PORTLAND, OR – Tonight, Governor Tina Kotek presented a clear vision for Oregon’s future at the first gubernatorial debate of the general election cycle. The debate took place at the University of Oregon and was moderated by Oregon Journalism Project, Lookout Eugene-Springfield, KVAL News, and the UO School of Journalism and Communication.
The debate revealed a large gap between Governor Kotek – who outlined Oregon’s progress over the past few years and how she’ll build Oregon’s future – and her opponent, Christine Drazan, who only offered empty promises and MAGA talking points.
“Voters saw that Christine Drazan is blatantly out of touch with Oregonians,” said Federico Araujo, communications director for Tina for Oregon. “Drazan dismissed her own record of data center support, promoted cutting wages for Oregon’s farmworkers, and dodged questions on the Trump administration’s attacks on Oregonians. Unlike Drazan, Governor Kotek clearly communicated how she would keep making Oregon more affordable, setting Oregon’s students up for success, and defending abortion access. For working Oregonians, the right choice for governor couldn’t be clearer.”
Oregonians will have more opportunities to hear Governor Kotek at two more upcoming debates on October 7th in Medford and October 13th in Bend.
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ABOUT GOVERNOR KOTEK
Governor Tina Kotek has spent her career making history and fighting for others. Over the last three years, Governor Kotek has expanded access to affordable childcare, created thousands of new shelter beds, protected abortion access and vote-by-mail, and funded early literacy and summer learning programs. She has also been a national leader in pushing back against Donald Trump’s attacks on our communities, our healthcare, and our rights by blocking his illegal attempts to deploy the Oregon National Guard in our communities and working through the night to reverse his decision to strip food assistance from Oregonians by taking away SNAP benefits.
Governor Kotek is running for reelection to continue defending Oregon values and tackling the state’s biggest challenges – lowering costs, reducing homelessness, strengthening schools, expanding mental health and addiction care, and bringing affordable childcare to every corner of the state.
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