Gov. Kate Brown Cruises Handily to the Democratic Nomination

Neither opponent ran a serious campaign against the incumbent.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (Office of the Governor)
By Nigel Jaquiss

Gov. Kate Brown easily defeated her nominal opponents in the Democratic primary for governor tonight.

Early figures show that the incumbent, who took office in February 2015 after the resignation of former Gov. John Kitzhaber and beat Republican Dr. Bud Pierce in 2016 to serve out the rest of Kitzhaber's term, handily out-pace challengers Candy Neville, a Eugene home-builder and Ed Jones, an excavator from Redmond.

Brown has 82.58 precent of the vote in early returns.

"I'm really honored and appreciative to have the support of my Democratic friends," Brown said at the downtown office of her political consultants, Wheelhouse.

Brown says she's looking forward to a re-match with Knute Buehler, the probable GOP nominee.

"Last time around, I won a decisive victory," Brown said. "I look forward to seeing him transform from critic to candidate."

Well before the first returns came in, Brown's campaign called for a series of debates with the Republican nominee.

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