Democrat Tina Kotek tested positive for COVID-19. Unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson grappled with reports of a nine-year-old car crash. Republican Christine Drazan polled first and last in two polls in the same week.

And that was just the race for governor.

The noisy political scene in the first full week of July showed campaigns weren’t falling victim to summer doldrums. But the end of the seven days also brought some finality to the ballot voters will see on Nov. 8.

Quartet of ballot measures for November

Friday was the deadline to submit signatures for general election ballot measures.

Only two of the 60 measures that have been submitted for the 2022 election turned in enough signatures to likely qualify.

Supporters of signature drives for new gun controls and to punish lawmakers who walk out of legislative sessions said they met the deadline.

The Secretary of State must validate the signatures are from qualified residents. 

The last to say they were over the finish line were supporters of Initiative Petition 17, the Reduction of Gun Violence Act. It requires Oregon State Police to create a firearms database, strengthen licensing and background checks on firearms transactions and limit most new sales of firearm magazines to less than 10 rounds

The other ballot measure, Initiative Petition 14, the Legislative Accountability Act, would amend the Oregon constitution to bar state lawmakers from running for re-election if they have 10 or more unexcused absences during a session.

Republicans have used walkouts to stall or kill legislation in recent sessions because Oregon is one of only four states that requires two-thirds of members be present to establish a quorum. Democrats used the walkout early in the century when they were in the minority.

The two measures would join two referrals from the legislature seeking voter approval of constitutional changes. 

Initiative 401 is largely aspirational, making affordable health care a “fundamental right” of Oregonians. A subsection however says the right must be balanced against other requirements such as public education and safety.

Initiative 402 would remove archaic language in the constitution allowing slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime.

Governor’s dollar derby

The fuel for all the allegations, e-mails, polls and attack ads in political campaigns is money. There’s lots of it in the governor’s race, with four months still to go.

By at least one count, Johnson became the first candidate for governor in 2022 to break the $9 million mark in fundraising. As of July 1, her total raised since Jan. 1, 2021, is $9,007,949.

It’s one of the numbers reported by the Secretary of State showing the money-raising and spending advantage of the former Democratic state senator from Scappoose making an unaffiliated bid for governor.

Using the same starting point at the beginning of last year, Kotek has raised $3.4 million, while Drazan has brought in $3.95 million

For spending over the same period, Johnson spent $4.9 million, while Drazan and Kotek are both right around $2.9 million.

Johnson also has the most money in the bank, with a reported $4.6 million cash on hand. Drazan has $1.15 million, and Kotak has $455,000.

Johnson must still spend money to gather about 24,000 valid signatures to submit to the secretary of state prior to Aug. 16 in order to get on the ballot.

Both Kotek and Drazan spent heavily on their primary victories, which saw the two defeat a total of 31 challengers. With the primaries over, both will benefit from contributions from their party’s official campaign funds that sit on the sidelines until the nominees are chosen.

So far, Drazan has received $250,000 from the Republican Governors Association. Kotek has received a total of $78,850 from the Democratic Governors Association – all as “in-kind” contributions in which they fund campaign surveys and research on Kotek’s behalf.

Facebook funding

Mark Zuckerberg can count on getting a daily deposit of $900 from Johnson to buy digital advertising from his social media monolith, Facebook.

Johnson has made 337 payments to Facebook between April 20 and July 1, for a total of $286,569 in advertising.

Nearly all campaigns use social media advertising for its ability to target specific slices of the electorate by location, interests, spending habits, and, yes, political leanings.

But it’s normally wrapped up in a larger total including other spending that’s done through a media buyer. Johnson sends the money directly to Facebook like clockwork – about every 24 hours.

As of Sunday, there are 121 days left until the Nov. 8 election. At a minimum, Johnson would spend another $108,900 with Facebook if her current pattern holds. 

Fourth time the charm?

Justin Hwang is the new chair of the Oregon Republican Party, the fourth since February 2021. Hwang, a Gresham restaurant chain owner, was tapped for the job last week after Josephine County Commissioner Herman Baertschiger Jr. resigned.

Baertschiger had assumed the job after Sen. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, resigned earlier this year saying the state GOP party was full of “mutiny.” Heard had become chair by challenging longtime chair Bill Currier’s bid for a third term in February 2021.

Hwang said he wants the focus to be on the November election.

“I’m excited to bring a fresh voice to the party along with my years of experience as a small business owner,” Hwang said in a statement Wednesday.

He said he has one goal in his new position: “Elect more Republicans to office.”