Less than two months after U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) announced plans to leave Congress, several declared candidates are jockeying to take his place.
Three Democrats and three Republicans have filed to run in their respective party primaries on May 19, 2020, according to the Ballotpedia website. The victors would then square off in the Nov. 3 general election.
The filing deadline for the primary is March 10, so there’s still time for more candidates to enter the picture.
Walden, ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a leading backer of more funding for cleaning up the U.S. Energy Department’s Hanford Site in neighboring Washington state, said Oct. 28 he would not run again in 2020. Walden has held the seat since 1999.
The district has long been a GOP stronghold. Three Republicans with experience in the Oregon State Legislature, including one that has run for governor, have filed plans to succeed Walden.
State Sen. Cliff Bentz (R) is an attorney, farmer, and owner of a real estate business. He was elected to serve Oregon’s 30th District in 2018, and previously served from 2008 through 2012 in the state House of Representatives. Jason Atkinson served in the state Senate, representing District 2, from 2000 to 2013. Prior to that he served two years in the state House, according to Ballotpedia.
Republican Knute Buehler who ran for governor in 2018, losing in the general election to incumbent Kate Brown (D), announced this week he is joining the hunt for Walden’s seat. Buehler was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from January 2015 through January 2015.
Not seeking the seat is Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who won more than 39% of the vote against Walden in last November’s general election. She is instead campaigning to become Oregon secretary of state.
Democrat John Holm has already set up a campaign website that says he is a 51-year Democratic Party strategist, small business owner, and licensed Realtor. Raz Mason, a political activist, ran and lost in the Democrats primary for Walden’s seat in May 2018 and has filed to pursue the nomination again. Isabella Tibbetts is the other candidate for the party primary.
