Press Releases

[Bend, OR] – Yesterday, one of the nation’s most extreme anti-abortion groups announced they’ve officially endorsed Christine Drazan for governor, calling her an “unwavering pro-life partner and fierce advocate.” 

The extreme group appears to be coordinating with Oregon Right to Life, which held a press conference in support of Drazan yesterday and launched a new webpage, where they stated Drazan is “committed” and “proven” when it comes to their shared agenda to ban abortion. 

Today in Bend, Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon Board Member Hilary Garrett joined Tina’s “Defending our Reproductive Rights” tour and responded to these alarming new developments:

“If you still aren’t convinced reproductive rights are on the ballot this November, let me tell you about the anti-abortion lobbying groups that have rallied behind Drazan in the last 24 hours: 

“Just yesterday, Oregon Right to Life held a press conference in support of Drazan. Oregon Right to Life openly advocates for an all-out abortion ban — without exceptions for survivors of rape and incest.

“They said Drazan is dedicated and ‘proven’ when it comes to their shared agenda to ban abortion. In fact, Drazan personally sponsored legislation in 2019 and 2020 that could jail doctors who provide abortion services. 

“And just yesterday, an extreme national anti-abortion group announced they are also endorsing Drazan. The group, called the ‘Abortion Survivors Network,’ said that Drazan is an ‘unwavering pro-life partner.’ 

“This same group was featured in a $10 million ad buy urging the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade. And now they’re backing Christine Drazan because they know she’ll stand with them to restrict our reproductive freedom.”

Tina Kotek’s campaign also released the following statement from communications director, Katie Wertheimer:

“The last 24 hours should serve as a warning to Oregon voters: Christine Drazan is in lock-step with the most extreme anti-abortion groups in the country, and she will absolutely work to take away our reproductive rights if she wins in November.”

“This is not a drill: some of the most extreme anti-abortion groups in Oregon and nationwide are hard at work to get her elected. Representative Drazan is trying to sweep all of this under the rug. She doesn’t want you to know how some of the most extreme anti-choice groups in the state and in the nation are working overtime to get her elected. But Oregonians will not be fooled — they will reject Drazan’s extreme anti-abortion agenda this November.”

About the extreme national anti-abortion group backing Drazan: The Abortion Survivors Network is a national anti-abortion group that sought to push through anti-choice policies across the country. The group is closely aligned with the extreme Susan B. Anthony List–which is working to restrict abortion “in every state and in every legislature…”  Abortion Survivors Network also filed an amicus brief in support of the Texas heartbeat bill and was apart of a $10 million ad campaign to support the Dobbs decision. 

Momentum Builds with Events Featuring U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley, Gov. Jay Inslee, AFL-CIO President, Child Care Providers, and Oregon Workers

[Portland, OR] – Over the past five days, Tina Kotek rallied supporters in her “Fighting for Working Families” tour, highlighting the stark contrasts in the Governor’s race and encouraging Oregonians to vote.

Tina launched the tour with U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and The Mother PAC last Wednesday at a local pharmacy in Southeast Portland. They laid out their shared goals of lowering prescription drug costs, making housing more affordable, and expanding access to affordable child care.

On Thursday, Tina and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler hosted a roundtable discussion with Oregon workers. From The Portland Tribune, “National AFL-CIO chief: Kotek has a ‘proven track record:’”

Shuler said, “Look at the amount of money that is being spent on attack ads. But we can beat big money every time at the grassroots. That’s what we do in the labor movement — knock on doors, make those phone calls and talk to people at work sites about the issues. Once you know where she stands on the issues, there is no choice except her — because she is with workers every time.“

On Friday, the Tina Kotek campaign launched a new digital ad featuring former President Barack Obama, first reported by the Oregon Capital Chronicle, “Obama records Kotek campaign ad in tight Oregon Governor race:

“In the video, a seated Obama talks directly to the camera, calling Kotek the “real deal.” He describes her legislation to raise the state minimum wage and pass the country’s strongest abortion protections, as well as her campaign priorities of lowering housing and health care costs, protecting the environment and supporting workers. 

“‘Tina knows things are broken, but she’s a fixer. Always has been, always will be,’ Obama said. ‘And she’s the leader we need in this moment.’”

The “Fighting for Working Families” tour also focused on Tina’s housing and homelessness plans, including a stop in Corvallis on Friday.

Unlike Drazan and Betsy Johnson, Tina is bringing forward real solutions to solve our homelessness crisis.

Project Turnkey, which converts motels into shelters, is a great example. Tina visited one of the successful Turnkey sites in Corvallis. From KVAL: “Democratic candidate for Oregon Governor, Tina Kotek, visits Corvallis:”

“Democratic candidate for Oregon Governor, Tina Kotek, says her goal over the final two and a half weeks is to talk to every voter possible about solutions for Oregon’s problems.

“One of the biggest problems is homelessness, and on Friday Kotek was in Corvallis supporting a possible solution.

“As governor, Tina Kotek says she would work on solving problems.”

On Saturday afternoon, Tina met with child care providers in Washington County for an important conversation about how they are struggling to stay open and how the state can step up support.

In the evening, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren headlined a huge Get Out The Vote Rally at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland. Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, An Do from Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon, and the Decemberists fired up local Tina supporters and urged them to knock doors, make phone calls, and help elect Tina as our next governor.

From KGW: “‘I came here because Oregon is dangerously close to flipping red’ | Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaigns for Tina Kotek in Portland:”

“‘I didn’t come here because I believe this is a safe seat. I came here because Oregon is dangerously close to flipping red, and we have 17 election days to keep that from happen,’ Sen. Warren told the crowd. 

“The Senator from Massachusetts pleaded for attendees to keep door-knocking, phone-banking and rallying support around Kotek. 

“‘I will be a governor for the entire state,’ said Kotek, ‘And on day one, we’re going to get to work – taking on our homelessness challenge, making sure people have access to mental health and addiction treatment. We have work to do here and we don’t have to become a right-wing state to fix our problems.’”

On Sunday, Tina joined a powerful discussion with child care providers, working parents, and Governor Jay Inslee in Astoria. Tina heard directly from parents who said that without access to child care, they might be forced to quit their jobs or move out of the community. She also heard from a local elementary school teacher who is using Student Success funding, which Tina championed in 2019, to expand early learning opportunities.

Christine Drazan voted against the Student Success Act, which created a new, dedicated Early Learning fund that is providing about $200 million every year to fund early learning programs. This funding is serving about 15,000 kids under the age of five and their families. Still, Drazan is actively campaigning on a promise to cut the Student Success funding, and she will always side with big corporations over working families.

Tina finished her “Fighting for Working Families” tour by visiting small business owners in Seaside and supporters in Newport on Sunday, emphasizing her commitment to tackle our housing and homelessness crisis, expand access to mental health and addiction services, and keep working to create better opportunities for all Oregonians to thrive.

[Portland, OR] – Today, Tina Kotek’s campaign launched a new digital ad featuring former President Barack Obama. In the ad, first reported by Julia Shumway in the Oregon Capital Chronicle,  President Obama says, “Tina knows things are broken, but she’s a fixer — always has been, always will be. And she’s the leader we need in this moment.”

Watch the new digital ad here. 

In his message to Oregonians, President Obama praises Tina’s leadership in raising the minimum wage, protecting reproductive rights, and standing up for workers. He also emphasizes Tina’s problem-solving agenda, including her plans to make housing and health care more affordable.

Here is the full transcript of President Obama’s video in support of Tina: 

“Oregon, I want to tell you about my friend, Tina Kotek. She’s the real deal. Tina led the effort to raise Oregon’s minimum wage. She stands up to workers and our environment, and she’s fighting to lower the cost of housing and health care. 

“Tina knows things are broken, but she’s a fixer — always has been, always will be. And she’s the leader we need in this moment. Tina passed the strongest abortion access law in the country. And as governor, she’ll bring people together to tackle Oregon’s challenges, fight for the values we share, and build a better future for everyone. 

“Oregon, I’m counting on you. Mail your ballot back by November 8th, and vote Tina Kotek for governor.”

[Portland, OR] – During tonight’s KGW/The Oregonian debate, Tina Kotek proved why she is the only candidate for governor endorsed by major news outlets across the state, including The Oregonian, Willamette Week, Eugene Weekly, Bend Source Weekly and The Skanner: she is the only candidate ready to tackle Oregon’s biggest challenges, with the state’s housing and homelessness crisis at the top of the list.

In response to a question about homelessness, Tina showed the contrast between her leadership and Republican Christine Drazan’s obstructionism:

“Nearly three years ago, I called for a homelessness state of emergency here in our state… Governor Brown did nothing. And what’s worse, Representative Drazan walked her Republican colleagues off the job, and $120 million in funding that could have gone to shelters and new affordable housing construction… didn’t happen. We lost momentum. I will lead where Governor Brown couldn’t or wouldn’t lead on this issue, and Representative Drazan’s record on this is one of failure.”

Republican Christine Drazan made news when she stunningly failed to condemn the growing faction of Republicans who are following Donald Trump’s lead and still refusing to accept the results of the 2020 elections.

Even when pushed by the debate’s moderators, Drazan refused to answer their question about whether election deniers should be disqualified from holding office. 

Instead of standing up to extremism tonight, Drazan is doubling down on her support for U.S. Senate candidate Jo Rae Perkins, who was present at the January 6th insurrection, called it the “American Revolution,” and actively denies the results of the 2020 election.

This is not the first time that Drazan has failed to condemn extremism. As HuffPost reported: “Christine Drazan is campaigning with a far-right militia leader and taking money from a guy who bankrolled one of the main organizers of the Jan. 6 rally.”

“Tonight Tina Kotek showed – once again – that she is the only candidate with a serious, urgent plan of action to address Oregon’s housing and homelessness crisis,” said Katie Wertheimer, communications director. “Meanwhile, Christine Drazan’s failure to condemn election deniers in tonight’s debate proves that she will side with the most extreme MAGA Republicans over the best interests of Oregonians.”

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[Portland, OR] – During tonight’s KGW debate, Republican Christine Drazan stunningly failed to condemn the growing faction of Republicans who are following Donald Trump’s lead and still refuse to accept the results of the 2020 elections.

Even when pushed by the debate’s moderators, Drazan refused to answer their question about whether election deniers should be disqualified from holding office. 

Instead of standing up to extremism tonight, Drazan is doubling down on her support for U.S. Senate candidate Jo Rae Perkins, who was present at the January 6th insurrection, called it the “American Revolution,” and actively denies the results of the 2020 election.

This is not the first time that Drazan has failed to condemn extremism. As HuffPost reported: “Christine Drazan is campaigning with a far-right militia leader and taking money from a guy who bankrolled one of the main organizers of the Jan. 6 rally.”

“The threats to our democracy are very real – and they are here in Oregon, including in the Governor’s race,” said Katie Wertheimer, communications director. “Christine Drazan’s failure to condemn election deniers in tonight’s debate shows she’s willing to stand with the most extreme members of her party over Oregonians – she is clearly too extreme for Oregon.”

With Support Fading for Johnson, Tina Positioned to Make Further Gains Among Democrats

[Portland, OR] – The Democratic candidate for Governor, Tina Kotek, is holding a two-point lead (40%) over Republican Christine Drazan (38%), according to new polling conducted by GBAO on behalf of the Tina Kotek campaign. Non-affiliated candidate Betsy Johnson lags far behind at 14%, and her support has been steadily dropping since August.

The following are key findings from the poll of 800 likely voters:

• Tina’s lead is razor-thin. With just three weeks until the election, a two-point lead in a survey with a 3.5 percentage point margin of error is anything but safe.
  
• With Betsy Johnson’s support fading, Tina is in a position to make further gains among Democrats. Johnson’s support has fallen to just 10% among Democrats, down from a high of 16%. Though Johnson still garners slightly more votes from Democrats than Republicans, this is an opportunity for Tina to further consolidate Democrats and expand her narrow lead as Democrats see the threat of a red-state takeover.

“Tina Kotek is the only candidate for Governor who will fight for working families, defend our reproductive rights, and stand up to extremism,” said Katie Wertheimer, communications director. “As voters learn that this is a two-way race, Christine Drazan’s right-wing record of supporting abortion bans, sponsoring legislation that could jail abortion providers, campaigning with violent extremists, and opposing environmental protections will be a deal breaker for moderate and swing voters in Oregon.”

Full Polling Memo from GBAO Available HERE.

Eugene Mayor: “Christine Drazan’s only record on Oregon’s homelessness crisis is that she chose partisanship and corporate special interests over Oregonians”

[Salem, OR] – Local elected officials from Beaverton, Eugene, and Salem joined Tina Kotek for a press conference in Salem yesterday to set the record straight on Republican Christine Drazan’s failed record on homelessness.

Almost three years ago, Tina Kotek called for a state of emergency on Oregon’s homelessness crisis and laid out a plan to invest over $120 million to support more homeless navigation centers/shelters around the state and build more affordable housing.

But a few weeks later, Christine Drazan led the House Republican Caucus to walk off the job, killing the homelessness package that Tina developed.

“When Christine Drazan walked out of the legislature, she walked out on the most vulnerable people I know,” said Salem City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke. “Thanks to that walkout, the City of Salem had to postpone its plans to open the navigation center, and since that walkout, far too many residents of Salem have died living on our streets. We’ll never know how many of those people would have been saved by a navigation center, by a tiny connection to services that work.”

“While Tina was fighting to get more homeless Oregonians into housing, Chrisitne Drazan was stomping her feet and walking off of the job. As a veteran, I’m troubled that someone who was elected to serve our communities would go AWOL,” said Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty. “We need a governor who will stay at the table to come up with solutions, even when it’s hard – especially when it’s hard … The so-called ‘new direction’ Drazan is offering will take us down the wrong track, and it won’t solve a single one of our problems. In fact, it will make it worse.”

“Twelve days after Republicans walked out, Eugene was compelled to shut down because of COVID, cutting in half the number of homeless Oregonians we could accommodate in our shelters,” said Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis. “The walkout left our city without the promise of state resources to help us meet the critically dramatic need in our city … Christine Drazan’s only record on Oregon’s homelessness crisis is that she chose partisanship and corporate special interests over Oregonians. She hasn’t done anything to help but she has done a lot to make it worse.”

“I want to speak directly to Oregonians who are fed up with how things are going, who no longer want to see their neighbors living on the streets. I promise you this: I will lead where Kate Brown didn’t. I will roll up my sleeves, I will put a strategic plan in place, I will make sure that our government is accountable,” said Tina Kotek, Democratic candidate for governor. “And unlike Christine Drazan, I will never walk off the job.”

“Christine Drazan is a good politician, but a terrible liar.”

[Portland, OR] – The Tina Kotek campaign launched a new TV ad setting the record straight on Republican Christine Drazan’s failed record on homelessness.

Almost three years ago, Tina Kotek called for a state of emergency on Oregon’s homelessness crisis. Governor Kate Brown did nothing. Republican Christine Drazan did even worse: she walked off the job, killing millions of dollars for homeless shelters and affordable housing construction.

But, Drazan’s failed record doesn’t end there:

• Drazan voted against legislation to prevent no-cause evictions and protect Oregonians from huge rent spikes.
• Drazan opposed legislation to protect Oregonians from being evicted or losing their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Drazan also opposed expanding the state’s shelter capacity by purchasing and converting motels, an effort that increased shelter capacity statewide by 20% in less than seven months.

“The national GOP and Christine Drazan’s campaign are spending millions on false attack ads in an attempt to distract from the truth: Drazan opposed every effort to address Oregon’s homelessness crisis, and she has zero plans to address it now,” said Katie Wertheimer, communications director. “The only so-called ‘new direction’ Drazan is offering is a hard turn to the right-wing that most Oregon voters do not want.”

Click HERE to view “Liar”

Below is the transcript for “Liar”:

[Narrator]: Christine Drazan’s ads? They’re just not true.

Tina Kotek called for a homelessness state of emergency nearly three years ago.

Not Kate Brown, not Christine Drazan.

In fact, the action that Kotek pushed? More shelters. More drug and mental health treatment. More resources for public safety.

Christine Drazan killed it all.

The only change she’s offering is a hard-right turn.

Christine Drazan is a good politician, but a terrible liar.

Drazan Flubs Discussion of Climate Change in Willamette Week Interview, Reveals Opposition to Inflation Reduction Act

[Portland, OR] – At an endorsement interview with the Willamette Week last week, Republican Christine Drazan bragged that she sponsored legislation to support a “very specific” federal response to the climate crisis.

The hard-hitting legislation? A memorial resolution (aka a formal letter) to Congress.

In the face of the existential threat that is climate change, Drazan’s letter to Congress is insulting political gamesmanship. The reality is that Drazan has received millions of dollars in campaign contributions from corporate polluters and spent years siding with them . In 2020, she proved that she was on the forefront of a “growing anti-democratic sentiment in the national GOP” when she led the House Republicans in walking off the job to block efforts on climate change.

If elected, Drazan is openly promising to “tear up” existing carbon reduction measures “on day one” and says she will suspend effective pollution-reduction measures like the clean fuels program.

In the Willamette Week interview, Drazan also revealed her opposition to the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower energy costs for hundreds of thousands of Oregonians, invest an estimated $1.2 billion in large-scale clean power generation and storage between now and 2030, reduce air pollution, and more.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which Drazan opposes, is also lowering health care premiums for 13 million families, lowering seniors’ prescription drug prices, and capping their out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs at $2,000 per year.

Oregon League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Doug Moore laid out the stakes for voters in a press briefing last week:

“There are two anti-environment candidates on the ballot this year: Christine Drazan and Betsy Johnson. Only Christine Drazan has a chance to win, so I want everyone to finally start paying attention to her promises to move Oregon backwards on combating climate change…

Let me be really blunt: if Christine Drazan wins in November, Oregon will not just undo the current policies that we have on the books to prevent climate change from getting worse, she could take Oregon backwards even more, giving corporate polluters a direct line to Mahonia Hall.”

Former Oregon Secretary of State: “Drazan has proven that she does not have what it takes to protect us from these very real, extremist threats”

[Portland, OR] – Today the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump, issuing what the Associated Press called a “stark warning” in its final public hearing: The future of the nation’s democracy is at stake.

The threats to democracy are real – and they are here in Oregon. Republican nominee for governor Christine Drazan continues to welcome support from election deniers, MAGA Republicans, and violent extremists.

This week, former Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury passionately weighed in on how Christine Drazan’s ties to extremists are dangerous and disqualifying at this juncture in history.

WATCH his remarks here. Full transcript below.

“This is not a drill. The threats to our democracy are real and Oregonians need to stand up to extremism and vote for leaders like Tina Kotek who will protect our democracy,” said Katie Wertheimer, communications director. “MAGA Republicans are going to keep pushing leaders in their party to join the Pro-Trump cover-up, and Christine Drazan cannot be trusted to stand up for Oregonians.”

Transcript of Secretary Bradbury’s remarks:

As a former Secretary of State, I feel a responsibility to speak up about what I see as present threats to our democracy – including here in Oregon.

Donald Trump’s lies about the results of the 2020 election have had a truly dangerous effect. About two-thirds of Republican voters believe Trump’s false claims that Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election legitimately. 

Among Republican candidates running for statewide office this year, 47 percent have refused to accept the 2020 result – including the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate here in Oregon.

But I want to focus today on a specific subset of politicians who are active threats to our Democracy. Just briefly, here’s how they are described in a recent New York Times analysis:

“A political scientist coined the term ‘semi-loyal actors’, to describe political officials who typically do not initiate attacks on Democratic rules or institutions, but who also do not attempt to stop these attacks. Through their complicity, these semi-loyal actors can cause a party, and a country, to slide towards authoritarianism. Often, even Republicans who cast themselves as different from Mr. Trump include winking references to his conspiracy theories in their campaigns, saying that they too believe “election integrity” is a major problem.”

Now, that brings me to our Republican Gubernatorial candidate in Oregon, Christine Drazan. 

The Willamette Week recently reported that after the Republican primary, Drazan erased from her website mentions of her pro-life position, supporting the second amendment and securing our elections. 

Drazan recently accepted $70,000 from David Gore … as the Huffington Post recently reported, the Oregon liberatarian has been a major funder of the far-right Tea Party Patriots, which helped organize the January 6, 2021 rally in support of former President Trump Donald Trump that led to the deadly insurrection at our nation’s capitol.

This is no longer a Democrat or a Republican issue. This is about our democracy … Christine Drazan has proven that she does not have what it takes to protect us from these very real, extremist threats.