314 Action spending about $2.2 million in total on independent expenditures in support of her campaign.^[13]^[14] She received endorsements from politicians including Dan Rayfield, who served as speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2022 to 2024.^[15] She was also endorsed by The Oregonian and the Willamette Week.^[16] Dexter ultimately won the Democratic primary.^[17]

On November 5, 2024, Dexter defeated Republican nominee Joanna Harbour in the general election.^[1]

Political positions

Dexter supports the transition to a single-payer health care system. She also supports greater protections for employees, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increased money for public housing, and stricter gun control.^[5] Dexter opposes efforts to condition U.S. aid to Israel amid the ongoing Israel–Hamas war but supports a negotiated cease-fire and delivery of humanitarian aid.^[16]

Electoral history

2020 Oregon State Representative, 33rd district^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maxine E Dexter	33,707	75.6
	Republican	Dick Courter	10,796	24.2
	Write-in		59	0.1
Total votes			44,562	100%

2022 Oregon State Representative, 33rd district^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maxine E Dexter	26,154	84.8
	Republican	Stan Baumhofer	4,651	15.1
	Write-in		30	0.1
Total votes			30,835	100%

2024 Oregon's 3rd congressional district Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maxine Dexter	46,689	47.39
	Democratic	Susheela Jayapal	32,300	32.78
	Democratic	Eddy Morales	13,162	13.36
	Democratic	Michael Jonas	2,317	2.35
	Democratic	Nolan Bylenga	2,099	2.13
	Democratic	Rachel Lydia Rand	834	0.85
	Democratic	Ricardo Barajas	624	0.63
Total votes			98,529	100.0

2024 US House of Representatives, Oregon's 3rd congressional district^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Maxine E Dexter	226,405	67.7
	Republican	Joanna Harbour	84,344	25.2
	Independent	David W Walker	10,245	3.1
	Pacific Green	Joe Meyer	10,106	3.0
	Constitution	David K Frosch	2,459	0.7
	Write-in		810	0.2
Total votes			334,369	100%