In early September, volunteers at the Democratic Party鈥檚 Medford office say they found fliers glued to their windows depicting presidential candidate Kamala Harris as a camel.
Party Chairman David Sours, who called the fliers racist, said he isn鈥檛 blaming any person or party but takes the act seriously.
鈥淚 don't think it was a prank,鈥� said Sours. 鈥淚 think it was somebody letting us know, 鈥榃e're aware that you're here, and you might want to watch your back.鈥� That's how I took it.鈥�
Sours said his office also gets up to four reports of stolen Democratic candidate yard signs per day. Recently, they found a pile of discarded signs in a ditch. He said it鈥檚 a troubling trend.
鈥淭o say tension is elevated in this election is an understatement,鈥� Sours said . 鈥淏ut that doesn't mean we can't take a breath, pause and collect our senses. We have choices about how we respond when we get caught up and we get tense.鈥�
He said two incident reports were filed with the Medford Police Department related to the fliers and missing signs.
Jackson County Republican Party Chairman Randell Embertson condemned any vandalism or theft directed against political rivals.
鈥淲e hope people behave themselves and voice their opinions with their words in community debate and dialog rather than harming property,鈥� Emberston said.
He said he鈥檚 also noticed an increase in reports of missing Republican candidate signs compared to the last election. His party鈥檚 Medford office has been vandalized multiple times in the past, including having its windows broken in 2019.
But Emberston said, overall, the political culture in Southern Oregon is relatively respectful.
鈥淲e do live in a good community,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 noticed that people are more actually wanting to get together in a civil way, have fun and listen to some music and also discuss differences and where they might be able to meet in the middle.鈥�
He said that willingness for dialogue has also increased this election season.
