BUCK: We’re just a few weeks away and one race that could very well go in the GOP column that would send a shockwave through the political establishment is Oregon. Politico, the left-wing political site, had this story up today. “Oregon is suddenly in jeopardy,” like it’s facing an earthquake or something, right? Suddenly the state of Oregon is in jeopardy and Joe Biden wants to help. You know why it’s, quote, in jeopardy? Because Christine Drazan is doing a heck of a job running her campaign and might actually win this governor’s race and the libs will cry. She’s with us now. Christine, thanks for calling back.

DRAZAN: Thanks so much for having me. It’s great to be back.

BUCK: So, look, there’s so many issues that we want to break down but we only have a little bit of time. I asked Clay this before. We’re talking a lot about the crime issue here. But Oregon was one of the crazier states, certainly in Portland and the surrounding areas for covid stuff. Is that what is getting people behind you more than anything else? Is it just the economy and crime? What’s the third issue?

DRAZAN: It’s well, it’s death by a thousand cuts. It’s affordability. We are one of the least affordable states in the nation. And when our, you know, major urban core, used to be one of the safest places in the nation, now it’s one of the least safe. Crime skyrocketed.

It’s expensive to live here. Our schools are a mess. Our schools had a longer shutdown than California for our students. I mean, just to put that into perspective and our ACT scores and all of our standardized testing show that our kids are in a real bad way. And parents are upset. I mean, you name it, you name the category, you name the issue. And under single party control and Democrat leadership in my dear home state, we are in a ditch.

Tina Kotek and Kate Brown decriminalized drugs, released criminals, and didn’t provide any real solutions to solve homelessness

Watch our new TV ad holding them accountable ⬇️ #orpol pic.twitter.com/Kwpnm9WodQ

— Christine Drazan (@ChristineDrazan) October 11, 2022

CLAY: Christine, I saw that Phil Knight donated $1,000,000 to your campaign. He’s a founder of Nike. I don’t know that he’s known to be a Republican donor, but when I saw this, it was emblematic. I thought of the appeal that you are creating. And I’m curious if you could kind of put this into perspective for us. But even people who might not be traditional Democrats in Oregon are saying, “Things are broken here. We have to try something different.” I’m assuming Phil Knight is one of those guys. He’s a business guy. He understands how to make money. He’s run a very successful business. Are you seeing a lot of people who may be traditional Democrat voters coming to your side because they just recognize how broken things are in Oregon right now?

DRAZAN: Oh, absolutely. I mean, this is not a partisan race. This is really a very simple question for all Oregonians. And that is, are you better off today than you were four years ago? Are you better off today than you were eight years ago? Democrats have had complete control of our government now for a decade. So, they’ve had an opportunity to show what their leadership looks like. So, the simple question for all Oregonians, regardless of party, is are you better off? And, if you’re not, we need change.

And that’s really, really what is…what’s behind the energy and the momentum of this campaign are Oregonians recognizing that the problems that we have, they’re solvable. We can do this. We’re capable of doing this. We have an amazing, beautiful state with fantastic people that are innovative and hardworking. And yet we find ourselves on issue after issue in some deep decline right now. And I was, you know, thankful and honored to have Phil Knight’s support in this race.

But his support comes after thousands of Oregonians have already weighed in on this race and say, “We are supporting change. We’re standing up for balance. Now we believe in the future of our own state. And to get this done, we can’t keep doing the same thing.”

BUCK: We’re speaking to Christine Drazan. She is, in some polls, up ahead, folks, in Oregon. So, to say this race is winnable is almost something of an understatement. It’s looking good right now, but we’ve got to keep the momentum going behind Drazan. By the way, are people walking around saying “Amazin’, amazin’ Drazan” or has that not caught on yet?

DRAZAN: You know what? That could take off from today on.

BUCK: There we go: #AmazinDrazan. And I’m just wondering, is Brown, the current governor, is she doing what she can to make it seem like she’s been more moderate than she is, which we see in some states where Democrats are effectively pretending like, “Oh, I didn’t… I’m not… I don’t hate fracking and want to defund the police.” It’s like, “Well, you did until five minutes ago.” Or is the current governor’s position in your state of Oregon, “I’m just going to ride the left-wing Looney Tunes Express and see where it takes me.”?

DRAZAN: Yeah, yeah. She’s definitely the latter in that camp. The most interesting thing about this race is my opponent, Tina Kotek, has been, you know, arm in arm with Kate Brown throughout her entire administration, directing our state further and further out of the mainstream and deeper into decline. And now when we have a joint appearance together, she is, you know, saying that Kate Brown is not a strong leader.

And Kate, you know, did everything wrong. And she’s the reason we’re in this terrible position. And what we really need is another Democrat that shares all the same values that can just be more of the same. And she unabashedly throws Kate Brown under the bus. And so, that’s really how, you know, where the state of the race is when the incumbent governor is just such a drag on the Democrat ticket that they’d have to run from her.

And in fact, they’re choosing Biden over Kate on a daily basis as the banner for it, for their candidacy. It is really, really shocking that that’s just how unpopular Kate Brown is in the state of Oregon. Her leadership harmed our state and regardless of party, folks know it.

CLAY: Christine, when you initially started your campaign, I’m sure a lot of people said, “Ha, ha, Republicans never going to get elected in Oregon.” As Buck referenced, a lot of the polls have you ahead. You are going, I believe, to be the next governor of Oregon. But I’m curious, there hasn’t been a Republican governor in Oregon since the 1980s.

We’re 26 days ’till the election. Do you expect for Democrats to get desperate and really nasty now that they see you as a legit threat, maybe in a way that they didn’t in June and July, as this election looms? What are you seeing on the ground and what are your opponents saying? Are they getting nastier with you as they recognize, “Uh-oh, she may really win.”?

DRAZAN: Yeah. Tina Kotek has a consistent record of lying just as a legislator. And now that we’re in a campaign cycle, she’s had no qualms about just making stuff up. And so, that’s where they’re at in this race right now. They are absolutely desperate. And the, you know, the Oregon political class is just absolutely losing their minds. The D.C. political class is in panic mode.

I mean, we’re talking about just a Democrat Party that has no idea what’s happening right now. I mean, Tina Kotek is so entitled to this governor’s office. You know, she just wants to step into the seat. And that’s just not what’s happening. They are having to fight hard in this race, and we’re up in this race and absolutely committed to winning this race. And they’ve just never seen it before. It’s been years and years and years.

Last time a Republican was in the governor’s office, you know, “We have this”, right? Top gun with in the theaters and now it’s back. It’s my favorite. I think it’s definitely, it’s definitely our moment here in Oregon. But more than anything else, the Democrats are not…they can’t believe their eyes. They can’t believe that their own party would leave them, that they couldn’t just do anything they wanted to the state of our state, and they wouldn’t just accept it. Instead, Oregonians are standing up and they’re saying, “This is a mess and y’all are fired.”

CLAY: Christine, one of the things we talk about on this show is the difference between insane and sane. We don’t talk all the time about Democrat, Republican, because there are a lot of things the Democrats are doing that are flat out insane. You’re a mom of three. Republican women, it seems like you have finally gotten fed up and said:

“Hey, we have to speak out. We have to do something.” I’m curious, not just in Oregon, but nationwide. Are you seeing a lot of moms with this covid impact and everything else who finally have just had enough and are recognizing that it’s time for a change? And do you think Oregon is part of a bigger story here about Republican moms standing up?

“As Governor I will ensure that we have law enforcement on our streets and that our communities are safe.”

I spoke with @IngrahamAngle on @FoxNews about our desperate need for safer streets in Oregon. #orpol pic.twitter.com/fF8CB83SvT

— Christine Drazan (@ChristineDrazan) October 11, 2022

DRAZAN: Yeah. I actually think to your point that this isn’t partisan either. I think that moms across the political spectrum are standing up and advocating for their kids and covid in particular hurt our students. And in Oregon, you know, they were they were left behind.

They were thrown under the bus. And it was really all politics and had nothing to do about them. And they were collateral damage. And that’s not good enough. And so, I hear all the time when I do events, parents coming up to me saying we are not political, we have never done this before, but promise me that you will not shut our school down.

And that, that is the moment where you realize people are paying attention like they haven’t before and that they are demanding change because it affects their family. Tt affects their kids. It affects their future. And they deserve to have elected leaders that put them first, that respect their family. They want the best for their kids and aren’t going to put some political agenda in front of what’s right and best for Oregonians.

BUCK: Christine, for our audience, including our affiliate in Portland on KEX-AM, where should they go if they want to help out, donate or get involved?

DRAZAN: Oh, thank you. It’s ChristineForOregon.com. It’s all spelled out and we are just growing in numbers by the day, but this is going to take Oregonians stepping in and doing stuff they haven’t done before. Making the calls, knocking on the doors, talking to friends and family, giving if they’re able. All of it makes a huge difference and is going to help us deliver the win on November the eighth.

BUCK: Christine Drazan, thanks so much. Good luck to you. And we’re going to talk to you certainly right after this election. Appreciate it.

DRAZAN: Thank you.