Republicans are searching for a strong secretary of state candidate while Democrats need someone for a competitive Senate seat

By Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle

With just one day left for candidates to file for the 2024 primary, some key races in Oregon are still missing Republican or Democratic contenders. 

Voters will elect a new secretary of state, treasurer and attorney general in November. They’ll also vote on the state’s six U.S. representatives, 60 members of the state House and 15 members of the state Senate, along with a host of local elected officials. 

Election season officially kicks off this week, with a deadline of 5 p.m. Tuesday for candidates to file for office, a Thursday deadline for candidates to make their written cases for the state-issued voters’ pamphlet and a Friday deadline to withdraw from the May 21 primary. 

By late afternoon Monday, nearly 320 candidates had filed in Oregon for offices, ranging from president to local district attorneys. At least one person is running for every available state legislative seat. 

Former President Donald Trump is so far the only presidential candidate on Republican ballots, while Democrats will see a choice between President Joe Biden and Marianne Williamson. 

Five of the state’s six members of Congress are running again, while Portland-area Rep. Earl Blumenauer’s retirement means a competitive Democratic primary in the 3rd Congressional District. The 5th and 6th districts, represented by Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Democrat Andrea Salinas, will be the true general election fights.

Last-minute filings aren’t uncommon — outgoing Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp made his way back to the Legislature in 2012 by launching a primary campaign against fellow Bend Republican Chris Telfer hours before the deadline. But the state of candidate filings shows both parties scrambling to find strong candidates in some races. 

Republicans have been ready to compete in the attorney general race for months. Will Lathrop, an attorney from Newberg who prosecuted human trafficking overseas, filed in September and has raised more than $500,000 for his bid. Lathrop will face Michael Cross in the Republican primary, while former House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, is unopposed as a Democrat. 

On Monday, Republicans finally fielded a candidate for treasurer: Nate Sandvig, an Army veteran and renewable energy executive who placed last in the Republican primary for the 6th Congressional District in 2022. Jeff Gudman, the Republican nominee for treasurer in the past two cycles, is now running as a Democrat, along with Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, D-Portland. 

Republicans still don’t have a serious contender for secretary of state, while Democrats are looking at a crowded primary that includes Treasurer Tobias Read, Sen. James Manning, D-Eugene and three lesser-known candidates who have run unsuccessfully for other positions. Brent Barker, a real estate broker from Aloha who came in fourth in the 2022 race for the Bureau of Labor and Industries, is the sole Republican running so far. 

Most competitive state Senate races had elections in 2022, so there are only three Senate seats being seriously targeted as Democrats try to expand their majority and Republicans try to narrow it. Democrats hope to flip the Bend-based 27th Senate District, where Knopp can’t run for reelection, as well as the coastal 5th Senate District, now represented by Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City. Republicans want to hold both seats and hope to unseat Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Troutsdale, in the Gresham-based 25th Senate District. Democrats now hold 17 of 30 seats in the Senate. 

Democrats have yet to field a candidate for the 5th District, though someone is likely to emerge before the deadline. 

In the House, almost all incumbents have filed to run, leaving only seven open seats. Rayfield is leaving the 8th House District to run for attorney general, Democrats Janelle Bynum of Clackamas and Maxine Dexter of Portland are running for Congress, Democrat Khanh Pham of Portland and Republican Christine Goodwin of Canyonville are running for the state Senate and Democrat Paul Holvey of Eugene and Republican Brian Stout of Columbia City are retiring. 

All seven represent non-competitive districts. There are Democratic primaries teed up in the Corvallis-based 16th House District, the Eugene-based 8th House District and the Portland-based 33rd and 46th districts, as well as a competitive Republican primary in the 31st House District in Columbia County. 

There are seven truly competitive state House races, four represented by Republicans and three represented by Democrats. Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, drew a Democratic challenge Monday from Salem City Councilor Virginia Stapleton, while Republicans Jeff Helfrich of Hood River, Cyrus Javadi of Tillamook and Tracy Cramer of Gervais and Democrats Emerson Levy of Bend, Annessa Hartman of Gladstone and Hoa Nguyen of Portland have been preparing for tough reelection fights for months. Democrats now hold 35 of the 60 seats in the state House.

Julia Shumway has reported on government and politics in Iowa and Nebraska, spent time at the Bend Bulletin and most recently was a legislative reporter for the Arizona Capitol Times in Phoenix, Arizona.