The campaign to replace Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown is on.
The progressive Democrat can’t run again because of term-limits, making the 2022 election the first in more than 20 years in which no former or current governor is on the ballot.
Republicans see what could be their best opportunity to win the office since Vic Atiyeh was elected in 1982.
Democrats look forward to continuing the progressive policies they have advanced in the state for more than 40 years.
Candidates Crying Foul
Already, one leading Democrat gubernatorial candidate has been disqualified following a lawsuit over his residency. Another has criticized and abandoned her party and is making a formidable run as an Independent.The Republicans have their own share of drama.
Last month, the chair of the Oregon Republican Party (ORP) denounced his party’s behavior and resigned.
This week, grassroots candidates are crying foul after a media outlet first increased the fundraising threshold to participate in a televised debate and then canceled the event amidst allegations that it had received threats as a result.
And it’s still nearly two months before the May 17 primary election.
Avoiding the drama altogether is Democrat state Senator Betsy Johnson, who resigned her seat last October and launched an independent bid for Governor. But not before taking shots at both parties.
“Having to choose between another Left-wing liberal promising more of the same, or a right-wing Trump apologist is no choice at all,” Johnson wrote in an email to supporters.
“Oregonians deserve better than the excesses and nonsense of the extreme Left and radical Right … That’s why I have decided to run ... unaffiliated with any party and loyal only to the people of Oregon.”
Her decision gives Johnson a path around a bruising primary.
Third-Party Bid
Amidst widespread frustration with Democrat leadership—about everything from COVID-19 mandates, and criminal justice reform, to “culture war” issues, and the climate change agenda—Republicans believe they are well positioned to take power in the state for the first time in 40 years.They hope that Johnson’s third-party bid will siphon more votes from Democrats and help them take the Governor’s seat.
The party has a cadre of qualified candidates, including a former candidate for Governor, a highly successful Oregon lawmaker who has been out of office for 20 years, a powerful mayor who said “no” to COVID-19 mandates, a school district superintendent who faced down the Oregon Department of Education over masking students, a former House Leader who stood up against cap and trade, and handful of tech sector executives who bring youth to the party.
But infighting and controversy could hamper their efforts.
Earlier this month, Republican senator Dallas Heard stepped down as chair of the ORP.
In a letter shared on social media, Heard said that “endless slander, gossip, sabotage, lies, hatred, and criticism” brought against him in the party had “broken his spirit.”
Even as that dust-up was settling, a new controversy emerged.
Portland television station KATU-TV announced a late change to its requirement to participate in a televised candidate debate scheduled for April 7, then received so much pushback that it canceled the event.
According to a March 18 email from KATU producer Evon Burnicle, “candidates must raise $750,000 by March 31,” to be eligible to participate.
Anger Over TV Debate
The decision set off a firestorm among supporters of less well-funded, candidates.“The previously discussed threshold had been $100,000, so we felt blindsided,” Republican candidate Marc Thielman told The Epoch Times. “Thousands of people reached out to the station and the ORP demanding inclusion of grassroots candidates.”
Among those calls, KATU and ORP allegedly received threats that led it to reconsider the events.
On March 21, KATU told candidates in an email that it was canceling the primary debates and will “concentrate our efforts on a debate with the primary winners in the general election in the fall.”
At press time, the Timber Unity Pac, which represents the farm and agriculture sector, was scrambling to organize a Republican primary debate to be hosted on social media.
The Democrats, meanwhile, have experienced intraparty drama of their own.
In addition to Betsy Johnson’s defection, it lost a well-funded candidate through a legal challenge.
On Jan. 6, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan announced that her office was rejecting New York Times columnist Nick Kristof’s highly competitive bid to run for office because he did not meet the state’s three-year residency requirement.
Kristof shot back at Oregon’s “political establishment” for what he deemed their attempts to keep him out of the race.
“I do believe there is an entrenched political class in Oregon that has found it threatening that I have raised more money than my Democratic rivals,” he said in a televised public statement.
“I have support from people in 35 of the 36 counties around the state.”
On Feb 17, the State Supreme Court upheld Fagan’s decision.
“Baseless attacks that the decision was corrupt, politically motivated, or biased were wrong,” said Fagan in a written response following the decision.
That leaves 15 Democrats competing in the primary election. Two are considered clear front runners based on name recognition and experience in elected office: former House Speaker Tina Kotek and State Treasurer Tobias Read.
Kotek, 55, has already secured support from the state’s public employee unions. Should she win, Kotek boasts that she would be the first lesbian elected as a governor in U.S. history.
Tobias Read has secured the endorsement of former Democrat governor John Kitzhaber. He vows to address Oregon’s homeless crisis, reduce violence, and keep schools open while investing in green energy to battle climate change.
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