Three Weeks Before Ballots Drop, Dr. Bud Pierce Is Absent From Television Airwaves

Political insiders are wondering whether he is making a serious go of it.

Television static. (Mysid / Wikimedia Commons)
By Rachel Monahan

With three weeks to go before ballots drop in the May primary, Republican gubernatorial candidates Christine Drazan, Bridget Barton, Bob Tiernan, Stan Pulliam and Kerry McQuisten have premiered at least some TV advertising for their campaigns.

Notably missing from the list: Dr. Bud Pierce, the Salem oncologist who was the party’s nominee in 2016.

Pierce has some of the best name recognition among Republicans and led in early polling. His ability to put his own fortune into the race at the last minute means other campaigns aren’t counting him out, but his absence from TV airwaves has political insiders wondering whether he is making a serious go of it.

(Also notable: Reed Christensen, the candidate under indictment for involvement in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, has outspent Pierce on radio ads thus far.)

Pierce’s campaign says he is still working full time seeing cancer patients all day, and his work ethic makes him a good fit for the job. Pierce campaign consultant Chuck Adams says, “We have [advertised] in the past and will again in the coming days and weeks leading into election day.”

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