Farmers, Realtors Endorse Christine Drazan in Oregon Governor’s Race

Oregon Republican Gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan scored the endorsements of two key groups in the state — the Oregon Association of Realtors and the Oregon Farm Bureau, the Willamette Week reported Tuesday.

The Oregon Association of Realtors PAC raises almost $1 million every year and “spends generously,” giving Gov. Kate Browns’s (D) GOP challenger $100,000 in 2018, according to the report. Housing is an extremely “hot button issue” in the state, with recent media reports characterizing the current situation as a “housing crisis” and “overly burdensome and bureaucratic.”

“Christine Drazan has a strong track record of supporting the real estate industry and will focus on the most pressing issues impacting housing for all Oregonians: Lowering the overall cost of housing in Oregon, making sure we have real solutions for the homeless crisis that is impacting communities across the state, and making our state a more attractive destination for good-paying jobs in every community,” CEO of the Oregon Association of Realtors Jenny Pakula said. 

The Oregon Farm Bureau’s PAC endorsed Drazan on August 23, president of the bureau Angi Bailey stating that she has “established herself as a true champion for the ag community.” 

“Christine listens, she understands the challenges farmers and ranchers are facing, and she has a clear vision and plan for supporting the industry as our state’s next governor,” Bailey said. 

According to the report, the Farm Bureau represents more than 6,600 farm families in the state. 

Drazan is running to give the blue stronghold state a change from exiting Gov. Kate Brown’s (D) far-left leadership — Brown has been labeled one of the nation’s least popular governors.

The race is challenging, in that three former state lawmakers are vying for the governorship: conservative Drazan, pro-abortion Democrat Tina Kotek, and former Democrat-turned-independent Betsy Johnson, who is pitching herself as the best of both worlds. Political analysts, noting Oregonians’ dissatisfaction with the current governor, have shifted their ratings from “Likely Democrat” to “Lean Democrat” or “Toss-up.”