Jane Fonda rallies Salem canvassers for Senate candidate Virginia Stapleton
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Actor and activist Jane Fonda visited Salem on Oct. 16 for a canvassing event supporting Virginia Stapleton, the Democratic candidate for Oregon Senate District 11.
Fonda's Jane Fonda Climate PAC endorsed Stapleton and gave her campaign $5,000, according to filings reported by the Statesman Journal.
Fonda urged volunteers to "create community, stick together, rally together" ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
She went on to host a canvass kickoff in southeast Portland on Oct. 18.
Two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda made a surprise stop in Salem last week, joining local Democrats at a canvassing event for Virginia Stapleton, who is running for Oregon Senate District 11, the Statesman Journal reported.
Stapleton told the Statesman Journal her team applied for Fonda's endorsement several months ago. About a week before the Oct. 16 event, Fonda's team reached out to ask whether Fonda could come in person. Stapleton and campaign manager Sabbath Rain kept the visit a surprise, and Stapleton said the crowd "went wild."
"She just linked arms with me and walked in with me and was asking me about the race, how it was going out in the field," Stapleton said.
What she said
In her speech, Fonda, 88, told volunteers: "We haven't seen the worst of what's going to happen here and we don't know what's going to happen after the election. One of the things that we've learned from Minneapolis and St. Paul is create community, stick together, rally together."
Other candidates at the event included Rep. Lesly Muñoz, D-Woodburn; Michael Welsh, who is running for Oregon House District 12; and Sara Duncan and Maria Hinojos Pressey, Democratic nominees for the Marion County Board of Commissioners.
Stapleton said the visit gave her volunteers a lift heading into the final weeks. "The folks in the room were just really encouraged and motivated, and activated to go out and canvass and talk to voters," she said.
Fonda's Oregon role
Fonda's Jane Fonda Climate PAC, which she created in 2022 to help elect climate-focused state and local candidates, has given $96,121 to Oregon Democratic candidates this year, according to Oregon Secretary of State records cited by the Statesman Journal. That includes Stapleton's $5,000. Fonda has also given $15,000 to Gov. Tina Kotek's campaign since 2022 and endorsed Kotek's reelection, along with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Myrna Muñoz's bid for Senate District 15.
After Salem, Fonda hosted a canvass kickoff in southeast Portland on Oct. 18. Election Day is Nov. 3.
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