Christine Drazan won the Republican nomination for governor of Oregon on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported, setting up a rematch between two longtime legislators with a history of animosity and sharply differing views on just about every major policy decision facing the state’s next chief executive.
Ms. Drazan, a Republican state senator, beat Chris Dudley, a former N.B.A. player and wealth manager, and Ed Diehl, a conservative state legislator. She will face Gov. Tina Kotek, who had minimal opposition and easily won the Democratic primary.
Ms. Kotek enters the fall campaign with the advantage of being an incumbent in a state dominated by Democrats. A Republican hasn’t won statewide office here since 2002 and hasn’t been elected governor since 1982.
Ms. Drazan, a social conservative, was her party’s nominee four years ago. She lost to Ms. Kotek by three percentage points, but that race included an independent third candidate who appealed to moderate Oregonians and received about 8 percent of the vote.
Ms. Drazan’s supporters believe she can beat Ms. Kotek in a two-person race, though Republicans are outnumbered almost 3-to-1 by Democrats and unaffiliated voters. The political environment for Republicans this year is also far more difficult than it was four years ago when Joseph R. Biden Jr. was president.
Polls have shown Ms. Kotek to be one of the least popular governors in the country as she has struggled to show meaningful progress on the challenges facing Oregon, including homelessness, housing costs, public school performance and transportation funding. And the state’s largest teachers union, traditionally a powerful get-out-the-vote resource for Democratic candidates, declined to endorse her, as did the liberal Working Families Party.
Ms. Drazan’s positions on a number of hot-button social issues place her outside the mainstream in a state that has codified strict protections for abortion access and transgender rights. But she ha said she understands the limitations placed on a conservative governor in a liberal state like Oregon and plans to focus on affordability, public safety and accountability in state government and the public schools.
Ms. Kotek, the state’s longest-serving House speaker before she was elected governor, has barely campaigned so far. The race is likely to turn combative when she does. The two women developed a deep political antagonism during their years in House leadership, when Ms. Kotek’s tightly controlled speakership collided with Republican walkouts and delaying tactics that Ms. Drazan led over climate policy, redistricting and the scope of Democratic power in Salem.
The 2022 campaign was the most expensive in Oregon history, as national parties, labor unions, business interests and billionaire donors flooded the state with money. It’s unclear whether either candidate will receive a similar boost this fall given the attention being paid to congressional races.
Anna Griffin is the Pacific Northwest bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of Washington, Idaho, Alaska, Montana and Oregon.
The post Conservative Legislator Wins Republican Nomination for Oregon Governor appeared first on New York Times.
