“What we’re trying to do is a revolution, a peaceful revolution,” says Justin Filip, Green Party candidate for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. 

Filip, a University of Oregon graduate and secretary for the Pacific Green Party, began his campaign for incumbent Val Hoyle’s seat in 2024 and is challenging her again in the 2026 election. Filip says his priorities are ending U.S. imperialism, addressing homelessness, improving health care and protecting the environment.

He says the 4th District deserves a representative who isn’t corrupted by corporate interests. “We just don’t think that the two major parties can be reformed, and so therefore, we’re trying to build people power outside of the two corporate-controlled structures.” 

Filip says both the Democratic and Republican parties draft and respond to policies based on the interests of billionaire donors and corporations, rather than the people. 

The Green Party gained traction in the 2000 presidential election when Ralph Nader received nearly 2.9 million votes. In the most recent presidential election, Green Party candidate Jill Stein received 868,945 votes, 19,099 of which came from Oregon. The party describes itself as supporting grassroots democracy, social justice and environmental reform. 

Filip’s 2024 campaign failed, with 10,315 votes to Hoyle’s 195,862. Despite this, Filip remains hopeful. “I can tell you, we don’t have 10,000 registered Greens in this district, so those two things, to me, are evidence that people are looking for something different,” he says. 

In 2024 and in his current bid, Filip places a high priority on stopping U.S. involvement in conflicts, particularly the Israeli war in Gaza. He believes Hoyle is “funding the genocide,” and that the Democratic Party is a capitalist, imperialist party which serves the interests of corporate stakeholders over those of the people. 

In 2024, Hoyle voted in favor of the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which appropriated over $26 billion in military aid to Israel. In an April 2024 press release after the vote, Hoyle’s office wrote, “Our aid to Israel is crucial to support Israel’s aerial defense systems that protect civilians from indiscriminate rocket fire from Iran, Hamas and other terrorist proxies in the region.” 

Hoyle’s office continued that aid to Israel must follow international law, and she is “appalled at the civilian deaths and destruction that have occurred in Gaza.”

On July 15, 2026 Hoyle, along with 24 other members of Congress, voted in favor of Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie’s amendment to a foreign aid budget bill that would have halted an additional $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel. Massie’s amendment failed.

Hoyle’s opponents, including Filip, have criticized her campaign for receiving money from pro-Israel lobbyists. Hoyle’s Democratic primary opponent Melissa Bird incorrectly stated Hoyle receives AIPAC money, likely based on claims from TrackAIPAC.com, which includes J Street money. 

Hoyle maintains that she has not taken money from the controversial American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), but has received money from J Street, a PAC that describes itself as a Zionist, pro-Israel, pro-peace and pro-democracy organization.  

Filip says, if elected, he will work to see an end to U.S. imperialism by voting to reduce the military budget by 50 to 70 percent. He adds that the abundance of U.S. military bases around the globe is unnecessary and ultimately places the U.S. as the aggressor in conflicts. Filip believes allocating money away from the military and towards social services like health care, housing and the environment is the most ethical and practical thing to do with that money.

He adds that cutting military spending would also benefit the environment, as the U.S. military is reported to be the world’s largest institutional producer of greenhouse gas emissions. With climate change and the environment among his top priorities, Filip supports the Green New Deal aiming to transition the country to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. 

Filip says the Democratic Party co-opted the Green New Deal by softening requirements and pushing back deadlines to 2050. “We get labeled as maybe radical, but I think we’re actually the ones listening to the scientists,” Filip says. “Our policies are actually based on empirical evidence.” 

According to the Green Party, the The Green New Deal, would involve creating 20 million jobs to transition U.S. infrastructure away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy. It would end subsidies for fossil fuels and impose a greenhouse gas tax on polluters.

As the November election approaches, Filip says he ultimately wants to be a “better representation for the congressional district.” 

Filip says he has submitted his filing with the Oregon Secretary of State, but it has yet to appear on the state website due to an internal leadership transition at the SOS delaying the review of candidate filings.

Candidates like Filip, who has raised less than $5,000, are not required to file campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission. Incumbent Val Hoyle has raised more than $1.2 million. Republican nominee Monique DeSpain has raised $677,570. 

For more information on Justin Filip and his campaign, visit Justin4Congress.com or PacificGreen.org.