AI twist on attack ads stirs partisan debate in Deschutes county commission race

A candidate running for a Deschutes County Commission seat is going big with negative ads that blend reality with AI.

With the general election less than five weeks away, a provocative billboard campaign by Rob Imhoff, a Republican-backed candidate for the county board, is gaining attention.

His campaign is using billboards that tower over heavily-trafficked streets in Bend.

The billboards combine AI imagery with real photographs. One features a photo plucked from the social media account of Imhoff’s Democratic-backed opponent, Morgan Schmidt.

Set against a black background, the ad’s white text states Imhoff is “pro-police.” Schmidt is pictured donning a gas mask and helmet at a 2020 protest against immigration arrests in the city, alongside a disconnected protest sign reading: “ICE OUT OF BEND.”

The image of Schmidt is real, but the ad discloses using AI. Another billboard relies more heavily on the technology, showing a fake newspaper called The Deschutes Chronicle with Schmidt’s name in a headline about higher taxes.

The negative campaign points to the weight of national talking points in a local nonpartisan race on the midterm ballot. The outcome could tip the balance of political power in one of Oregon’s fastest-growing regions.

County commissioners have little sway over law enforcement, and none over federal immigration tactics. State law limits their ability to raise property taxes above a cap that Deschutes County has already hit without voter approval. Commissioners do control the county’s purse strings, deciding how to allocate the county’s $440 million budget to a number of critical departments, including the sheriff’s office and public health. And they make decisions about zoning and land use to determine what gets built outside of city borders.

Imhoff said his ads show Schmidt is an activist, and that’s important for voters to know.

“It’s supposed to be provocative,” Imhoff said, adding that he thinks elected officials should be aware of what their presence at protests can mean.

“I just want her to be accountable,” Imhoff said. “And these are just pictures that show that. And it flies in the face, for me, of what my position is with law enforcement, which is that I support law enforcement.”

Related: Contentious district map heads to Deschutes County voters in November

Imhoff is a small business owner and sub-contractor. He first ran for a seat on the board in 2024.

The images of Schmidt were not AI-generated, she confirmed. They were captured at a 2020 protest in Bend when hundreds of protesters surrounded buses holding two men, who Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had taken into custody earlier that day. The standoff lasted for 12 hours, and it ended when U.S. Border Patrol agents used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

Schmidt said she doesn’t mind being depicted as an activist.

“My opponent is welcome to attack me about my decision to peacefully protest,” she said. “I’m the sort of county commissioner that is ready to stand up, especially now to federal overreach and make sure that we are protecting democracy as we can here at home.”

Schmidt is the executive director of the Central and Eastern Oregon chapter of the Red Cross. She came within a percentage point of winning a seat on the board in 2022.

The online response to the billboard on social media was swift, with one Reddit poster calling it “hate” and others criticizing the incorporation of AI-generated material, which is disclosed in the ad.

Bend’s mayor, Melanie Kebler, posted in the Reddit thread, too.

“This billboard is gross and a waste of money. Morgan will be our next Commissioner in this position. Be sure to vote, everyone.”

Using polarizing national issues to influence local opinions isn’t a new strategy, according to Tammy Baney, who was a Republican Deschutes County commissioner from 2007 until 2019.

“We’ve always had strong campaigning,” Baney said. “I think we just have more of it because we have so many seats that are open, and because it’s such a significant change.”

Voters in this Central Oregon county have remade the structure of local government since Baney left office. They’ve stripped party labels from commission seats, expanded the county’s governing board from three to five members, and this November they’ll weigh in on a proposed map that would change how these commissioners are elected.

Related: Early returns show a big night for Deschutes County Democrats

As the county’s population has grown so has the number of left-leaning voters, a change that hasn’t been reflected in the county’s board of commissioners. Though technically a nonpartisan board, the three-person body has long been controlled by a conservative majority. This year’s primary results upended that balance.

When Baney was campaigning in the late 2000s and 2010s, she said the political attacks were often around a candidate’s stance on abortion issues. Invoking national politics is a “litmus test for where candidates stand on issues,” she said, even when those issues fall far outside of the scope of work a county commissioner handles.

“I do recommend that for the general voter, they really educate themselves on what the role of a commissioner is,” Baney said.

Deschutes County voters won’t likely get a chance to hear the two Position 5 hopefuls debate the issues again before the election. Imhoff pulled out of the latest local debate planned for next week, citing scheduling conflicts.

“I think most of the people kind of know where Morgan and I stand,” Imhoff said. Now, he said his focus is on communicating his message “to as many people” as he “can get it in front of” ahead of the vote.

For her part, Schmidt said she’s still willing to attend local debates but organizers are hesitant to host just one candidate at a forum.