OREGON, USA — The dust is settling following Tuesday's primary election, and the race for Oregon governor is rapidly realigning around the three-way contest between Democrat Tina Kotek, Republican Christine Drazan and unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson.
Johnson kicked things off on Thursday by announcing two big-name endorsements: former Democratic Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski and former Republican U.S. Senator Gordon Smith.
Johnson served in the Oregon Senate as a moderate Democrat, but announced last year that she would not seek the party's nomination and would instead run for governor as an unaffiliated candidate, bypassing the May primary election and jumping straight to the November ballot.
Her campaign has sought to cast her as a middle-road alternative seeking to attract voters from both major political parties in Oregon, and the joint endorsement from Kulongoski and Smith leaned into that framing.
“One of us is a proud Democrat and one a proud Republican," the two said in a joint statement. "First and foremost, we are Oregonians. But like so many others, we are worried about the state we love."
The statement mentions schools, public safety and the homeless crisis, and argues that Johnson is the best person to solve those problems.
"We have both worked with Betsy, and we know she has the courage, the common sense, and the ability to find common ground needed to get Oregon moving in the right direction," they said.
Kulongoski served as governor of Oregon from 2003 to 2011, and Smith served as U.S. Senator from Oregon from 1997 to 2009, making him the most recent Republican to serve as a U.S. Senator from the state.
Kulongoski is the third former Oregon governor to weigh in on the race; John Kitzhaber and Barbara Roberts both previously endorsed state treasurer Tobias Read, who was defeated by Kotek in the Democratic primary on Tuesday.
Ahead of the primary, Kotek and Drazan had each secured endorsements from large numbers of current and former state lawmakers as well as county and local officials. Former Democratic candidate Nicholas Kristof endorsed Kotek on Thursday.