In a year when they'll have the added burden of running under the banner of President Donald Trump, Oregon's vastly outnumbered Republicans have to pick their spots.

It appears that's what they are doing—with a slew of new, separate issue-specific political action committees.

A few of the names emerging in recent months in state election filings: "No Supermajorities PAC," "Yes, Keep Our Groceries Tax Free" and "More Housing Now."

Their opponents are mystified.
"There are definitely more new PACs than in previous years," says Ben Unger, executive director of Our Oregon, the umbrella organization for public employee unions and other progressive groups. "I'm not sure why."

On one hand, things have rarely looked bleaker for Oregon Republicans: Democrats outnumber them by 260,000, which is about 10 percent of all registered voters in the state. That's a historically large margin and one that typically grows in an election year. On the other hand, Republicans elected a conservative from rural Oregon—Secretary of State Dennis Richardson—and handily defeated the massive tax proposal Measure 97 in 2016.
State Rep. Julie Parrish (R-West Linn), who helped Richardson win, says the increase in PAC activity is a sign that Republicans anticipate a shift in electoral dynamics: a weakened opposition vulnerable to targeted expenditures.
Related: State Rep. Julie Parrish is Oregon's most potent populist.
Parrish and others expect the U.S. Supreme Court to weaken public employee unions in a pending decision on whether all public employees associated with unions must pay dues.
"There's sort of a ramp-up piece getting ready for that," Parrish says. "I think people are understanding that the political landscape of Oregon is about to change."
Allen Alley, a former GOP nominee for state treasurer and governor, takes a different view. Alley, chairman of the state Republican Party from 2011 to 2013, says it's difficult for the state party or Oregon Republican candidates to separate themselves from the national brand.
"It's like being a local franchisee for McDonald's," Alley says.
He says the rise of new PACs is an effort to focus on areas of agreement.
"When you pick an individual issue like fixing the Public Employees Retirement System, the only thing you have to agree on is that one narrow thing and that's that," Alley says. "I think that's what's driving a lot of it."

A narrow focus is evident in Yes, Keep Our Groceries Tax Free, which has raised $1.73 million since October to support a constitutional amendment prohibiting any form of taxation on any part of grocery transactions.
The specific threat the measure would address is a long-planned Multnomah County soda tax, with the added benefit of creating a permanent defense against a statewide sales tax.
The More Housing Now PAC has raised $125,000 in the past month, all from two California developers. The PAC's two contributions—$10,000 to state Sen. Rod Monroe (D-Portland) and $2,000 to Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem)—suggest the PAC will play defense against tenant-friendly legislation that progressive Democrats favor.
All of the new, targeted PACs have raised more money this year than the House GOP caucus' main PAC, Promote Oregon Leadership. Historically, donors seeking to influence legislation or shift the balance of power in Salem would pile into caucus PACs, which focus on electing candidates.
But with House Republicans currently outnumbered 35 to 25 and having to defend seats in Hood River and Bend, where Democrats have a registration advantage, there's little chance of reducing Democrats' majority this year. In fact, the No Supermajorities PAC exists solely to stop House Democrats from winning a 36th seat or Senate Democrats from extending their majority to 18 to 12.
That's important to Republicans because with a supermajority—three-fifths in each chamber—Democrats can raise taxes on a simple party-line vote. Unfortunately for the GOP, the No Supermajorities PAC is proving a lot less attractive than more-focused PACs: Since its founding in November, it's raised just $38,000.