Christine Drazan

Christine Renee Drazan (née Deboy; born May 28, 1972) is an American politician who served in the Oregon House of Representatives from the 39th district from 2019 to 2022, as a member of the Republican Party. During her tenure in the state house she served as the minority leader from 2019 to 2021. She was the Republican nominee in the 2022 Oregon gubernatorial election, which she narrowly lost to Democrat Tina Kotek. As of 2024 she is seeking the Republican nomination for a seat in the state house for the 51st district.

Christine Drazan
Drazan in 2019
Minority Leader of the Oregon House of Representatives
In office September 16, 2019 – November 30, 2021
Preceded by	Carl Wilson
Succeeded by	Vikki Breese-Iverson
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 39th district
In office January 14, 2019 – January 31, 2022
Preceded by	Bill Kennemer
Succeeded by	James Hieb
Personal details
Born	Christine Renee Deboy (1972-05-28) May 28, 1972 (age 52)[1] Klamath Falls, Oregon, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Daniel Drazan
Children	3
Education	George Fox University (BA)
Signature

Drazan was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and educated at Eagle Point High School and George Fox University. During the 1990s she worked for Speaker Mark Simmons. She was elected to the state house in the 2018 election and reelected in the 2020 election. During her tenure as minority leader, she engaged in dilatory and quorum denial tactics in an attempt to thwart legislation sponsored by Democrats.

Early life and education

Christine Renee Deboy was born to Perrliee and Dale E. Deboy in Klamath Falls, Oregon. She graduated from Eagle Point High School and George Fox University. She worked as the director of communications for Mark Simmons, the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, in the 1990s. She married Daniel Joseph Drazan on May 17, 1997, with whom she has three children.^[2][3][4]

Drazan is Christian.^[5]

Career

Oregon House of Representatives

Elections

Bill Kennemer, a member of the state house from the 39th district retired during the 2018 election. Drazan defeated John Lee, Seth Rydmark, and Ken Kraft for the Republican nomination and defeated Democratic nominee Elizabeth Graser-Lindsey in the general election.^[6][7][8] She defeated Democratic nominee Tessah Danel and Libertarian nominee Kenny Sernach in the 2020 election.^[9][10]

On March 5, 2024, Drazan announced her candidacy for the Oregon House of Representatives representing the 51st district, which became her home district after the 2020 redistricting cycle.^[11]

Tenure

During Drazan's tenure in the state house she served on the Healthcare committee.^[12] Drazan was selected to replace Carl Wilson as the Minority Leader on September 16, 2019, and served until she was replaced by Vikki Breese-Iverson on November 30, 2021.^[13][14][15]

During her time as Minority Leader the Republicans refused to attend legislative meetings in order to deny a quorum so that legislation could not be passed.^[16][17] Drazan participated in these quorum denials and left the state.^[18] She also forced the readings of the entirety of legislation as a delaying tactic.^[19] She was appointed to the six-member committee to redraw the districts following the 2020 United States census with equal representation from the Democratic and Republican parties as a compromise created to have the Republicans stop using delaying tactics against legislation.^[20][21] Speaker Tina Kotek later reversed her decision and restored the Democratic majority on the committee redrawing the congressional districts.^[22][23] She made a motion for Kotek to be censured due to this, but it failed with thirty-three representatives voting against and fourteen voting in favor.^[24]

Gubernatorial campaign

One of Drazan's aides stated on November 23, 2021, that she was going to run for the Republican nomination in the 2022 gubernatorial election.^[25] She announced her campaign on January 4, 2022, and resigned from the state house on January 31, where her seat was filled by James Hieb.^[26][27][28] Trey Rosser was her campaign manager.^[29] She won in the Republican primary against eighteen other candidates with 23% of the vote.^[30] During 2022 her campaign raised $2,101,788.27 and spent $2,542,604.18.^[31] She lost the election to former Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Tina Kotek.

Political positions

Drazan opposed emissions trading legislation in 2020, and demanded a referendum on the legislation.^[32][33] She supports the usage of an independent redistricting commission for redrawing districts.^[34] She opposed a COVID-19 vaccination mandate.^[35] Drazan opposes allowing transgender athletes to participate in gender-specific sporting events.^[36] Drazan does not support Donald Trump's claims of having won the 2020 presidential election and stated that "Donald Trump did not win. Joe Biden did. He is our president".^[37]

Drazan received a lifetime score of 20% from the Oregon League of Conservation Voters.^[38] She was endorsed by Oregon Right to Life during the 2022 election.^[39] She opposes Measure 114 and received an "A" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund.^[40][41]

Electoral history

2018 Oregon House of Representatives 39th district Republican primary^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christine Drazan	2,640	39.46%
	Republican	John Lee	1,901	28.42%
	Republican	Seth Rydmark	1,072	16.02%
	Republican	Ken Kraft	1,053	15.74%
	Republican	Write-ins	24	0.36%
Total votes			6,690	100.00%

2018 Oregon House of Representatives 39th district election^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christine Drazan	19,732	59.07%
	Democratic	Elizabeth Graser-Lindsey	13,611	40.74%
	Independent	Write-ins	63	0.19%
Total votes			33,406	100.00%

2020 Oregon House of Representatives 39th district Republican primary^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christine Drazan (incumbent)	7,560	99.28%
	Republican	Write-ins	55	0.72%
Total votes			7,615	100.00%

2020 Oregon House of Representatives 39th district election^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christine Drazan (incumbent)	26,202	62.22%
	Democratic	Tessah Danel	14,985	35.58%
	Libertarian	Kenny Sernach	868	2.06%
	Independent	Write-ins	57	0.14%
Total votes			42,112	100.00%

2022 Oregon gubernatorial Republican primary^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Christine Drazan	85,255	22.5%
	Republican	Bob Tiernan	66,089	17.5%
	Republican	Stan Pulliam	41,123	10.9%
	Republican	Bridget Barton	40,886	10.8%
	Republican	Bud Pierce	32,965	8.7%
	Republican	Marc Thielman	30,076	7.9%
	Republican	Kerry McQuisten	28,727	7.6%
	Republican	Bill Sizemore	13,261	3.5%
	Republican	Jessica Gomez	9,970	2.6%
	Republican	Tim McCloud	4,400	1.2%
	Republican	Nick Hess	4,287	1.1%
	Republican	Court Boice	4,040	1.1%
	Republican	Brandon Merritt	3,615	0.9%
	Republican	Reed Christensen	3,042	0.8%
	Republican	Amber Richardson	1,924	0.5%
	Republican	Raymond Baldwin	459	0.1%
	Republican	David Burch	406	0.1%
	Republican	John Presco	174	<0.1%
	Republican	Stefan Strek	171	<0.1%
Total votes			378,317	100%

2022 Oregon gubernatorial election^[43]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Tina Kotek	916,635	46.9%	−3.09%
	Republican	Christine Drazan	849,853	43.5%	−0.11%
	Independent	Betsy Johnson	168,363	8.6%	N/A
	Constitution	Donice Noelle Smith	8,047	0.4%	−0.72%
	Libertarian	R. Leon Noble	6,862	0.3%	−1.20%
		Write-Ins	2,113	0.1%	−0.05
Total votes			1,951,873	100.00%

References

1. The Oregonian Editorial Board (October 17, 2018). "Editorial endorsement: Christine Drazan for House District 39". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
2. "Deboy - Drazan". Statesman Journal. March 24, 1997. p. 24. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Know Your Candidates 2022: Christine Drazan (R), running for Oregon governor". KATU (TV). April 20, 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
4. "Oregon GOP gubernatorial candidates hope 2022 puts an end to 40-year losing streak". Oregon Public Broadcasting. April 13, 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
5. "VOTE 2022: Drazan stands alone in anti-abortion views". 21 October 2022. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
6. Wohler, Kristen (February 13, 2018). "Canby Republican Christine Drazan runs for House District 39". Canby Herald. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
7. "2018 Oregon primary results". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
8. "2018 Oregon election results". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2022-05-21. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
9. "2020 Oregon primary results" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
10. "2020 Oregon election results" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
11. Jaquiss, Nigel (March 5, 2024). "Christine Drazan Will Seek Return to the Oregon House". Willamette Week. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
12. Zimmerman, Sarah (February 22, 2019). "Lawmakers demoted for rude behavior". Corvallis Gazette-Times. p. A6. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Freshman Christine Drazan replaces Carl Wilson as House Republican leader". Salem Reporter. September 17, 2019. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
14. "House Republicans head into 2020 with New Caucus Leader" (PDF). Oregon House of Representatives Republican Caucus. September 16, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 21, 2022.
15. "Representative Drazan steps down from House Republican leadership, Representative Breese-Iverson selected as new Caucus Leader" (PDF). Oregon House of Representatives Republican Caucus. November 30, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 2, 2022.
16. Radnovich, Connor (February 19, 2020). "House Republicans deny quorum for floor session". Statesman Journal. p. A2. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Roberts, David (February 29, 2020). "Oregon Republicans are subverting democracy by running away. Again". Vox. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
18. "Walkout". Corvallis Gazette-Times. February 27, 2020. p. A4. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
19. Warner, Gary A. (March 31, 2021). "Oregon GOP won't delay budget bills". Corvallis Gazette-Times. p. A3. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Redistricting". Albany Democrat-Herald. April 16, 2021. p. A4. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
21. VanderHart, Dirk (April 16, 2021). "It's a gamble': Lawmakers reach deal to end delay tactics". Statesman Journal. p. A1. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
22. Jaquiss, Nigel (March 30, 2022). "Tina Kotek Is Accomplished—and Struggles to Gain Traction With Some Democrats. Why?". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
23. "Oregon Supreme Court Dismisses Two Challenges to New Legislative Map". Willamette Week. November 22, 2021. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
24. "Special session drama could hamper Dems' 2022 agenda". Corvallis Gazette-Times. October 2, 2021. p. A4. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
25. "House Republican Leader Christine Drazan to launch bid for Oregon governor". Oregon Public Broadcasting. November 23, 2021. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
26. "Former House Minority Leader Christine Drazan is resigning from Legislature". Oregon Public Broadcasting. January 21, 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
27. "GOP legislative leader makes governor run official". Albany Democrat-Herald. January 8, 2022. p. A2. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
28. "James Hieb appointed to Oregon House District 39 vacancy". Portland Tribune. February 7, 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
29. "Murmurs: Oregon Leaders Decry Supreme Court Abortion Draft". Willamette Week. May 4, 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
30. "After winning GOP nod for governor, Christine Drazan says values will unite her party". Oregon Public Broadcasting. May 19, 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
31. "Christine Drazan Account Summary". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on May 27, 2022.
32. "Democrats: State climate bill a priority". Corvallis Gazette-Times. January 18, 2020. p. A6. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
33. "Oregon Legislature crashes over climate". Albany Democrat-Herald. March 7, 2020. p. A6. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
34. "Redistricting". Albany Democrat-Herald. April 10, 2021. p. A3. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
35. "Masks". Corvallis Gazette-Times. August 12, 2021. p. A3. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
36. "We Asked Candidates: Should Transgender Athletes Be Barred From Girls Sports?". Willamette Week. April 7, 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
37. "As Republican Christine Drazan runs for Oregon governor, she's walking a careful line on the ticket of a party that's embraced election denial nationally — and locally". The Oregonian. October 27, 2022. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022.
38. "Christine Drazan OLCV Score". League of Conservation Voters. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
39. "Oregon Right to Life Excluded Mayor Stan Pulliam From Its Endorsements". Willamette Week. March 11, 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022.
40. "Oregon gubernatorial candidates clash over guns, abortion". AP NEWS. 2022-09-27. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
41. NRA-PVF. "NRA-PVF | Grades | Oregon". NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved 2022-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
42. "May 17, 2022, Primary Election Abstract of Votes" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 31, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
43. "2022 General Election Unofficial Results". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2022-12-03.

External links

• Campaign website
• Legislative website
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Oregon House of Representatives
Preceded by Bill Kennemer	Member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 39th district 2019–2022	Succeeded by James Hieb
Preceded by Carl Wilson	Minority Leader of the Oregon House of Representatives 2019–2021	Succeeded by Vikki Breese-Iverson
Party political offices
Preceded by Knute Buehler	Republican nominee for Governor of Oregon 2022	Most recent