Please Allow Christine Drazan to Introduce Herself

Her opening remarks to WW’s editorial board display why Drazan is such an effective campaigner.

NEXT UP? Republican Gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan with supporters at the Washington County Republican Party’s annual Reagan Dinner. (Tim Trautmann)
By Aaron Mesh

Suddenly, the prospect of Christine Drazan becoming Oregon’s next governor seems real.

Three polls show Drazan, the Republican nominee, with a lead over Democrat Tina Kotek. (The most recent, conducted Oct. 8-9, shows Drazan up by a whopping 6 percentage points. It was conducted by a Republican polling firm and may reflect a partisan slant.) The Republican Governors Association sent another $700,000 to Drazan’s campaign on Thursday. Kotek is calling in President Joe Biden for reinforcement.

These developments are dizzying—and alarming—to Portlanders who have grown complacent after nearly four decades of Democrats holding the governor’s office. Many may be wondering: Who is this Christine Drazan anyway?

Some answers to that question can be found in WW’s recent profile of the former, two-term House minority leader who rose to power by leading legislative walkouts. And this week, Drazan made her pitch to WW’s editorial board during an endorsement interview. It’s a succinct biography and argument—and displays why Drazan is resonating with prospective voters.

“In our state, we need two viable parties,” she said. “The way we look at our political life right now, as if we are a true-blue, hard blue-only state, it’s just not accurate. I’ve traveled the whole state, and I can tell you that Oregonians want more balance.”

Watch her full remarks here:


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