Smith served on the
Port Orford City Council and school board, as president of the North Curry County Chamber of Commerce, and as a member of the Curry County Planning Commission. Smith was elected to the Curry County Board of Commissioners in 2012. In 2013, an effort to recall Smith and fellow commissioner David Itzen was started, but this effort failed. As commissioner, he worked with U.S. Senator
Jeff Merkley in an effort to combat the spread of
sudden oak death in southwestern Oregon. Smith filed to run for the House in 2016. He won the
general election with 60% of the vote, defeating Democrat Terry Brayer and Libertarian Tamie Kaufman. He serves on the following committees: Agriculture and Natural Resources, Energy and Environment, and Early Childhood and Family Supports, and as vice chairman of the Economic Development and Trade Committee. In a statement shortly after a mob of
Trump supporters
stormed the Capitol, Smith defended the rioters and claimed that unconstitutional actions occurred during the
2020 Pennsylvania election, saying "This was not a coup, and Rep. [Julie] Fahey's statement that those of us that signed a letter for the Oregon attorney general to uphold fair elections are 'complicit in today's violence' is shamefully arrogant and wrong. I have been very clear as this was not an act of sedition, it was to highlight the unconstitutional actions surrounding elections that occurred in Pennsylvania." Smith was appointed to the
Oregon State Senate on January 11, 2023 to fill the vacancy left when
Dallas Heard resigned. He was replaced in the House by
Court Boice. ==Political Positions==