Why Two Republican Candidates Refused to Debate in Conservative Oregon

The Friends of Coos County Republicans sent invitations to five Republican gubernatorial candidates for a March 14, 2026, debate. Three candidates were accepted immediately. Two declined.

Christine Drazan and Chris Dudley will not be showing up in Coos Bay.

Their absence reveals more about Oregon's Republican Party than any debate performance could. The establishment wing of the GOP is more concerned with the donor class than the rank and file. The Senate and House Caucuses control the money sources that fund the party, giving them sway over the candidates.

When you follow the money, you find globalists, lobbyists, and wealthy individuals who benefit from cheap labor, economic development money, or more regulations on their competitors. Politicians have the power to change policies in favor of those interests, so it is only natural that the influential and well-connected would try to tip the rules of the game in their favor.  

To be fair, both the Drazan and Dudley Campaigns cited scheduling conflicts, but that seems dubious, given this will be the largest and best-attended event for governor candidates on the Oregon southern coast in a heavily Republican area.    

The Candidates Who Have Decided to Show Up

Ed Diehl, Danielle Bethell, and David Medina accepted the debate invitation without first checking with their handlers, managers, or schedulers. They committed resources and time to come to Coos County on a Saturday night.

Are they principled leaders who have not been sold out to lobbyists, or just candidates without enough name recognition to attract the money of the special interests yet?

Their integrity will be proven over time and in the decisions they make. But right now, these three candidates are still concerned with what the people they will represent think about important issues.

That immediate acceptance matters. It shows a clear distinction between politicians who practice what they preach and those willing to compromise away their reputation and the will of the people.

The Coos Bay debate is not just symbolism. Coos County is an underperforming county for Republican voters. In the last primary, turnout was less than 30%, with some races receiving less than 22% of the votes.

Any candidate who can energize Republicans sitting at home will have an advantage in the race.

Ed Diehl already has one advantage. He was the Chief Petitioner on the highly popular Repeal of the Oregon Gas Tax. The conservatives have an advantage over the moderates because the county's Republicans tend to lean more to the right.

Why Establishment Candidates Avoid Conservative Voters

Chris Dudley openly admitted that debating in a conservative county would be bad for his moderate image. Think about what that means.

A Republican candidate for governor believes facing conservative Republican voters would hurt his campaign.

Dudley already lost one bid for governor in 2010, basing his campaign on the exact same philosophy. He was weak then, and he's weak now. His absence from the Coos Bay debate proves the point.

Christine Drazan is gambling on the same strategy. She's also a proven loser. Drazan lost to Tina Kotek by just 66,727 votes in 2022, despite having every structural advantage and facing a deeply unpopular Democratic incumbent.

Her moderate "reach across the aisle" strategy still fell short.

Both Drazan and Dudley believe the path to victory runs through Portland suburbs and moderate voters. They are wrong. When both are willing to compromise on core principles, there is no real difference between a Drazan governorship and Tina Kotek's current administration when it comes to policies that matter to working-class Oregonians.

We need leaders with principles who have not been sold out to lobbyists.

The Voter Turnout Crisis Nobody Talks About

Those turnout numbers in Coos County reveal a massive pool of disengaged Republican voters. The county leans right, yet these voters are staying home even in Republican primaries.

The number one reason is the lousy quality of character in our candidates.

Local county parties have been designed to favor incumbents. When a bad one gets into office, it's hard to get rid of them. Then there's the fact that a huge percentage of voters think the election is rigged, and there is no reason to vote in a fixed election.

These two problems feed off each other. That's what the powers that be intended the system to work like.  It is not systemic failure.  It is successful sabotage.    

Oregon is a state ruled by one party, and that happened at the same time vote-by-mail was instituted. The timing is not coincidental.

The Vote-by-Mail Problem

There is no chain of custody in Oregon's vote-by-mail system. Clerks are mailing out too many ballots on election day to too many unverified people and residences.

The odds of one party winning all the statewide offices except for one in over two decades are astronomical.

There have been proven cases of ballot harvesting. Oregon courts decided the state's voter rolls were dirty and forced them to expunge over 800,000 names.

That's 800,000 inactive voter registrations representing roughly 20% of the state's voter rolls. This cleanup comes after Oregon paused routine voter roll maintenance in 2017, creating nearly a decade-long backlog.

The action followed lawsuits from Judicial Watch and the Trump administration's Department of Justice, validating conservative claims that Oregon's mail-in ballot system lacks proper oversight.

Democrats have maintained gubernatorial control in Oregon since 1987. That's 39 consecutive years of one-party rule. Only two Republicans have won any statewide election in Oregon since 2000.

What a Governor Can Actually Do About Election Integrity

The Governor has no authority over the state's voter laws. The legislature has to create laws requiring people to show IDs and ensuring that county clerks clean the voter rolls.

But the governor can direct policy to favor or encourage those changes.

The most important thing they can do is bring awareness to the situation through education and legitimate investigation. The bully pulpit matters.

That is why this primary matters. Nonaffiliated voters and Republicans who stay home on election night would have a real choice to make. The Democrats have become too socialist, and moderate Republicans are too willing to compromise on collectivist policies and the woke agenda.

The Case for Principle Over Compromise

Dudley believes conservative positions hurt him with the voters he needs. Conservative candidates believe the opposite. One side is fundamentally wrong about Oregon's electorate.

The evidence favors the conservative position.

Dudley already lost using his moderate philosophy. Drazan lost using the same approach. The voters know the odds are against the Republican candidate.

Why not win on principle instead of compromise?

Republicans win by denouncing every bad policy the Democrats champion. Defunding the police. Men in women's sports. Trans drugs and operations for minors. Failed land use policies. Failed education policies. High taxes. The failed state economy.

Oregon is last on the list of good things and first on the list of bad things.

The evidence is overwhelming that leadership has to change.

Why Coos Bay Matters

Our Constitutional Republic is built from the ground up. Every candidate for governor will have to take the road through Coos County to get to the Capitol.

The March 14 debate at Marshfield High School Auditorium is not just another campaign event. It's a test of whether Republican candidates will face voters who actually believe in conservative principles, or continue chasing moderate voters who reliably vote blue anyway.

Drazan and Dudley made their choice. They chose the donor class over the base. They chose Portland suburbs over rural Oregon. They chose compromise over principle.

Diehl, Bethell, and Medina made a different choice.

The debate starts at 7:00 PM, following a Local Candidate Forum at 5:00 PM. Taren Feist will moderate. Questions will cover issues affecting Coos County and statewide challenges in Oregon, such as the economy, the criminal justice system, education, and natural resources. 

The event is free and open to the public.

Two candidates will not be there. That tells you everything you need to know about the state of Oregon's Republican Party. The establishment fears its own base. The grassroots candidates are willing to show up and make their case.

The eventual nominee will face incumbent Governor Tina Kotek in the November general election.

After 39 years of Democratic control, Oregon Republicans have a choice. Keep running moderate candidates who lose while blaming the conservative base. Or nominate someone willing to stand on principle and give disengaged voters a reason to show up.

The Coos Bay debate will not be the deciding factor in the primary. But it will reveal which candidates understand that you cannot win by avoiding the people you claim to represent.

Supporters of Drazan and Dudley still have time to encourage both candidates to show up on Saturday, March 14, 2026, at 7 pm, ready to debate.    

Fans of Dudley can email his campaign at [email protected].  

Drazan's admirers can call or email her campaign at 1-503-406-8329 or email her campaign at [email protected].