Candidate filing has closed for the Oregon and California primaries, offering a clearer picture of who is running for local and statewide offices across the region. Many races are wide open, with as many as eight candidates filing for a single seat. The Oregon and California governor’s seats, as well as some other statewide positions are also up for election. Here are some of the most-watched races in the region.
Oregon’s 2nd congressional district
Rep. Cliff Bentz, the only Republican member of Congress from Oregon, currently holds the seat covering Southern and Eastern Oregon.
The district is considered a Republican stronghold in the state, and Democrats haven’t held the seat since the 1970s. But there have been efforts in recent years to unseat the Republican, all of which have failed.
This year, Democrats are trying again, hoping to tap into frustration with the Trump administration. Six candidates have filed to run in the Democratic primary, representing communities across the district.
- Chris Beck, now based in the Rogue Valley, served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1997 to 2003, representing the Portland area.
- Mary Doyle, who lives near Bend, has been an educator for more than 20 years. She’s repeatedly talked about the need to remove corporate money from politics.
- Peter Quince of Ashland has held a variety of jobs, from technical writing to owning a small business. He describes himself as a policy wonk, who wants to improve things.
- Dawn Rasmussen of theThe Dalles runs a resume-writing business and has said she wants to tackle corporate greed, which she believes has contributed to inflation.
- Patty Snow moved to the Rogue Valley in 2020 and runs a local franchise of a bone-focused exercise center. She’s focused her campaign on opposing the actions of the Trump administration.
Two Republicans filed to run against Bentz in the primary.
- Andrea Carr of Chiloquin describes herself as a progressive Republican and says Bentz’s inaction to address rising costs is hurting rural constituents.
- Peter Larson of La Grande worked as a high school teacher in Sweet Home. He says Bentz has failed to represent his constituents and bring home federal funding for rural Oregon.
Oregon State Senate District Three
The state senate seat representing southern Jackson County, including Medford, is currently held by Jeff Golden. Golden decided not to run for reelection after serving two terms.
Five Democrats will compete to see who faces the sole Republican challenger in November, Brad Hicks. He most recently served as the CEO of the Chamber of Medford and Jackson County.
- Jim Crary is a retired lawyer who serves on the Pinehurst School Board in the Greensprings.
- Denise Krause most recently ran for the Jackson County Board of Commissioners and lost in 2024.
- Tonia Moro is a Rogue Valley attorney who organized opposition to the Jordan Cove fracked-gas pipeline a few years ago. She also ran for this seat in 2016, losing to Republican Alan DeBoer.
- Cristian Mendoza Ruvalcaba is an assistant professor of nursing at Oregon Health and Science University, Ashland.
- Kevin Stine has served on the Medford City Council since 2015. He also worked as Golden’s legislative aide during the short legislative session this year.
Josephine County Board of Commissioners
Two seats are up for election on the Josephine County Board of Commissioners. Both were vacated after Andreas Blech and Chris Barnett were recalled in December and January.
A temporary board of the county’s other elected officials appointed Colene Martin and Gary Richardson to the empty seats in February. Now, a long list of candidates have applied to fill the seats beyond this year.
If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the primary, the top-two candidates will advance to the general election in November.
Position 1
This seat is currently held by Colene Martin, a businesswoman, real estate agent and former CEO of the Grants Pass and Josephine County Chamber of Commerce. Martin has filed to run for the seat but faces six other challengers.
- Andreas Blech, one of the more controversial candidates, recently dropped out. He held the seat before Martin and stepped down after a recall last year. He cited family and personal reasons for withdrawing from the race. Blech was also appointed to fill the seat in early 2025 after another recall.
- John West, who was the target of that recall, is now running to reclaim his seat on the board. The recall campaign cited a variety of issues, including a vote to defund the OSU Extension Service and 4-H program.
- Tracy Thompson is a farmer and biochemist. He also ran for the Oregon State Senate in 2024, losing to Republican Noah Robinson.
- Alicia Lousie Dove is a substitute teacher.
- Konnor Kirkpatrick is the owner of a local dump truck service.
- Corey Wilson is a small business owner and previously served in the Oregon National Guard.
Position 2
Gary Richardson was appointed to this seat at the same time as Martin but has decided not to run for election. Eight candidates have filed to fill the remainder of the term, which would be through 2028.
- Chad Hansen is a local developer and has also served on the Josephine County Budget Committee, which prepares the county’s budget before it goes to commissioners.
- Matt Eide is the president of Calvary Lutheran Church in Grants Pass and works as a finance and human resources consultant. He says he wants to focus on long-term financial stability for the county.
- Matt Spurlock works at the Josephine County Food Bank and also serves as the local chairman of Rogue Indivisible, a group that describes themselves as opposing authoritarianism.
- Jim Rafferty owns a hardware store in Selma and unsuccessfully ran for commissioner in 2018.
- Michael Burdge is a small business owner and an Air Force veteran.
- Mark Seligman is a landscaper and political activist. He ran for the Oregon House of Representatives in 2024, losing to Republican Dwayne Yunker. In his candidate statement at the time, he described himself as a “rare Democrat who is fiscally conservative.”
- Indra Nicholas is a small business owner and also a member of the Grants Pass City Council.
- Mark Jones is a retired firefighter, chair of the county rural planning commission. He also serves on the Josephine Housing and Community Development Council and is president of the Mid Rogue Fire District.
Shasta County Board of Supervisors
With two seats up for election, the five-person board of supervisors could once again see a shift in the balance of power this election.
Voters in 2024 overwhelmingly supported term limits for supervisors, which take effect this election. Supervisors can now serve only two four-year terms. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the June primary, then the top-two candidates will advance to the general election.
Kevin Crye is running for a second term representing much of Redding. He first took office in 2023 and is part of the conservative majority on the board. He also narrowly survived a recall attempt in 2024 by just 50 votes. Crye noted his accomplishments so far, including pushing to make Shasta County a charter county and work to attract a medical school. He’s got two challengers this year, including a rematch.
- Erin Resner originally faced Crye in the 2022 election, when Crye won by 90 votes. Resner is currently a city council member in Redding. She said she is seeking another chance at the seat because she believes the current board has been chaotic and wasteful. She said she wants to focus on fiscal responsibility, community safety and accountability.
- Richard Gallardo gained attention in 2020 for making an unsuccessful citizen's arrest of all five supervisors over COVID-19 restrictions. He is a veteran and works as a commercial driver. Gallardo said Crye has failed to deliver on promises of local control and transparency and said he wants to bring back bottom-up representation.
Board Chair Chris Kelstrom is also up for reelection this year. Representing southeast Shasta County, Kelstrom is part of the board’s conservative majority. Kelstrom said he is proud to have helped pass term limits for supervisors and a defensible space ordinance aimed at improving protection against wildfire. Kelstrom has been endorsed by Redding City Council Member Tenessa Audette and former county supervisor Les Baugh. He also faces two challengers.
- Michael Gallagher is a city council member in Anderson and a small business owner. His campaign is focused on responsible spending and transparency in county government. Gallagher has been endorsed by Tim Garman, a former county supervisor and a member of the board’s moderate faction. Garman had filed to run for the seat but dropped out, citing other commitments.
- Gary Oxley is a local gun rights activist. He’s also been endorsed by the Shasta County Republican Assembly, a conservative activist group, for his commitment to fiscal responsibility and upholding traditional values.
Shasta County Clerk
The race for Shasta County’s top elections official is not usually one of the most closely watched contests. But in Shasta County, major shifts in the elections department have turned the race for county clerk into a heated campaign.
Clint Curtis was appointed to fill the county clerk position early last year after the previous appointee stepped down. His appointment was controversial because of his lack of election experience and his distrust of voting machines.
Curtis, a former attorney, made sweeping changes to elections in Shasta County, including ending the use of electronic poll pads, removing most ballot drop boxes and installing video cameras to livestream ballot counting.
He encountered some issues during his first election last November, including delays in submitting ballot reports to the state and problems with the livestream of ballot counting. Curtis wants to continue to expand on his goals of increasing transparency in elections.
Curtis is facing off against someone he fired shortly after taking office. Former Assistant County Clerk Joanna Francescut was also a finalist for the clerk appointment last year and was the preferred candidate for the board’s moderate wing.
Francescut has worked in elections for 17 years and said she wants to focus on delivering stable and secure elections, keeping politics out of the clerk’s office and incorporating local input.
Curits has criticized Francescut, claiming that she and former County Clerk Cathy Darling Allen were secretly instructing elections staff from outside the office. Both women deny that claim. Francescust said if that had been the case, the ballot reports would have been submitted on time.
Because only two candidates are running, this position will be decided during the primary.
