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This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the state.
Christine Drazan signaled Monday morning that she hopes to run a different kind of campaign for governor in 2026 than she ran in 2022.
In that contest, Democrat Tina Kotek won 47% of the vote, Drazan took 43.5%, and former state Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose), who ran unaffiliated with any party, got 8.6%.
This time, Drazan, the former Republican House minority leader from Canby who was sworn in to a vacant state Senate seat on Oct. 26, entered the race nearly a month earlier than she did in 2022. Then, what would become an unusually crowded field already included at least four candidates. (So far the only other announced GOP candidate is Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethel, although that could change as soon as Nov. 1, when Republicans gather for their annual Reagan dinner.)
Second, and perhaps more importantly, Drazan launched her campaign at the Northwest Portland waterfront headquarters of Gunderson Marine, one of the city’s largest manufacturers.
Standing in a cavernous workshop, surrounded by about 100 welders and metal fabricators who make barges, Drazan positioned herself as the candidate of working Oregonians (to be clear, Gunderson is a nonunion shop).
That’s a marked change from 2022, when Drazan announced at Langdon Farms Golf Club in the cozy suburb of Aurora.
In a state where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by more than 8 percentage points, Democrats have won every governor’s race since 1982. To have a chance of breaking that losing streak, Drazan will need to make big gains in traditional Democratic strongholds, particularly Multnomah County. Hence the kickoff in Kokek’s hometown accompanied by workers, who are historically Democrats’ most reliable base of support.
Kotek crushed Drazan in Multnomah County by nearly 4 to 1 in 2022. That was a vastly different outcome than in Clackamas County, Drazan’s home. Although Democrats still outnumber Republicans there, Drazan handily won that county.
In both the trappings of the kickoff—no red signs or references to President Donald Trump—and the language of her nearly 20-minute speech, Drazan suggested she will target the large and growing percentage of nonaffiliated Oregon voters (they are 37% of the electorate, 44% including minor party members) with an eye toward disaffected Portland Democrats.
Her opportunity: Kotek, who is on a trade mission to Asia and has not yet officially launched her reelection campaign, has struggled to win over Oregonians. A recent survey of the nation’s governors by Morning Consult showed Kotek’s approval ratings are seventh lowest among her peers.
“For too long, our government has managed misery without ending it,” Drazan said. “Our governor may be in charge, but our state is out of control.”
In a message that seems designed for cranky urban voters, she pledged to “get our parks and sidewalks back” and to deliver “more cops and fewer needles in our neighborhoods.”
Drazan has walked a fine line on Portland recently, taking issue with city and state officials’ response to immigration enforcement protests, without explicitly endorsing President Donald Trump’s efforts to deploy National Guard troops.
“The governor’s assertion that there is no national security threat and the mayor’s assertion that everything is fine is tone-deaf,” Drazan wrote on X on Sept. 27.
If she wins the GOP nomination, Drazan will face two major obstacles in addition to Republicans’ voter registration disadvantage: She is pro-life in a state that strongly supports abortion; and, her party’s standard-bearer, Trump, is unpopular in Oregon.
Not surprisingly, the Democratic Governors Association immediately began tarring Drazan with the Trump brush.
“Christine Drazan is back for another failed run to bring Donald Trump’s agenda to Oregon,” the DGA said in an Oct. 27 statement.
But in contrast to the often angry president, Drazan spent much of her speech sketching out an Oregon that works. “We cannot live this way any longer,” she said. “My vision is a brighter future and a better tomorrow.”
