Christine Drazan defeated Bob Tiernan, Stan Pulliam, and 16 other candidates in the May 17 Republican primary for governor of Oregon. Incumbent Kate Brown (D) is term-limited.
Drazan represented District 39 in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2019 until she resigned on Jan. 31, 2022. She was elected House Minority Leader in September 2019 and served in that position until November 30, 2021.
Tiernan, a business consultant and former state legislator, served as the chairman of the Oregon Republican Party from 2009 to 2011.
Pulliam worked as an insurance executive and served as the mayor of Sandy, Oregon. He attracted media attention for his criticism of the measures Gov. Brown put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and for calling the 2020 presidential election fraudulent.
All three candidates highlighted education as a critical issue for their campaigns. Drazan said she would make the superintendent of public instruction a statewide elected position, and Pulliam said the state should empower parents and local boards. Tiernan said there was a need for more charter schools and private schools, and that politics and social issues should be kept out of classrooms.
On public safety, Drazan said she would increase funding for state troopers, while Pulliam said he would triple the size of the Oregon State Police and temporarily deploy them in Portland. Tiernan said he would increase police patrols in high-crime areas.
Drazan and Tiernan said there was a homelessness crisis in the state. To tackle it, Drazan said that she would address addiction, mental health, and affordability, which she said were the root causes of homelessness. Tiernan said he would implement short-term measures to get the homeless population off the streets, establish temporary shelters, and assemble a task force focused on tackling the issue.
Also running in the primary were Bud Pierce, Raymond Baldwin, Bridget Barton, Court Boice, David Burch, Reed Christensen, Jessica Gomez, Nick Hess, Tim McCloud, Kerry McQuisten, Brandon Merritt, John Presco, Amber Richardson, Bill Sizemore, Stefan Strek, and Marc Thielman.
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