Some key takeaways shed light on exciting developments that could come in November.
What Small Business Owners Need to Know After Oregon’s Primary
Big changes could come to Oregon in November if the state’s May 17 primaries are any indication.
In perhaps the most high-profile election in the state, Republican primary winner Dr. Bud Pierce will challenge Gov. Kate Brown as she guns for re-election. With more than 47 percent of the vote, Pierce easily topped his four other opponents in the crowded Republican gubernatorial primary. Brown received more than 84 percent of the vote, easily securing a victory on the Democratic side. Independent candidate Cliff Thomason will also appear on the November ballot for governor.
Brown has had a controversial first year as governor, including the signing of a divisive minimum wage billinto law that many small businesses advocates, including NFIB, opposed.
The Secretary of State race is another hotly contested election to watch this fall. Dennis Richardson, an NFIB-endorsed candidate for Governor in 2014, will take on Democrat Brad Avakian and Independent Paul Damian Wells in a three-way race. Richardson easily won the Republican primary, garnering more than 77 percent of the vote.
Avakian is the currently the commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, an agency that has come under fire lately for how it plans to implement the state’s minimum wage in July.
Many business owners are eagerly anticipating the elections this fall because there is a possibility for small business-friendly gains in the Oregon Legislature, specifically in the House of Representatives, said NFIB/Oregon State Director Anthony Smith.
In all, 29 NFIB-endorsed incumbent candidates made it to the general election, two of which faced primary challenges.
The Oregon House of Representatives is currently made up of 35 Democrats and 25 Republicans. The Senate is comprised of 18 Democrats and 12 Republicans.
“Regardless of which party controls each chamber after this year’s general election, we hope to see changes in 2017. When legislators come back to Salem next year, they can and should make small business a top priority,” Smith said.
