Portland, Ore.– David Brock Smith won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Oregon on Friday, the last significant race to be called after the state’s May 19 election. Primary elections.
State Senator Brock Smith was among seven candidates to challenge incumbent Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley in November.
“This campaign is about putting Oregon first. Fight for affordable living, safer communities, good-paying jobs, responsible government, and protecting the values ​​that make our beloved state strong,” he said in a statement. “This election is bigger than politics. It’s about restoring hope, opportunity and accountability for every Oregonian.”
Merkley, who was first elected in 2008, is seen as having a safe seat overall because Oregon has not elected a Republican U.S. senator since 2002. His campaign did not immediately respond Friday evening to a request for comment on Brooke Smith’s win.
Friday’s result comes after other high-profile contests were called on Election Night, including the gas tax referendum and the GOP primary for governor that set a November runoff for the state’s highest office.
Voters overwhelmingly rejected the ballot measure that asked them whether or not they would do so Raising the state tax on gas By 6 cents to 46 cents per gallon. It passed the disputed Democratic-controlled Legislature Gas tax An increase and a series of fees last year to help repair roads and fill a gap in the state’s transportation budget. Republicans then launched a referendum campaign to put it on the ballot and give voters the final say.
Republicans praised the rejection of the gas tax increase after voters defeated it. Democrats have been mostly silent and not organizing to campaign for it, as the Iran war has caused prices at stations to skyrocket. Some party members said in the run-up to the primary that they expected voters to defeat her.
In the governor’s race, Republican State Senator Christine Drazan advanced from among 14 candidates to win the primary election. She overcame opponents who included a fellow GOP lawmaker who helped lead the gas tax referendum campaign and a former NBA player.
Her win netted her re-election with Democratic Gov. Tina Kotick, who won her party’s primary and is seeking re-election. Drazan lost to Kotick in 2022 by more than 3 percentage points in a three-way race that included an independent candidate.
Kotick was elected that year to her first term as governor after years in the Legislature, including as Oregon’s longest-serving House speaker. Kotick has sparred with the Trump administration, which unsuccessfully sought to deploy the National Guard to Portland last fall for the stated purpose of protecting federal property and personnel in the wake of protests at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in the city.
Kotick also pledged to address homelessness, mental health and education. Despite approving funding and programs aimed at addressing these issues, the state has continued to see rising homelessness and poor student test scores that have failed to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Drazan will likely try to capitalize on these issues while facing an uphill battle: Oregon has not elected a Republican governor in more than 40 years.
Meanwhile, in Oregon’s only competitive U.S. House district, incumbent Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum won the primary. County Commissioner Patty Adair won the Republican primary there and will work to win the seat back for Republicans. The GOP flipped it in 2022 for the first time in decades before Bynum won it back for Democrats.