In the heart of Portland, gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan lays out her plan to fix Oregon’s problems

By CARLOS FUENTES/The Oregonian/OregonLive

With 70 days left until the November election, state Sen. Christine Drazan came to the heart of Portland on Tuesday to unveil the agenda she would seek to enact if she becomes Oregon’s first Republican governor in four decades.

Across the street from Portland City Hall, Drazan spent about 25 minutes at the federally owned Terry Schrunk Plaza to introduce her sprawling agenda, titled “The Drazan Plan.” She was flanked by nearly two dozen supporters of all ages as she explained the motivation behind the initiative.

“It’s a plan to make Oregon the best place in the nation to raise a family, to start and grow a business, to learn a trade and get a world-class education — and more importantly, it’s a plan built on a simple belief that Oregon’s best days are ahead,” Drazan said.

The rollout in downtown Portland represented Drazan’s latest effort to sell Portland-area voters on her vision. When Drazan lost to Gov. Tina Kotek in the 2022 race for governor, Kotek secured four times more votes in Multnomah County than Drazan. Securing more support in the area is a major part of Drazan’s strategy this year.

Drazan’s plan has six high-level goals: boost education outcomes, lower the cost of living, strengthen the economy, improve homelessness and mental health support, increase housing development and scrutinize government spending.

Some of the initiatives, like promises to veto any new taxes and cut burdensome regulations, are broad and unsurprising for a Republican candidate. Others are more specific, such as plans to expand tax credits for first time homebuyers and establish a new state agency to audit state spending.

The plan doesn’t mention President Donald Trump or many hot-button issues, such as guns, mail-in voting or federal immigration enforcement efforts. Nor does it mention abortion, which Kotek is highlighting in a new television ad characterizing Drazan as an opponent to abortion rights.

While Kotek has attempted to depict Drazan as a Trump loyalist, Drazan has walked a fine line on her views of the president. Drazan has expressed some concern about a few Trump actions, such as his move to implement tariffs, but has mostly avoided any strong criticisms of the president.

Drazan is lagging Kotek in fundraising, but she has some reason to be hopeful about her chances, with polling commissioned by her campaign earlier this summer showing her statistically tied with Kotek in the race.

In a statement, Kotek’s campaign said Drazan’s rollout of her plan was an attempt to “distract Oregonians” from her voting record.

“Oregonians know that Drazan’s record of pushing to roll back abortion rights, eliminate vote by mail, and gut health care is too extreme for our state — and that’s why they will reject her once again this November,” said Kotek’s spokesperson, Federico Araujo.

Drazan, who lost the 2022 governor’s race to Kotek by 3 percentage points, has adjusted her campaign strategy in several ways since her first statewide race. She has said she wants to raise more money. Tuesday’s event was the second press conference she has held in central Portland since her primary election win in May.

• Carlos Fuentes is the state political reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive and can be reached at [email protected]