PORTLAND, Ore. – Betsy Johnson is not running for Miss Congeniality. The longtime Democrat now running for governor of Oregon as an unaffiliated candidate is more likely to drop a swear word than a political platitude. When voters asked if she would repeal Oregon’s drug decriminalization law, she responded, “Hell yes.” On education, she declared, “Let’s not worry about pronouns. Let’s worry about mathematics.”
Johnson’s bid for governor has turned the race into a three-way competition against Democrat Tina Kotek, who previously served as speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, and Republican Christine Drazan, the former Oregon House minority leader. Johnson sees herself as the moderate among two extremes.
“I am not beholden to any political agenda or ideology, and I’m certainly not running to do something other than fix a place I love,” Johnson told Fox News. “I may seem like an unlikely agent of big, bold change. That’s exactly what I am and who I am.”
ANALYSTS’ RATINGS SHIFT IN FAVOR OF DEMOCRATS IN PENNSYLVANIA SENATE RACE, GOP IN OREGON GUBERNATORIAL RACE
Betsy Johnson, who is running for governor of Oregon as an unaffiliated candidate, listens to outraged residents during a roundtable discussion Sept. 29, 2022, in Portland, Oregon.
(Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News)
“Everybody’s pissed”
Born and raised in Oregon, Johnson owned a helicopter business and flew in international competitions before being elected to the state House in the 2000 election. She was appointed to replace the late Joan Dukes in the state Senate five years later, earning reelection four times. But last year she gave up her seat to run as an unaffiliated candidate in the gubernatorial race.
“As a native Oregonian, I am embarrassed,” she said. “I’m embarrassed about the breakdown of our processes. I’m embarrassed about policy. I’m embarrassed about how Portland looks.”
Oregon can’t succeed if Portland fails, and Portland is failing “by every metric,” Johnson said at a recent…