After winning the Democratic Primary nomination for Senate District 11, Woodburn Mayor Eric Swenson announced he was pulling out of the race in June. At the time, he recommended former Woodburn City Council member and state legislator Teresa Alonso Leon to run in his place in November against Republican Kim Thatcher. Leon lost her recent primary bid for the state’s new 6th Congressional District, and thus was eligible to be nominated by a committee to fill this vacancy.
However other candidates such as local Keizer attorney Richard Walsh and local school administrator Anthony Rosilez, who both ran against Swenson, objected to the fact that Leon did not run in the same race.
The issue was left up to the Precinct Committee Persons (PCP) who met at Whiteaker Middle School in Keizer on June 30, who decided Richard Walsh would represent the Democrats in the upcoming election.
K.C. Hanson, Oregon Democratic Party Chair, released a statement about the decision shortly after it was made.
“As Democrats, we’re excited to get behind Rich and defeat Kim Thatcher in November,” he said.