Dr. Monica Wehby Exploring A Run for Governor in 2016

By NIGEL JAQUISS
Dr. Monica Wehby

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Dr. Monica Wehby is considering a challenge to incumbent Gov. Kate Brown in 2016.

Wehby, a Portland pediatric neurosurgeon, ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2014, losing to incumbent U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

Since then, Wehby formed a political action committee, MONICA PAC, which has raised and spent $183,000 this summer.

In recent days, Wehby and Robert Stryk, a political consultant representing her, have reached out to leading GOP figures in Oregon, seeking to gauge interest in Wehby's seeking the party's nomination for governor next year.

A spokesman for Wehby, Christian Bourge, confirmed she is considering the race but has made no decisions.

"Dr. Monica Wehby is being courted by both Republican and Democrat leaders at the state and national levels about the possibility of her serving as Oregon's next governor," Bourge said in a statement.

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