BEAVERTON, Ore. — Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read has endorsed former Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek for governor, two weeks after she defeated him in the May 17 Democratic primary election.
"Two week ago Democrats made clear that they want Tina Kotek to be our nominee," Read said in a statement. "I respect their decision and have congratulated the former Speaker on her victory. I’m committed to working with her to make Oregon a place where every child can realize their full potential."
Kotek finished ahead of Read by a large margin in the primary, winning 58.3% of the vote to his 32.1%. The two of them were considered to be the frontrunners in the race; the vote shares of the other 13 Democrats on the ballot ranged from 0.21% to 2.2%.
Former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof also endorsed Kotek a few days after the primary. Kristof announced his own campaign for Oregon governor last fall, and for a few months he was considered to be a third frontrunner in the Democratic race.
However, Kristof ended his campaign in February after Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan ruled that he had not been an Oregon resident long enough to satisfy the state's three-year residency requirement for candidates, and the Oregon Supreme Court upheld that decision on appeal.
Former Oregon House Minority Leader Christine Drazan prevailed in a more closely contested Republican primary, winning 23.1% of the vote compared to 18.2% for second-place finisher Bob Tiernan. The other 17 GOP candidates ranged from 0.05% to 10.6%.
The victories of Drazan and Kotek set up what will likely be a three-way race for governor in the fall between the two of them and former State Senator Betsy Johnson, who is running as a nonaffiliated candidate.
