Christine Drazan Wins 43% to Set Up Kotek Rematch

christine drazan won the Oregon Republican primary for governor on Tuesday night and will face Gov. Tina Kotek again in November. She took 43% of the vote from a field of 14 candidates, then told supporters in Aurora, "What is our goal? Fire Tina Kotek."

Aurora Victory Speech

Drazan’s win followed the release of preliminary election results by Oregon counties at 8 p.m. State Rep. Ed Diehl finished with 32% of the vote, while Chris Dudley received about 16%, leaving Drazan ahead of the rest of the Republican field.

Drazan and Kotek

The result sends Drazan into a rematch with Kotek after their 2022 race, which she lost by about four percentage points. Kotek won the Democratic primary with about 85% of the vote, setting up the same matchup again in a state that has not elected a Republican governor since Vic Atiyeh in the 1980s.

Oregon Republican Voters

Republican voters interviewed Tuesday pointed to education, affordability and taxes. Linda Neace, a precinct committee person for the Clackamas County Republican Party, said, "I've got two grandsons that work for different companies. And they are outsourcing. And one of them will be losing his job at the end of the summer. And so now he has to reevaluate, does he stay in Oregon or does he leave?"