A retired U.S. Army colonel from Douglas County, a conservative activist who switched from a race in Arizona and a 2020 candidate for the U.S. Senate in Arizona have filed to run against US Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario.

Bentz is seeking a second two-year term representing the 2nd Congressional District, which covers nearly all of eastern, central and much of southwestern Oregon.

The sprawling, mostly rural area, already had a strong Republican-tilt that was made even more pronounced under redistricting that extracted northern Deschutes County, the district’s largest Democratic enclave, and moved it into the 5th Congressional District.

Joseph Yetter III of Azalea in Douglas County filed on Thursday with the Oregon secretary of state to run in the Democratic primary in the 2nd Congressional District. He is currently the only Democrat in the race.

Yetter’s filing lists him as a physician and farmer. The candidate statement filed with the secretary of state says he is a retired U.S. Army colonel who served from 1968 to 2004.

Bentz already has two opponents in the Republican primary, both with ties to Arizona politics.

Katherine “Kat” Gallant, a conservative commentator living in Ukiah, in Umatilla County, has been listed as qualified by the Oregon secretary of state to run for the 2nd Congressional District as a Republican.

Gallant had planned to run for the 1st Congressional District in Arizona in 2022. After redistricting maps for both states were finalized, Gallant said she decided to run for the seat in Oregon instead.

Gallant said she was born and raised in Pendleton, lives in Umatilla County, and also has property in Arizona and Utah.

Mike Cavener of Klamath Falls, who lists several non-profit and political action groups in his career, filed to run for the 2nd district in early January.

Cavener filed to run in the 2020 U.S. Senate special election in Arizona, but withdrew prior to the primary vote, according to the political tracking website, Ballotpedia.

The Arizona GOP primary was won by incumbent U.S. Sen. Martha McSally, who had been appointed to the seat in 2019 by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey in 2019. Democrat Mark Kelly defeated McSally in the special election. He is running for a full six-year term in 2022.

Unlike state offices which fall under the Oregon Constitution, the rules for running for the U.S. House of Representatives are in the U.S. Constitution. Candidates do not have to live in the districts where they are candidates, just the state.

The filing deadline for the seat is March 8. Candidates for Congress must also file with the Federal Elections Commission in order to raise and spend campaign funds.