State Rep. Annessa Hartman has cancer but soldiering on
Oregon Representative now running for Clackamas Commission says has cervical cancer
Hartman is a Democrat but shows some centrist qualities having voted against Governor Kotek's gas tax and vehicle renewal tag fee hikes. Now this vote by Hartman speaks of a genuine sensitivity to the cost of living in broader terms - where keeping costs down is broadly applied rather than singling out a portion of the population for a lottery ticket to get government subsidies, which is the general case with Milwaukie's City Council.
Here is KOIN's reporting on Annessa Hartman's cancer, and she is only 37 years of age:
Oregon Rep. Annessa Hartman diagnosed with stage 3 cancer
(posted by Elvis Clark on November 9, 2025)
Oregon Governor's Race - all around mom v. Wicked witch?
State Senator Christine Drazan announces her candidacy for Oregon Governor.
Oregon state senator Christine Drazan (R) looks for a 2026 rematch with Governor Kotek (D) - Drazan having lost to Kotek in the 2022 Oregon Governor Election.
I wonder why Drazan did not choose instead to run for re-election to her appointed Senate seat, but then I got to thinking about the Tobias Read (D) factor.
Tobias Read, Oregon's Secretary of State, waits in the wings to be Oregon's next Governor after Tina Kotek, banking on Kotek winning re-election this next year. It will extremely difficult, much more so than with Kotek, for Drazan to defeat Read - Read having built a strong resume as state senator, state treasurer, and now secretary of state.
Drazan gives a pretty good interview at KATU TV station about her running for Governor in 2026. But I notice that Drazan has aged a bit and does not sparkle as she once did. Sadly, politics is in large part Theatre, and good looks buys a politician a lot.
EXCLUSIVE | Oregon Republican Christine Drazan talks 2026 governor run, transportation & tax hikes
In the wings, also, running is Marion Commissioner Danielle Bethel - starring as All Around Mom
Danielle Bethel (R) will have to get past Drazan for the Republican nomination to run for Oregon Governor. This is a tall order.
Bethel has good looks going for her, and some elected office success at the local level. She is a mom, too.
Seeing how politics is in large measure theatre, I can sketch out a 2026 Governor election play in which Bethel plays the good mom, and Kotek is made to play the wicked witch of the west. This would take some doing, meaning campaign money, debate strategy, and luck.
But you know, Bethel is not fully vetted yet. So, I may be hallucinating with my governor race sketch here.
Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read is next up for Oregon Gov in 2031
Read does have one shortcoming in that he has a balding head. Maybe there is some way to offset the balding to keep his usual happy profile.
He runs catchy TV ads.
So, if a Republican does not win the Oregon Governor's Office in 2026, probably the Dems keep the Governor's mansion until at least the year 2038.
Oregon Governor Kotek has not formally announced her re-election bid, but it is most probable
At times, Kotek (D) wears a butch haircut, has a rather stern look while crossing her arms. Oregon is in an economic malaise by most counts currently. The federal monies that hold up Oregon's safety net may slow sharply going forward.
A showman with a high degree of persuasion magic like Prez Trump would know how to turn Kotek into an evil witch. So, I see a potential play, but having long odds, if Bethel wins her primary against Drazan and can work her image into caring mom.
I am not on any hallucinating drugs, just watch too many Youtube videos.
(posted by Elvis Clark on October 31, 2025)
Chris Dudley back into Oregon politics?
Former Trailblazer Dudley ran against Kitzhaber for Oregon Governor- 2010, lost by only 22,000 votes
Dudley (R) most probably lost because the public employee unions of Oregon in the city of Portland went out on the last weekend of the 2010 election and went door to door getting those democrats that wouldn't have voted otherwise; to vote - this is legal in Oregon elections and is called ballot harvesting.
I do not think there was a lot of enthusiasm for electing Kitzhaber (D), at the time in 2010, for what became his third term as Governor, after his first two terms 1995 through 2003 as Oregon
s Governor.
Now, Dudley is returning to the political scene by keynote speaking at the Oregon state Republican Party Reagan Dinner on November 1, 2025.
Geez, there is some speculation that maybe Dudley might try running again for Oregon Governor. I would not think he has much of a chance of winning against current Governor Kotek (D), who is running for re-election. For one, Dudley's name recognition is nowhere what it was in 2010, a relatively few years after retiring from the Portland Trailblazers when the Blazers had some pretty good seasons.
Willamette Week reports on Dudley and the state Republican dinner in the following link to it:
Ex-Blazer Chris Dudley and Former MMA Fighter Chael Sonnen to Address GOP Reagan Dinner
Willamette Week mentions that Oregon House Speaker Christine Drazan conducted a poll exploring her chances of winning against Kotek and gaining the position of Governor in 2026. Drazan is said to be mum about her poll results nor her intentions regarding the Oregon Governor's race in 2026. So, far the Republicans have not put any high-profile person into the Oregon Governor's 2026 election.
Incumbent Governor Kotek has not been very popular, that is until just recently when President Trump started talking about sending federal troops to Portland. I believe this has injected Democrats in Portland in particular with a surge in passion for Kotek and her resistance to Prez Trump. That is, Trump is giving Kotek ammunition/cause to rally more support among Oregon/Portland democrats. Otherwise, Kotek has Oregon in an economic malaise that could make the Oregon Governor's race close.
(posted by Elvis Clark on October 12, 2025)
Oregon Representative Nguyen (D) gets first challenger (R)
Nguyen won by only 3.5 percentage points over the Republican in 2024
What might become an issue in Oregon House District 48 is that Nguyen (d) is reported to have stage 4 cancer and missed a lot of this year's legislative session because of this health issue.
(House District 48 covers parts east of Happy Valley, Damascus, outer southeast Portland.)
Andrew Morrison (R) pictured above is filed to run for the Republican nomination to Oregon House District 48, in a bid to unseat Nguyen.
Morrison has no elected office experience from the reporting of his candidacy by the Oregon Catalyst. But he is young and could surprise.
John Masterman (R) ran hard going door to door against Nguyen in the November 2024 election and is defeated by only 3.5% points- even as he did not have the big campaign financing the Nguyen is showered with by the Democrat party and its associates.
Andrew Morrison runs for House #48 | Oregon Catalyst
(posted by Elvis Clark on September 27, 2025)
Minority House Speaker Drazan leaves open her running again for Oregon Governor
Oregon Representative Drazan (R) pictured above leaves open that she might run again for Oregon Governor against Tina Kotek (Governor, D) in this next year's midterm elections.
She is also applying for appointment to the Oregon State Senate Seat that Daniel Bonham (R) is resigning from for other opportunities. This Senate Seat is up for re-election in 2026. So, if Drazan is successful in getting appointed to the vacated Oregon Senate seat, then she would have to choose between running for election to this senate seat or going instead for the Governor's Office.
Drazan at the Clackamas Republican Party meeting today said that she does not feel she lost the Governor's race to Kotek in 2022 because of election cheating, but that too many Republicans that would have voted for her stayed home and did not vote.
Clackamas' Republican party seems to be dedicated to bringing back vote-in-person, ending vote-by-mail as the primary way elections are now run in Oregon. I think Drazan is more correct, and the Clackamas Republicans need to focus more on winning elections for Republican candidates instead of devoting considerable time to "election integrity."
Oregon city's hartman runs for clackamas commission
Hartman is not seeking re-election to the Oregon House but instead seeks Clackamas County Board seat
Annessa Hartman (D) will be running against the current interim Clackamas County Commissioner #4, Diana Helm (D). Hartman currently is a state of Oregon House of Representative, serving the area surrounding Oregon City.
Hartman got flack for voting against Governor Kotek's proposed gas tax and motor fee increase package that is awaiting a final vote this September, in an Oregon special legislative session.
Clackamas County Commission seat 4 was held by Mark Shull (R) from 2021 through its term in at the start of 2025.
There are two other open seats on the 5 person Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, and those are held by Ben West and Paul Savas. It looks like both are running for re-election. Savas has been in his Commissioner Seat since the year 2011. If re-elected he will have been on the Commission for some 20 years, which somewhat unheard of.
Savas is a Republican in Name Only. It walks the fence, and often, votes like a Democrat. He probably gets challenged by another Republican.
Currently, the Clackamas County Commission leans somewhat left, but the Chair is more a blue dog Democrat than Progressive. So, the Clackamas Board is more centered than neighboring Washington and Multnomah County Commission Boards, which are more Progressive like.
The 2026 election season gets off the ground now that the calendar has flipped to September 2025, the first chance to file to run for elected office in the upcoming 2026 elections.
(posted by Elvis Clark on September 14, 2025)
Marion county commissioner gets $25k for 2026 governor bid
Danielle Bethel, Marion Commissioner, first republican to declare for Oregon Governor 2026 election
Bethel receives a campaign donation of $25,000 from Oregon Timber tycoon Freres. Her campaign platform is fairly generic, apple pie and all, at this point of the Oregon Governor election race -2026.
Here's a bit more detail on Bethel by the Willamette Week newspaper: GOP Candidate for Governor Gets First Big Check
(posted by Elvis Clark on June 26, 2026)
