House Minority Leader Christine Drazan Officially Kicks Off Campaign for Governor; Bud Pierce Next

The two best-known GOP candidates for Oregon governor officially kick off their campaigns this week.

State Rep. Christine Drazan (R-Canby), who earned high marks in her short tenure as House minority leader, launched her campaign Jan. 4.

“Prices are rising, taxes are high, streets re lawless, schools are a mess, and too many of our fellow citizens are sleeping in the cold,” Drazan said in a statement. “Oregonians are desperate for change. We don’t need more of the same.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Bud Pierce, the Salem oncologist who won the Republican nomination in 2016, will launch Jan. 6. As in his last run, Pierce is likely to rely on the fortune he built through his cancer centers.

In previous statements, Drazan and Pierce generally positioned themselves in the middle of the party. Polls, however, show that GOP primary voters have a continuing affection for former President Donald Trump, which appears to be animating the campaign of another Republican contender, Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam.

This week, he proposed that people camping in public rights of way and living in their cars be sequestered in a camp on Port of Portland property and overseen by port police.

“With time,” Pulliam said, “this will deter the enormous number of individuals coming to Oregon to live outdoors and commit crimes.”