Current:Home > StocksOregon GOP senators barred from reelection over walkout seek statewide office instead-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Oregon GOP senators barred from reelection over walkout seek statewide office instead
View Date:2024-12-23 17:03:59
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Two Republican state senators in Oregon are seeking statewide office after being barred from reelection for staging a record-long walkout last year to stall bills on abortion, transgender health care and gun control.
Sen. Brian Boquist, who also made headlines for his threatening comments toward state police during GOP-led walkouts in 2019, is running for state treasurer. Sen. Dennis Linthicum is running for secretary of state, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
Both were among the 10 GOP senators whose boycott of the Legislature last year disqualified them from reelection under a ballot measure aimed at stopping walkouts. Measure 113, approved by voters in 2022, amended the constitution to bar lawmakers from reelection if they have more than 10 unexcused absences.
Their disqualification was affirmed by the Oregon Supreme Court last month.
Boquist was strongly criticized in 2019 as Republicans were on the verge of a walkout over climate legislation. As the governor considered sending state police to compel boycotting lawmakers to return to the Capitol in Salem, Boquist said authorities should “send bachelors and come heavily armed” if they attempted to bring him back.
A legislative committee sanctioned him over the comments, and voted to require Boquist to give 12 hours’ notice before coming to the Capitol. The measure was intended to give the state police time to bolster security in his presence. Boquist sued and won, arguing that his First Amendment right to free speech was violated, OPB reported.
The U.S. Army veteran has served in the Legislature since 2009, representing rural areas of the Willamette Valley and the Coast Range west and northwest of Salem.
He said that his time serving on the state revenue committee made him well qualified for the role of treasurer, OPB reported.
“I have honed the ability to speak bluntly and truthfully to Oregonians about where their hard-earned money is going and how the government machine spends it,” Boquist said in a statement.
The Oregon Capital Chronicle first reported Boquist’s bid. He’ll be facing Democratic state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee, and Jeff Gudman, a former city councilor from the affluent Portland suburb of Lake Oswego.
Linthicum, in office since 2017, hails from a vast district stretching south from Bend to Klamath Falls and the California state line. He describes himself as a rancher and businessman on his legislative website.
“I have a laser-focused interest in auditing Oregon’s currently lacking election and financial integrity standards,” he said in a statement reported by OPB.
Linthicum will run against Democrats Tobias Read, currently state treasurer, and state Sen. James Manning for the office of secretary of state. The race has drawn attention following last year’s ouster of secretary of state Shemia Fagan over an influence-peddling scandal related to her consultancy work with a marijuana business.
veryGood! (558)
Related
- A pair of Trump officials have defended family separation and ramped-up deportations
- Selena Gomez Shares Honest Reaction to Her Billionaire Status
- Pete Rose, MLB's all-time hits leader who earned lifetime ban, dead at 83
- Historic ship could soon become the world’s largest artificial reef
- Deion Sanders doubles down on vow to 99-year-old Colorado superfan
- Kristin Cavallari explains split from 24-year-old boyfriend: 'One day he will thank me'
- Justice Department finds Georgia is ‘deliberately indifferent’ to unchecked abuses at its prisons
- Fantasy football Week 5: Trade value chart and rest of season rankings
- Secret Service Agent Allegedly Took Ex to Barack Obama’s Beach House
- Man destroys autographed Taylor Swift guitar he won at charity auction
Ranking
- 'Joker 2' actor pans DC sequel as the 'worst film' ever: 'It has no plot'
- Key swing state faces ‘daunting’ level of uncertainty after storm ravages multiple counties
- Opinion: Pete Rose knew the Baseball Hall of Fame question would surface when he died
- John Amos, Star of Good Times and Roots, Dead at 84
- Trump’s economic agenda for his second term is clouding the outlook for mortgage rates
- The real women of 'Real Housewives of New York City': Sai, Jessel and Ubah tell all
- Dartmouth College naming center in memory of football coach Teevens
- Kristin Cavallari explains split from 24-year-old boyfriend: 'One day he will thank me'
Recommendation
-
Drone footage captures scope of damage, destruction from deadly Louisville explosion
-
Selena Gomez Shares One Piece of Advice She Would Give Her Younger Self
-
Wildfires in California have burned 1 million acres so far this year. Heat wave poses more risk
-
College football at one month: Alabama, Florida State lead surprises and disappointments
-
Messi breaks silence on Inter Miami's playoff exit. What's next for his time in the US?
-
Will anyone hit 74 homers? Even Aaron Judge thinks MLB season record is ‘a little untouchable’
-
Reporter Taylor Lorenz exits Washington Post after investigation into Instagram post
-
Lady Gaga Details “Amazing Creative Bond” With Fiancé Michael Polansky