Write-in candidates usually come from the political fringes and don鈥檛 attract much support.
That鈥檚 not the case in a pair of legislative districts centered in Klamath County. Some of Oregon鈥檚 most powerful Republican politicians are backing write-in candidates in Tuesday鈥檚 primary for the two seats.
The local political establishment has been in an uproar since Sen. Doug Whitsett and Rep. Gail Whitsett, a husband-and-wife couple, withdrew from their re-election races the day after the March 8 deadline.
That left former Klamath County Commissioner Dennis Linthicum unopposed in the Senate District 28 seat and businessman Werner Reschke unopposed in House District 56. Both are Tea Party conservatives who had often warred with the local establishment 鈥� and they had filed only minutes before the deadline, leading critics to complain that the legislative seats were being stolen from voters.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know exactly what they did,鈥� Klamath Falls Mayor Todd Kellstrom said of the Whitsetts and the two candidates, 鈥渂ut we know it wasn鈥檛 on the level.鈥�
Kellstrom organized a community meeting, which led to a series of write-in candidacies. The area is so Republican that Democrats didn鈥檛 even bother to run a candidate, and nobody had much interest in even seeking the Democratic nomination as a write-in.
In Tuesday鈥檚 Republican primary, C.W. Smith, a former Jackson County commissioner and sheriff, is running against Linthicum.
Former Klamath County Commissioner Al Switzer is running against Reschke, also in the GOP primary.
But that鈥檚 not all. Switzer is also seeking write-in votes for the Independent Party nomination, so even if he loses to Reschke in the primary, he could well get another shot in the fall.
In the state Senate race, Klamath County Museum manager Todd Kepple is also running as a write-in candidate on the Independent Party ticket. So, one way or another, it doesn鈥檛 look like Reschke or Linthicum will win a quick victory.
Rep. Greg Walden, Oregon鈥檚 sole Republican congressman, usually stays out of party primaries. But he has endorsed Smith and Switzer, both of whom are featuring Walden in their advertising.
House Minority Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, whose House seat makes up half of the Senate district, has endorsed Smith.
McLane and Walden both have reasons to be perturbed. McLane said he might have been interested in running for the Senate seat if he knew it was going to open up.
Walden had his own tussle with Linthicum in 2014 when the latter ran against him in the Republican congressional primary, charging that Walden wasn鈥檛 a true conservative. Linthicum traveled to D.C. to urge groups like the Club for Growth to support his campaign financially.
Linthicum never raised much money, but Walden spent more than a million dollars extinguishing his primary challenge.
Walden鈥檚 spokesman, Andrew Malcolm, declined to comment on the congressman鈥檚 involvement in the legislative race.
Linthicum said drily of Walden: 鈥淚 should have sent him roses. I had no idea there is this much animosity.鈥�
Linthicum and Reschke both insisted they hadn鈥檛 struck a deal with the Whitsetts and didn鈥檛 know they were going to drop out. The Whitsetts didn鈥檛 return several calls for comment.
Switzer and Smith both charge that Linthicum was more concerned with scoring ideological points than in scrutinizing county operations when he was commissioner. And they portray Reschke as his close ally.
The two write-in candidates said they would do a better job of working with other legislators in Salem to get things done for the region.
Linthicum is outspoken. For example, he wrote sympathetically of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupiers and questions federal ownership of public lands. But he argued that the establishment simply doesn鈥檛 like conservative government.
鈥淭hey are all bummed they don鈥檛 have a liberal on the ballot,鈥� he said.
Kellstrom, the Klamath Falls mayor, acknowledged that the write-in candidates have an uphill battle in Tuesday鈥檚 primary. But if they fail, he said he thinks Linthicum and Reschke will have a hard time fending off the Independent Party nominees 鈥� who won鈥檛 have to ask voters to write them in.
Copyright 2016
