Democrat Tina Kotek will win the open governor’s race in Oregon, CNN projects, becoming one of the nation’s first lesbian governors along with Democrat Maura Healey, who won the Massachusetts governorship on Tuesday.
Kotek’s Republican challenger, Christine Drazan, conceded the race on Friday. The contest to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Kate Brown in the deep blue state became unexpectedly tough for Kotek after former state Sen. Betsy Johnson’s independent candidacy made it a competitive three-way race.
“I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported me and trusted our campaign. I also want to assure Oregonians that every vote will count and that their voice was heard in this election. Unfortunately, given what we know about the pending ballots, the math for a return just doesn’t add up,” Drazan said in a statement.
No one expected Oregon — a state that President Joe Biden won by 16 percentage points in 2020 — to be tough ground for Democrats, especially since Republicans haven’t won the governor’s office since 1982. But Johnson, a former A Democrat, she proved an unusually strong candidate who continued to raise money with her two opponents in this three-way all-women race with donations from business leaders including Nike founder Phil Knight.
Brown’s unpopularity in the state combined with Johnson’s presence in the race has drawn Drazan, a former House minority leader, into a bitter feud with Kotek, the former Democratic House speaker. Republicans make up only about a quarter of the electorate, while Democrats make up about 34 percent and unaffiliated Oregonians make up nearly 35 percent, according to the most recent figures from the Oregon Secretary of State.
But Oregonians have been irked by Portland’s homeless problems and rising violent crime. Downtown, too, has yet to recover from the impact of pandemic-era business closures and more than 100 days of protests against police brutality — some of it violent — that followed the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. in 2020.
Drazan has sought to capitalize on concern over these issues, arguing that the state’s problems stem from nearly a decade of one-party control that has led to a lack of accountability.
But Kotek argued that Drazan was too extreme for Oregon — highlighting her opposition to abortion rights, for example. Instead of showing an ability to work with both sides, Kotek also said Drazan displayed obstructionist tendencies when she led a legislative walkout in 2020 to protest the climate bill. Kotek argued that Drazan’s move effectively killed legislation that would have advanced the state’s efforts to improve homelessness, among other issues. (Drazan’s campaign said the claim was an excuse.)
Biden campaigned for Kotek during a swing in western states, urging voters to “stay ahead of the curve” as a progressive state by electing the former speaker of the House.
