Portland, OR – With just over a week left for Republican primary voters to cast their ballot, the GOP gubernatorial candidates have stepped up their attacks in what is now becoming a messy and chaotic race to the bottom.
Here are just a few of the jabs that have been flying in the Oregon GOP primary for governor:
- A recent episode of OPB’s Politics Now noted a heated exchange between Dudley and Diehl at the end of their debate during the Dorchester Conference, where Dudley seemingly appeared ready to “come to blows” with Diehl over remarks earlier in the debate.
- Towards the end of the debate, Diehl took a jab at Dudley for flip-flopping on his stances regarding abortion access: “We have a trust problem. I’m committed to making that trust. I’m a straight shooter. I’m not going to tell conservative voters one thing and liberal media reporters another thing.”
- Rep. Dwayne Yunker, who has endorsed Diehl, posted a video on social media in support of Diehl that included Drazan’s concession video from the 2022 gubernatorial race, claiming that “No one in the state of Oregon has more experience losing to Tina Kotek than Christine Drazan.”
- Ben Edtl – who describes himself as “Oregon’s MAGA warrior” – responded calling Diehl’s ad “election interference.” He later went on to slam Diehl, referring to him as “the only dirtbag in the Republican primary for Governor” and called for Republicans to “kill Ed Diehl’s political career now.”
- In a jab on social media aimed at Dudley and Drazan – who have both already lost one race for governor – Diehl highlights Ben Roche’s assertion that “Oregon doesn’t need a rerun.”
In addition to trading jabs, the candidates began to show opposing views regarding the Trump administration during their latest debate. When asked about direct support from President Trump in the form of an endorsement, the candidates were split – Diehl said he would not seek an endorsement from Trump, Drazan and Dudley both indicated they would welcome Trump’s support:
- Christine Drazan, responding to a direct question about whether she would seek or accept Donald Trump’s endorsement: “Anybody that supports my vision for a brighter future for our state, I will accept their support.”
- Chris Dudley, when pressed by moderators about a potential Trump endorsement during the same line of questioning: “I would accept any President’s endorsement.”
With only days left before the primary, the GOP gubernatorial candidates are gearing up for a messy race to the finish line.
“The clock is ticking for the GOP primary candidates, and they are clearly starting to feel the pressure,” said Federico Araujo, DPO Communications Advisor. “With none of these candidates willing to stand up to Trump and his reckless policies, they’ve resorted to taking ugly jabs at each other instead. It’s clear that no matter who emerges from this mess of a primary, they will be damaged and deeply out of step with Oregonians.”
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