Who are the candidates for Oregon governor, Legislature, Lane County in the 2022 primary election?
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Races at the local, state and federal levels are now set and ballots have been mailed out to voters for the May 17, 2022, primary election.
More:2022 primary election basics: Deadlines, ballot help and where to drop ballots
With new legislative and congressional district maps and the parting of many senior political officeholders, this year is shaping up to be one of the most uncertain election cycles in recent Oregon history.
Gov. Kate Brown cannot run for reelection due to term limits, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, announced he would retire after his current term and a number of senators and representatives are either resigning from office or are leaving after short-term appointments.
Republicans are looking to break Democrats' multi-year supermajority control of the Oregon House and Senate as well as elect a Republican governor for the first time since 1982. Democrats are pursuing to maintain that control as they weather shifting leadership at the top of the party.
Here is a look at some of the top races and links to read more about the candidates:
Nearly three dozen candidates for governor
The last time Oregon had a gubernatorial race this unsettled was in 2002, when the two primaries were fought for by three strong candidates on both sides of the aisle. In total, 11 candidates participated in the election, with future governor Ted Kulongoski receiving less than 50% of the vote in his primary and Republican primary winner Kevin Mannix getting 35%.
Two decades later, more than three times that number are in the running to replace Brown — a staggering 15 Democrats and 19 Republicans.
Read more:
4th Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio is not seeking reelection to Oregon's 4th Congressional District, leaving the seat open for the first time since he took office in 1987. Eight Democrats from a variety of backgrounds are campaigning to take DeFazio's seat in Congress.
There is only one Republican seeking the seat, Alek Skarlatos, who ran a competitive race against DeFazio in 2020. Skarlatos does not have a primary opponent and will automatically be the Republican general election candidate.
Read more:
6th Senate District
Three Democrats hoping to be one of Oregon's U.S. senators will face off in the May 17 Democratic primary race.
The primary pits Sen. Ron Wyden, who has held the seat since 1996, against William Barlow III and Bent Thompson.
The winner of that race will, in the general election, face one of seven Republicans competing in their own primary.
Seven Republicans are hoping to face the Democratic primary winner. The race will pit political novices against several candidates who have run for or held public office before.
Read more:
Bureau of Labor and Industries commissioner
This statewide race also lacks an incumbent as current BOLI commissioner Val Hoyle decided to run to represent Oregon Congressional District 4.
It's also unique as the only nonpartisan statewide position on the ballot this year. All candidates will run in the same primary this spring, but if no one secures more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election.
Seven candidates have filed for the position, which is responsible for overseeing the state agency tasked with protecting the rights of workers, enforcing compliance with employment laws, educating employers on wage and civil rights law and promoting workforce development.
The position tends to attract fewer campaign contributions than other contested statewide seats.
The candidates for BOLI commissioner are:
Casey Kulla, Yamhill County commissioner.
Cheri Helt, former Oregon representative.
Christina Stephenson, civil rights attorney.
Brent Barker, principal broker.
Aaron Baca, small business owner.
Robert Neuman, general laborer.
Read more about the candidates here.
Oregon Legislature
In the state Legislature, Republicans hope to at least undo the 18-seat and 37-seat supermajorities Democrats control in the Senate and House, respectively. In the Senate, Republicans have even loftier goals, believing they have a shot at flipping at least three seats to secure a split Senate or even a Republican majority.
They point to Courtney retiring, former Sen. Betsy Johnson stepping down to run for governor, general uncertainty around the new state legislative maps and the prospect of high Republican voter enthusiasm as clear marks in their favor.
In Lane County, the contested races are:
State House District 7
With the newly drawn district lines in place, District 7 contains the entire city of Springfield with the McKenzie River, the Middle Fork Willamette River and Interstate 5 as boundaries.
Raiph Huber and Alan Stout, two Republicans who live in Springfield, are vying for the spot to challenge John Lively, a Democrat from Springfield, who has filed to continue representing the city in District 7. Lively represented District 12 until redistricting altered boundaries.
Read more:
State House District 11
With the newly drawn district lines, House District 11 includes much of Linn County and its smaller cities. Lebanon and Sweet Home are the larger cities in the district, while Brownsville, Halsey and Shedd are among the smaller communities included. District 11 also includes the community of Jefferson in Marion County.
Three are up for the job in this Democratic House district primary election: Mary Cooke, Nina Brenner and Renee Windsor-White. The candidates are all running “in solidarity” with each other and share the same campaign priorities.
Two Republicans are vying for the job in the House District 11 primary election: State Rep. Jami Cate and Tyler S. Collins. The winner will face the Democratic primary winner in the general election.
Read more:
State House District 12
Four Republican candidates are running in the May 17 primary to become an Oregon House of Representatives member for District 12, an area that had been mostly within District 7 prior to the redistricting that goes into effect in 2023. District 12 Rep. John Lively, D-Springfield, is moving to District 7 due to the state's redistricting. There is no incumbent in this race because District 7 Rep. Cedric Hayden, a Republican, is running for Oregon Senate instead.
Because Michelle Emmons from Oakridge is the only Democrat who filed, there is only a primary for the four Republicans.
House District 12 serves the eastern portion of Lane County including Dexter, Lowell, Cottage Grove, Creswell, Pleasant Hill, Jasper, Leaburg, Blue River, Marcola, Coburg, Junction City, Cheshire and a portion of southeast Eugene.
Read more:
State House District District 14
Two Republicans are running in the May 17 primary election to challenge the incumbent Rep. Julie Fahey, D-West Eugene/Junction City, hoping to fill the 14th District seat in Oregon’s House of Representatives.
This is the first foray into politics for the two candidates: Caleb Clark and Stan Stubblefield, both Eugene residents. One candidate, Clark, brings experience as a current Bethel School Board member, and the other, Stubblefield, as a small business owner. District 14 contains west Eugene, Veneta and parts of Junction City.
Read more:
Lane County Assessor
As Lane County’s assessor retires, two people who work in the office are seeking to replace him.
Faith Bowlsby and Mary Vuksich-Shafer, who both have worked in the county’s assessment and taxation office for more than a decade, are running for the County Assessor seat.
The assessor’s office is responsible for appraising property and calculating, collecting and distributing taxes from around 198,000 accounts across the county to dozens of taxing districts, such as municipalities, school districts and county government.
Read more:
Lane County Commissioner District 1, 2 and 5
All three races for a seat on the Lane County Board of Commissioners are contested this year. Two of the races include incumbents running for reelection and one race has four candidates for a seat to be vacated by Commissioner Jay Bozievich, who is not running for reelection.
The five-person board legislates and administers county government and is a full-time, paid body.
Three seats on the board are on the ballot this year:
District 1: Western Lane County
District 2: Springfield
District 5: Eastern Lane County
Read more:
Eugene City Council Ward 4
Eugene City Councilor Jennifer Yeh will be going up against former Councilor Jennifer Solomon in the primary race to represent Ward 4. The ward is located in northeast Eugene, north of the Willamette River and east of Gilham and Oakway roads.
Read more:
Springfield City Council Ward 5
Two candidates are running in the May 17 election to fill the Springfield City Council Ward 5 seat: Mark Molina and Victoria Doyle. The two are vying to take the spot that will be left by Councilor Marilee Woodrow, who is leaving her position.
The ward includes the second-furthest east part of Springfield, covering the area between 42nd Street east to Straub Parkway.
Read more:
Editor Michelle Maxwell can be reached at mmaxwell@registerguard.com.
Reporter Connor Radnovich covers the Oregon Legislature and state government. Contact him at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-508-6131, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Candidates in 2022 Oregon primary election: Congress, governor, more
