The election results are in.
Once again, the Republicans have nominated several candidates who strongly embrace liberal Democrat values.
In HD 14, the Republican House nominee is Richard Cunningham who proudly identifies as an anti gun, Hillary Clinton supporter. His opponent in the race was Alison Rhodes, a strong supporter of gun rights.
In House District 20, liberal gun grabber Selma Pierce narrowly defeated pro-gun Kevin Chambers.
Once again, the Republican Party allowed candidates to run under their banner who either stand for the principles of the other side or who can hardly be taken seriously.
In the Second Congressional district, liberal gun grabber Knute Buehler reinvented himself as a conservative supporter of gun rights and devotee of Donald Trump, whom he attacked regularly when he was running as a liberal for Governor.
Fortunately he was running against several real conservatives and was defeated by Cliff Bentz. Unfortunately he scored enough votes to demonstrate that with the Republican name in your ads, you really can fool a lot of the people a lot of the time. His inexplicable “B+” rating from the NRA probably contributed to the confusion.
As long as it continues to be the policy of the Republican Party to allow anyone to run as a “Republican” irrespective of their policies or even their fitness for office, we will continue to get candidates whose presence on the ballot can only be described as an embarrassment .
The Republican nominee for Attorney General is not only not an attorney, he did not even appear in the voter’s guide. Had you attempted to contribute to his campaign you would have found a link to PayPal that informs you that “The receiver doesn’t have a valid PayPal account.” Maybe the party can help him correct that before the general election.
There were bright spots. But perhaps the brightest was the nomination of Kim Thatcher for Secretary of State.
Thatcher is without doubt one of the shining stars of the Oregon legislature. In her tenures in the Oregon House and Senate, Thatcher has consistently demonstrated a commitment to constitutional liberties and an unflinching dedication to the Second Amendment. Few legislators have sponsored as many pro-gun bills as Kim. But, just as importantly, she has always taken principled stands with grace, dignity and character. And, given who her Democrat opponent will be, this race will certainly provide a striking contrast.
The Democrat nominee for Secretary of State won, as many ultra leftist’s do. At the last minute, after it appeared her less radical opponent, Mark Hass, had won.
To describe her as a contrast to Kim Thatcher would be to redefine the term “understatement”.
While Thatcher is thoughtful and statesman like, Shemia Fagan is angry, volatile and rude. She wears her hatred for gun owners on her sleeve and was completely bankrolled by Oregon’s public employees unions.
The fact that the public employees own her was not lost even on Willamette Week, which typically can not find a candidate far enough to the left for their liking. During their endorsement process they wrote:
“The way Fagan entered the race, however, raises questions about how she would govern. She filed late, at the end of February, deciding to run only after former state Rep. Jennifer Williamson (D-Portland) dropped out on the eve of a WW story about her misuse of campaign funds.
Public employee unions went looking for a replacement for Williamson and found Fagan. When asked why public employee unions didn’t like Hass in WW’s endorsement interview, Fagan was uncharacteristically reticent. She would only say she was a longtime ally of labor.
To be sure, Fagan has the seal of approval from the left wing of her party, groups that often work in concert to achieve the greatest effect. She has the pro-choice forces and environmental lobby on her side. But two-thirds of the $175,000 in her campaign coffers so far come from the three major public employee unions. If she’s reluctant to be forthright about why she and not others was the recipient of such generosity, it calls into question her willingness to challenge public employees when she’s handed the authority to audit the state’s books.”
Even far-left legislator Alissa Keny-Guyer was so offended by Fagan’s deceitful campaign tactics she distanced herself from Fagan saying “But I’ve been dismayed at the tactics used in your campaign, ESPECIALLY for someone running for a position overseeing election integrity and campaign finance.”
Rarely have Oregon voters had a clearer choice for candidates. But this race is more than a choice between integrity and vulgarity, between principles and political payoffs. Remember, the Secretary of State is next in line if the governor leaves office. You will recall that is how we got saddled with Kate Brown in the first place. If Brown were to be removed from office, as her predecessor was, the Secretary of State would be our new governor.
We have seen the power governors have in Oregon. Kate Brown, one of the most unpopular governors in America, who has built a career on being appointed to jobs she was not elected to, has proven how one person can crush an entire economy and enforce her dangerous will on the people.
If Shemia Fagan were to become the next Governor of Oregon, rest assured you would be reminiscing fondly for the days of Kate Brown.