An unusual four-way Republican primary race is afoot in the 1st Senate District along the southern Oregon Coast.
The primary race pits the incumbent, Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, against three fellow Republicans, who have diverse backgrounds in business, logging and construction.
With no Democrats filed to run for the seat, the winner will become the next senator in the heavily Republican district, which has nearly twice as many registered GOP voters as Democrats.
This is the first time in at least six years that Brock Smith has faced even one Republican challenger and comes at a time when he is . He had his attorney send a cease-and-desist letter to a House candidate and a former conservative radio host to stop making false statements that suggest Brock Smith is tied to the Chinese Communist Party.
He is not.
Brock Smith鈥檚 opponents also are fretting about the prospect of offshore wind turbines off the Oregon coast and believe he is pushing for their installation. That isn鈥檛 the case either, he said.
Here鈥檚 a look at the candidates and their policy positions:
David Brock Smith
Name: David Brock Smith
Party: Republican
Age: 47
Residence: Port Orford
Education: Courses at Southern Oregon Community College and Southern Oregon University, 1995-1998; Pacific High School high school graduate, 1995.
Current occupation: State senator
Prior elected experience: State senator since January 2023 after appointment to fill a vacancy; member of the state House, 2017-2023; Curry County commissioner, 2013-2017; Port Orford city councilor, 2005-2012; and Port Orford-Langlois School Board, 2010-2018.
Family status: Unavailable
Fundraising: $219,771 as of May 9, including 2023.
Cash on hand: $16,136 as of May 9.
Brock Smith is a familiar sight in Salem. He served in the House for nearly six years before being appointed to the coastal Senate seat after resigned.
Brock Smith said he plans to focus on management of Oregon鈥檚 natural resources and fight against what he says are 鈥渦nattainable goals鈥� for carbon reduction. Oregon aims to cut emissions by 50% by 2035 and 90% by 2050, with about a quarter of that reduction from natural gas. Brock Smith said those goals are unattainable because the technology doesn鈥檛 exist to wean the state off fossil fuels. Cold snaps demonstrate the need for traditional energy sources, he said.
鈥淣atural gas is critically important to create the energy to deal with the load needed to keep people warm, and safe and alive,鈥� Brock Smith said.
Brock Smith also supports better forest management, including of the national forests.
For example, he鈥檚 pushed for thinning forests and prescribed burns to reduce wildfire risks.
As a House representative, he also championed a bill to research the prospect of wind energy off the Oregon coast. His proposal, , required the state to review the benefits and disadvantages of offshore wind production and required public involvement on the concept. It passed with bipartisan support but fueled misinformation about his policy positions, he said.
His opponents insist it鈥檚 proof that he wants to install offshore wind turbines along the coast, which he denies. Brock Smith said the law has actually slowed federal efforts to allow offshore wind leases along the coast.
鈥淚t was passed unanimously by the House for a reason and it was because, frankly, we needed this,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e needed a seat at the table.鈥�
Brock Smith said he鈥檚 sent out a 21-page letter to constituents about his position but said that opponents aren鈥檛 backing down.
鈥淭hey just either are not reading it or just choose to perpetuate the lie,鈥� he said.
Paul Romero Jr.
Name: Paul J. Romero Jr.
Party: Republican
Age: 57
Residence: Roseburg
Education: Bachelor鈥檚 in workforce education and development, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 2010; additional courses in mechanical engineering and mathematics, University of Louisiana 2004-2006.
Current occupation: CEO, Youwalk Today, Inc., a medical device company
Prior elected experience: None.
Family status: Married with five children, three biological and two foster children
Fundraising: $750 as of May 9
Cash on hand: No money as of May 9
Romero is a frequent candidate on the ballot. In the past decade, he has run in different races, including for congressional and
U.S. Senate seats, and in 2022, he ran for governor. But he鈥檚 never been elected.
Like other challengers in the primary, Romero said he fears that offshore wind turbines will pop up along the coast and undermine the region鈥檚 way of life if the incumbent senator remains in office. Tribal communities worry about the effect of turbines on the environment and fishermen say they could hurt their livelihood. Romero called them a 鈥渄umb idea on its face because maintaining a windmill onshore is difficult enough without putting it in the ocean.鈥�
Romero said he would focus on fiscal frugality as a legislator. He said he would support ending the state income tax and replacing it with a state sales tax, but not on groceries.
Other than that, Romero said he鈥檚 opposed to any new taxes or fees, such as tolls to pay for highway or bridge projects. The money that Oregon taxpayers received this year through the kicker 鈥� which gives tax money back when state revenues exceed projections 鈥� demonstrates the state collects more than it needs, he said.
鈥淲e have to get back to where we鈥檙e taking care of the things the state鈥檚 required to do to provide security for the state to make sure it鈥檚 conducted to promote economic growth and does not stifle it,鈥� he said.
Romero added he would like to see property taxes drop, too, as part of statewide tax reform that he said would take a 鈥測ear or two.鈥�
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 something that every legislator and every governor should be working towards,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause with all the money they鈥檙e bringing in, they鈥檙e not actually increasing our economy.鈥�
Ashley Hicks
Name: Ashley Hicks
Party: Republican
Age: 43
Residence: Roseburg
Education: Pre-nursing and small business classes, Umpqua Community College.
Current occupation: Drywall contractor
Prior elected experience: Former Roseburg City Council member, 2016-2020
Family status: Unavailable
Fundraising: Unavailable.
Cash on hand: Unavailable.
Hicks, a drywall contractor and former Roseburg City Council member, said she has demonstrated her commitment to serving the community in office and as a business owner by listening to constituents and focusing on community improvements. She said she has also served as a volunteer leading river cleanup projects in the area.
Hicks said she wants to address squatters rights in Oregon, which allows them to claim legal ownership of property after continuously living on it without permission for at least 10 years. Hicks said she became aware of the issue when her mother died earlier this year and she was forced to go to court to evict squatters from the property. Hicks said it鈥檚 ludicrous for squatters to have rights after living on property without permission.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 not a tenancy agreement, there should be absolutely no squatters rights at all,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat shouldn鈥檛 even exist. Because what these individuals are doing is just breaking into places.鈥�
Hicks also would like to see Measure 110 funding go toward emergency residential housing and mental health and addiction treatment. Measure 110 funding comes from a portion of cannabis tax revenues and pays for a variety of addiction-related services and programs. Voters passed the measure in 2020, which also decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs, though lawmakers passed a new misdemeanor penalty with treatment programs.
Hicks also supports community engagement in policymaking, something she said she learned from being on Roseburg鈥檚 City Council.
鈥淚f you cut the community out of the decision-making process, then you start getting hit or miss and retaliation and then everybody鈥檚 upset,鈥� Hicks said.
Todd Vaughn
Name: Todd J Vaughn
Party: Republican
Age: 64
Residence: Tiller
Education: Courses in business and engineering at Arizona State University, 1979-1981; graduated from Camelback High School in Phoenix, 1977.
Current occupation: Logger
Prior elected experience: None
Family status: Married, three grown children, four grandchildren
Fundraising: $24,145 as of May 9.
Cash on hand: $5,112 as of May 9.
Vaughn, a logger in Tiller, said he鈥檇 offer a fresh perspective in Salem as a candidate who is not seeking a political career.
Vaughn said he believes forests are becoming too regulated and restricted, with habitat conservation plans that limit logging and the ability of local communities to thrive.
Vaughn said he fears a dystopian future for Oregon, one in which global powers will have their way and force environmental policies upon citizens without Oregon legislators who are willing to preserve the state鈥檚 rights to set policies, such as for the management of land and timber.
Vaughn said he鈥檚 also concerned about 鈥渨orld powers鈥� with a global plan to subvert the nation鈥檚 sovereignty. He connects the plot to the Chinese Communist Party and the World Health Organization, without offering evidence.
And eventually, he said, these will be local issues.
鈥淭hey say all politics is local,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ell, sooner or later, even these things that are happening on a global level, work their way down to us in the counties.鈥�
Vaughn said that Brock Smith鈥檚 House Bill 3375 about wind turbines is an example of outside influence taking root in the state.
The bill did not allow wind turbines on the coast 鈥� or approve any specific projects. It only allowed a study with public turbines. Still, Vaughn remains concerned.
鈥淭he people on the coast do not want the windmills to happen, it will actually decimate the fishing industry,鈥� Vaughn said. 鈥淚鈥檓 already working on helping push back and helping those communities to push back against these windmills.鈥�
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