MADRAS — Unaffiliated gubernatorial candidate Betsy Johnson told a group of about 60 people in an airplane hangar in Madras on Tuesday that despite lagging in the polls for the governor’s race, she is in it until the end.

“I am in this until the fat lady sings,” Johnson told the group gathered at the Madras Airport hangar that houses the Erickson Aircraft Collection. “And this fat lady hasn’t even tuned up yet.”

Johnson grew up in the home of a Republican lawmaker. But she made her own mark as a Democrat during 20 years in the Oregon legislature. She resigned her Senate seat and left the Democratic Party last year to run for governor without affiliation with either major political party.

Her plan is to provide a unifying theme for Oregon in the face of polarizing two-party politics. She’s facing Republican Christine Drazan and Democrat Tina Kotek.

Johnson, 71, is seeking to become just the second Oregon governor elected without major party support.

“Everybody is talking about who is going to win this race – we ought to be talking about, how are we going to govern?” Johnson said. “How do we bring Oregonians together to get our state back on track?”

Johnson said she would strive for public consensus.

“The whole premise of this candidacy is to bring people together, to find common sense, common ground and to make Oregonians proud of our state again'” she said. “So that’s what I’m about.”

During the event, several audience members asked Johnson where she stands on gun safety, education, law and order, and homelessness.

On homelessness, Johnson believes in a humane approach to getting people off the streets and access to the help they need.

“What put you on the streets?” Johnson said. “Was it mental illness? Drug addition? Poverty? That one hospital bill that tipped your family’s budget upside down? And once you identify what is wrong, then you wrap services around that person and you are able to fix what is underlying.”

When asked about Second Amendment rights, she said given her support of law enforcement, and her status as a gun owner and collector, she would be uniquely positioned as governor to have conversations about gun-safety measures.

“I am not going to disarm law abiding citizens who are exercising their Second Amendment right,” Johnson said. “But I still think we need to do something. My ultimate goal is keep guns out of the hands of criminals, crazy people and kids.”

 

Johnson said she would support raising the age to 21 to purchase certain firearms and would certainly strengthen background checks. She would also allow schools to make information available about students with behavior problems.

However, Johnson said she does not support Ballot Measure 114, which would add requirements for gun purchases and limit magazine size, as it puts a lot of pressure on smaller police forces, and lacks the necessary funding.

“I am of the opinion that it is just going to further polarize already polarized Oregonians on a polarizing subject,” Johnson said. “I don’t think it is the panacea that the Portland, urban proponents think it is going to be.”

Susan Forester of Madras was at the event in support of Johnson, and said she had already voted for her.

“To me, she is the standout of the three people that are running for governor. We’ve got two people on either side of the so-called proverbial aisle that are a little bit too extreme for me,” Forester said. “The other thing is, it comes down to the person. I feel that Betsy is a full character. She is a great listener, and she is active.”

Cindy Phillips of Redmond, a fiscal conservative, said she likes Johnson’s no-nonsense approach to politics. She also said she trusts that Johnson knows what she is doing but is not so sure about the other two candidates in the race.

“All you really got to do is let Betsy be Betsy,” Phillips said.

Joe Siess is a reporter for The Bend Bulletin, a partner in the Oregon Capital Bureau. Oregon Capital Bureau Reporter Gary A. Warner contributed to this story.

In polls and dollars, Johnson slips

After a strong start this spring in the 2022 election, unaffiliated gubernatorial candidate Betsy Johnson’s bid has slid into a distant third place in both potential votes and dollars.

She faces Republican Christine Drazan and Democrat Tina Kotek.

FiveThirtyEight, the national election forecasting website affiliated with ABC News, issued a new report this week on the race, using a system to aggregate multiple polls from what it said were reliable sources.

The new report showed Drazan leading with just under 39%. Kotek was less than 1% behind, with just over 38%. Johnson was the choice of 14% of voters, having lost nearly half her voter support from an earlier report from August.

With Johnson’s campaign failing to gain traction in polls, Nike founder Phil Knight switched his focus to Drazan, giving her campaign $1 million on Oct. 6.

The money from Knight, and other big business wallets going toward Drazan’s campaign, has spurred the Republican Governors Association to give $5.8 million so far — including a new $500,000 contribution on Tuesday.

The updated campaign money totals posted on the Oregon Secretary of State’s website shows Kotek has received $23.5 million, Drazan at $19.1 million, with Johnson slipping to third place with $17.2 million.

The trio have sped past the $60 million mark, smashing the old campaign fundraising record of $40 million set in the 2018 race won by Gov. Kate Brown over Republican Knute Buehler, the former state lawmaker from Bend.

— Gary A. Warner, Oregon Capital Bureau