Who are the candidates for Oregon governor, Legislature, BOLI in the 2022 primary election?

Connor Radnovich
Salem Statesman Journal
Names of the 2022 candidate filings appear on a screen on March 8 at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

Races at the local, state and federal levels are now set and ballots have been mailed out to voters for the May 17, 2022, primary election.

With new legislative and congressional district maps and the parting of many senior political officeholders, this year is shaping up to be one of the most uncertain election cycles in recent Oregon history.

Gov. Kate Brown cannot run for reelection due to term limits, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, announced he would retire after his current term and a number of senators and representatives are either resigning from office or are leaving after short-term appointments.

2022 primary:How to register, change your registration and make sure your ballot is counted

Republicans are looking to break Democrats' multi-year supermajority control of the Oregon House and Senate as well as elect a Republican governor for the first time since 1982. Democrats are pursuing to maintain that control as they weather shifting leadership at the top of the party.

Here is a look at some of the top races and links to read more about the candidates:

Nearly three dozen candidates for governor

The last time Oregon had a gubernatorial race this unsettled was in 2002, when the two primaries were fought for by three strong candidates on both sides of the aisle. In total, 11 candidates participated in the election, with future governor Ted Kulongoski receiving less than 50% of the vote in his primary and Republican primary winner Kevin Mannix getting 35%.

Two decades later, more than three times that number are in the running to replace Brown — a staggering 15 Democrats and 19 Republicans.

Read more:

5th Congressional District

There are five Republicans and two Democrats facing off for the 5th Congressional District seat. The district has been redrawn to combine areas from Stayton, Mill City and Detroit with Linn County, Southwest Portland and Central Oregon cities like Bend, Redmond and Sisters.

Democrat Kurt Schrader is hoping to win an eighth term, but he's got some competition. His opponent, Jamie McLeod-Skinner, is getting backing from several county Democratic parties.

On the Republican side, a medical business owner, a financial analyst, a retired orthopedic surgeon, a contractor and a tennis coach are vying for the nomination.

But the large field of Republican contenders — Jimmy Crumpacker, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, John Di Paola, Madison Oatman and Laurel Roses — is mostly unknown to voters in the Willamette Valley.

Only one has been voted into public office previously, Chavez-DeRemer, but all have a background in some form of business.

Read more:

6th Congressional District

Oregon was granted a sixth congressional seat for the first time during the nationwide redistricting process last year, and 16 candidates have emerged to become its inaugural representative.

The district encompasses Polk and Yamhill counties as well as portions of Marion County (including Salem), Clackamas County and Washington County.

Seven are on the Republican side: Rep. Ron Noble of McMinnville; former Keizer city councilor Amy Ryan Courser; clean energy executive Nate Sandvig; former U.S. representative and state senator Jim Bunn; Dundee mayor David Russ; logistics consulting firm executive Mike Erickson; and U.S. Air Force veteran Angela Plowhead.

Among the Democrats, Rep. Teresa Alonso Leon of Woodburn, Rep. Andrea Salinas of Lake Oswego and former Multnomah County commissioner Loretta Smith are the candidates with the most government experience. But there are a host of well-funded, if inexperienced, candidates also vying for voters' approval.

Redistricting experts rate the district as leaning Democratic, but outside of the relative toss-up Congressional District 5, CD 6 appears to be the GOP's best chance at nabbing another spot in the congressional delegation. Oregon voters haven't sent more than one Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives since 1994.

The new district also has no incumbent, so the name recognition and funding advantages incumbents usually maintain will not apply.

Read more about this race:

Bureau of Labor and Industries commissioner

This statewide race also lacks an incumbent as current BOLI commissioner Val Hoyle decided to run to represent Oregon Congressional District 4.

It's also unique as the only nonpartisan statewide position on the ballot this year. All candidates will run in the same primary this spring, but if no one secures more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to the November general election.

Seven candidates have filed for the position, which is responsible for overseeing the state agency tasked with protecting the rights of workers, enforcing compliance with employment laws, educating employers on wage and civil rights law and promoting workforce development.

The position tends to attract fewer campaign contributions than other contested statewide seats.

The candidates for BOLI commissioner are:

  • Casey Kulla, Yamhill County commissioner.
  • Cheri Helt, former Oregon representative.
  • Christina Stephenson, civil rights attorney.
  • Brent Barker, principal broker.
  • Aaron Baca, small business owner.
  • Robert Neuman, general laborer.

Read more about the candidates here.

Oregon Legislature

In the state Legislature, Republicans hope to at least undo the 18-seat and 37-seat supermajorities Democrats control in the Senate and House, respectively. In the Senate, Republicans have even loftier goals, believing they have a shot at flipping at least three seats to secure a split Senate or even a Republican majority.

They point to Courtney retiring, former Sen. Betsy Johnson stepping down to run for governor, general uncertainty around the new state legislative maps and the prospect of high Republican voter enthusiasm as clear marks in their favor.

The balance of the Legislature could come down to a handful of seats in the relatively purple greater Salem area.

Candidates and members of the public watch as the registration for the 2022 elections closes on March 8 at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

Senate District 11

Next January, for the first time since 1999, Salem will not be represented in the Oregon Senate by Senate President Peter Courtney. Five people are running for his seat, two Republicans and three Democrats.

Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, will square off against small business owner Marcello De Cicco in the Republican primary.

The Democratic race will be among Anthony Rosilez, executive director of the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission; Eric Swenson, Woodburn mayor; and Richard Walsh, former Keizer city councilor.

Read more about the Democratic and Republican candidates here.

House District 17

This district includes parts of east and south Salem, Turner, Aumsville, Stayton, Sublimity, Mill City and Detroit along with vast swaths of unincorporated Marion County and northeast Linn County.

There is no Republican incumbent for the seat.

Beth Jones and Ed Diehl, both relative political unknowns, are running. No Democrat has filed to run. Aumsville Mayor Derek Clevenger said he will run for the seat as a non-affiliated candidate, but can’t register to run until after the primary.

Read more about the two Republican candidates here.

House District 19

With current Rep. Raquel Moore-Green deciding to run for Senate, this race also is without an incumbent but is full of current and former elected politicians.

The new district includes parts of downtown and south Salem and is now expected to lean Democrat, according to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, which studies how legislative districts are drawn.

Only one Republican is running, former Salem City Councilor TJ Sullivan.

On the Democratic side, Salem city councilor Tom Andersen is running against Rep. Brad Witt, who currently represents House District 31 northwest of Portland.

Witt said in October he would not run for reelection because of how his district was redrawn; it is now less favorable for Democrats and he has called the new maps gerrymandered. Witt has owned a house in southeast Salem since 2010, according to Marion County property records.

Near the end of the 2021 legislative session, Witt was removed from his position as chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources committee after texts he sent to a fellow lawmaker were found to have violated the Legislature's workplace harassment policy.

Salem councilor Jackie Leung recently withdrew from the Democratic race, citing a health matter. Her name will still be on the ballot, but votes for her will not be counted.

Read more about the Democratic candidates here.

House District 21

Four candidates are seeking the seat formerly held by Rep. Brian Clem, who announced his resignation from the House of Representatives in October. Salem City Councilor Chris Hoy currently holds the seat after he was appointed to replace Clem, but does not live in the re-drawn district.

In the Republican primary, long-time Oregon politico Kevin Mannix is running against forklift operator Kyler McNaught.

Among the Democrats, the race is between small business owner and veteran Ramiro Navarro Jr. and financial analyst Robert Husseman.

Read more about the candidates here.

House District 22

For the seat vacated by Alonso Leon and her campaign for Congress, two Republicans will face off in a contested primary, while on the Democrat side only one candidate has filed for the race.

The Republican race is between cybersecurity analyst Jim Lowder and former dental assistant Tracy Cramer. The former has not yet created a political action account, while the latter has not raised any money.

Chair of the Woodburn School District Anthony Medina is the sole Democrat.

Meet the candidates:Learn more about Tracy Cramer and Jim Lowder

House District 23

This redrawn district will include parts of Polk and Yamhill counties.

Newberg City Councilor Elise Yarnell Hollamon and chair of the Newberg Planning Commission Kriss Wright are facing off in the Democratic primary to see who will challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Anna Scharf in November.

Scharf was appointed to the seat last July after former Rep. Mike Nearman was expelled from the House of Representatives for his role in allowing violent protesters into the Capitol in December 2020.

This will be Scharf's first campaign to hold the seat. She does not have a primary opponent.

Read more about the Democratic candidates here.

The remaining seats in the greater Salem area won't have a contested primary on either side of the aisle:

  • Senate District 10
    • Democrat: Sen. Deb Patterson (incumbent)
    • Republican: Rep. Raquel Moore-Green
  • House District 18
    • Republican: Rep. Rick Lewis (incumbent)
    • Democrat: Jesse Smith, former small business owner and part-time web developer
  • House District 20
    • Democrat: Rep. Paul Evans (incumbent)
    • Republican: Dan Farrington, medical consulting business owner

Reporter Connor Radnovich covers the Oregon Legislature and state government. Contact him at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-508-6131, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich.