Representative Greg Walden

Gregory Paul Walden (born January 10, 1957) is an American politician and former broadcaster who served as the U.S. representative for Oregon’s 2nd congressional district from January 3, 1999, to January 3, 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented a vast, largely rural district in eastern and central Oregon for 11 consecutive terms, participating actively in the legislative process during a significant period in recent American history. Over the course of his career in public office, he rose into the House Republican leadership, chaired key party campaign operations, and played a prominent role on telecommunications and energy policy.

Walden was born in The Dalles, Oregon, to Elizabeth (née McEwen) and Paul E. Walden. His father served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives, giving Greg Walden early exposure to politics and public service. He grew up in the Columbia River Gorge region and later made his home in Hood River, Oregon, a community that would remain central to his personal and political life. Walden developed an early interest in communications and broadcasting, which would shape both his private-sector career and his later committee work in Congress.

Walden attended the University of Oregon, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1981. While in college and afterward, he became involved in radio, gaining practical experience that led to his ownership and management of radio stations. He ultimately owned and ran Columbia Gorge Broadcasting, which operated several stations in the eastern Columbia River Gorge. On January 31, 2007, while serving in Congress, Walden sold Columbia Gorge Broadcasting to Bicoastal Columbia River LLC in order to avoid potential conflicts of interest between his broadcasting business and his congressional duties. Outside of politics and business, Walden was a licensed amateur (ham) radio operator, known by the call sign W7EQI, reflecting his longstanding engagement with communications technology.

Walden’s political career began as a congressional staffer. From 1981 to 1987, he served as press secretary and later chief of staff to Congressman Denny Smith of Oregon, gaining experience in federal legislative operations and political communications. He entered elective office in his own right in 1988, when he was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. Walden served in the state House until 1995, when he was appointed to the Oregon State Senate to fill a vacancy created when Wes Cooley was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In the Oregon Senate, Walden rose to the position of assistant majority leader and was considered a potential candidate for governor in 1994. He ultimately decided not to run for governor or seek reelection to the state senate after he and his wife, Mylene, learned that the son they were expecting had a serious heart defect; their son died soon after birth, a personal tragedy that influenced his decision to step back from statewide political ambitions at that time.

In the mid-1990s, Walden remained active in Republican politics. He was tapped as campaign manager for Congressman Wes Cooley’s reelection bid, but when Cooley was later found to have misrepresented his military service, Walden joined other Republicans in calling on Cooley to withdraw from the race. Walden went so far as to announce an independent candidacy for the 2nd District seat, while emphasizing his “strong Republican credentials” and making clear he would serve as a Republican if elected. His prospective candidacy raised concerns that a split in the Republican vote could allow Democrats to capture a seat they had not held since 1981. The situation was resolved when Cooley’s predecessor, Bob Smith, was persuaded to come out of retirement and run again. During this period, Walden also served as Oregon chairman for Senator Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign, further solidifying his standing within the state and national Republican Party.

When Bob Smith chose not to run for reelection in 1998, Walden ran as a Republican for Oregon’s 2nd congressional district and easily won both the primary and the general election. He took office on January 3, 1999. The 2nd district, which includes his hometown of Hood River and communities such as Ashland, contains some liberal-leaning areas but is predominantly conservative and heavily Republican. Walden was reelected ten times without serious difficulty, never receiving less than 60 percent of the vote except in 2018, when he was reelected with 56 percent. His electoral record included victories over Democrat Peter Buckley in 2002, Democratic nominee Carol Voisin in 2006, and Democrat Noah Lemas and Pacific Green candidate Tristin Mock in 2008, when he won a sixth term with 70 percent of the vote. After Senator Gordon Smith’s defeat in the 2008 elections, Walden became the only Republican representing Oregon in Congress, underscoring his prominence in the state’s GOP.

During his congressional service, Walden developed particular expertise in telecommunications, technology, and energy policy. He served on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, including the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, where he was chairman, and the Subcommittee on Energy and Power. At Republican leadership’s request, he temporarily gave up his seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee from 2010 to 2011 so that Parker Griffith, who had recently switched parties to become a Republican, could take his spot. Walden founded the Small Brewers Caucus and the Digital Television Caucus and, as of 2007, was a member of 39 congressional caucuses. He was also associated with the centrist Republican Main Street Partnership, the Congressional Cement Caucus, and the Congressional Western Caucus, reflecting his interest in both business-oriented and Western land and resource issues.

Walden introduced and supported a range of legislation, much of it focused on communications policy and issues important to his Oregon district. His Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act (H.R. 2640, 113th Congress) addressed land use and water allocation related to the Crooked River Project and Bowman Dam near Prineville, Oregon, modifying project features and prioritizing water allocation; President Barack Obama signed the bill into law in December 2014. He sponsored the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2013 (H.R. 3675, 113th Congress), which sought to increase transparency and public input in FCC rulemaking. Walden argued that Americans deserved greater transparency and accountability from their government, citing a controversial proposed FCC study of newspaper editorial decision-making as an example of the need for reform and warning that such a study threatened free speech and freedom of the press. He also introduced the Hermiston Reversionary Interest Release Act (H.R. 3366, 113th Congress), which would have released the federal government’s interest in land used by Oregon State University’s Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Hermiston to allow relocation without triggering a reversion of the land to federal ownership; the Bureau of Land Management opposed the bill, and it died in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. In addition, he sponsored the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014 (H.R. 4572), dealing with the regulation of satellite broadcasting.

Within the House Republican leadership, Walden held several influential posts. House Speaker John Boehner selected him to chair the House Majority Transition Committee, and he served as chairman of the House Republican leadership through most of 2010. After the 2012 elections, Walden became chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House GOP’s campaign arm. In July 2014, he announced that he would seek a second term as NRCC chair, arguing that continuity in campaign leadership would benefit Republicans following the defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. He served the traditional two-term limit as NRCC chair, concluding his tenure in 2016. During his time in leadership, Walden was involved in strategy and candidate recruitment efforts that shaped the Republican conference during a period of shifting national political dynamics.

Walden’s congressional career also intersected with high-profile issues affecting his district and national politics. His district office included the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the site of an armed occupation in 2016. After law enforcement action ended the occupation, Walden stated that “we can all be grateful that today has ended peacefully, and that this situation is finally over. Now, life in Harney County can begin to return to normal and the community can begin the long process of healing.” At the same time, he criticized what he viewed as poor federal forest and land management policies and called for a more cooperative relationship between federal agencies and rural communities. On June 27, 2018, he publicly urged a presidential pardon for Dwight and Steven Hammond, ranchers from his district who had been convicted of arson on federal land and had a long history of conflict with federal refuge workers. Walden cited the original trial judge, Michael Robert Hogan, who had said that the mandatory minimum sentence would “shock the conscious [sic].” On July 10, 2018, President Donald Trump pardoned both men, commuting their sentences to time served.

During the Trump administration, Walden at times diverged from the president on specific policy matters while generally supporting the Republican agenda. He opposed Trump’s efforts to finance a border wall through certain means and supported sanctions on Russia despite the president’s resistance. Walden voted to end the 35-day federal government shutdown and spoke publicly about the seriousness of the global warming crisis, reflecting a pragmatic approach on some issues. At the same time, he supported Trump during the controversy over the president’s dealings with Ukraine, often referred to as the Ukraine “quid pro quo” scandal. On October 28, 2019, Walden announced that he would not seek reelection in 2020, signaling the end of his 22-year tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives. He left office on January 3, 2021, after 11 terms, having been a central figure in Oregon Republican politics and in House GOP leadership.

In his personal life, Walden and his wife, Mylene, reside in Hood River, Oregon, with their son Anthony. They have been active in local civic organizations, including the Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce, maintaining close ties to their community throughout his years in public office. Walden is an Episcopalian. After leaving Congress, he continued to engage in public policy and advocacy. He became a board member of American Edge, a lobbying organization representing technology industry interests. In 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that Walden had been hired by Mindbloom, a telemedicine-based ketamine-assisted therapy company, to lobby on telehealth policies, reflecting his ongoing involvement in issues at the intersection of technology, health care, and regulation.