PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon voters have elected Democrat Kate Brown to serve her first full term as governor.
Brown defeated Republican challenger Knute Buehler with 50 percent of the vote to his 44 percent. Buehler, a lawmaker from Bend, was seeking to become the first elected Republican governor of Oregon since Victor Atiyeh won the 1982 gubernatorial race.
Brown, a Democrat, will serve her first full term. She took over for resigned Democratic Governor John Kitzahber in 2015 and won a special election in 2016 to finish his term. She was the first openly bisexual governor elected in the United States. Brown was Secretary of State prior to taking over as governor.
The at-times contentious governor’s race was the most expensive in Oregon history.
During the campaign, Brown ran on a platform of guiding Oregon through an unstable period while making progress on some of the biggest challenges facing the state. She highlighted legislation such as “Cover All Kids,” the minimum wage increase, and a $5 billion infrastructure package as successes during her time as governor.
Buehler attacked Brown for failed leadership in other areas, such as rising PERS costs and a low high school graduation rate. Brown said her goal is to raise Oregon’s graduation rate to 85 percent by 2022, which would be a sharp increase from the current level of 77 percent and bring the state to slightly above the current national average.