{"id":1622800,"date":"2022-08-26T10:15:13","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T14:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1622800"},"modified":"2022-08-26T10:15:19","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T14:15:19","slug":"oregons-independent-gubernatorial-candidate-swears-shes-a-centrist-her-voting-record-says-otherwise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oregons-independent-gubernatorial-candidate-swears-shes-a-centrist-her-voting-record-says-otherwise\/","title":{"rendered":"Oregon\u2019s Independent Gubernatorial Candidate Swears She\u2019s A Centrist. Her Voting Record Says Otherwise."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Foregons-independent-gubernatorial-candidate-swears-shes-a-centrist-her-voting-record-says-otherwise%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1622800&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"article-category\"><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/elections\/\">Elections<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-excerpt\">Former Democrat Betsy Johnson has a history of voting with progressive opponent Tina Kotek<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-thumbnail-container relative lg:mr-24 w-full my-4 mb-8\"><figcaption class=\"absolute text-white p-4 w-full text-right text-xs bottom-0 bg-black opacity-75\">\n\t\t\t\tOregon independent gubernatorial candidate Betsy Johnson \/ Twitter screenshot\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t<span class=\"text-gray text-xs md:text-lg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/author\/josh-christenson\/\" title=\"Posts by Josh Christenson\" class=\"author url fn text-red-700\" rel=\"author\">Josh Christenson<\/a> \u2022 August 24, 2022 3:50 pm<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>An independent Oregon gubernatorial candidate who pitches herself as a centrist has a history of voting with her progressive opponent.<\/p>\n<p>Betsy Johnson and her Democratic opponent Tina Kotek have each served in the Oregon legislature since the mid-2000s. During that time, Johnson sided with Kotek on bills to decriminalize drugs, reduce incarceration, and impose one of the largest tax hikes in Oregon&#8217;s history.<\/p>\n<p>The voting record may be a stumbling block for Johnson, who has sought to distance herself from what she&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/senbetsyjohnson\/status\/1553759651229048833?s=20&amp;t=fe6POgdMSbH-XtWYKb0_Gw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called<\/a> the &#8220;extremes&#8221; of partisan politics. The candidate has touted her &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.runbetsyrun.com\/la_grande_observer_oregon_political_season_heats_up_with_diverse_support_for_johnson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cross-party endorsements<\/a>&#8221; and &#8220;no-nonsense&#8221; approach to crime and homelessness to gain an edge in a tight three-way race against Kotek and former Oregon House minority leader Christine Drazan (R.).<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Oregonians are distrustful of the radical right, and they are terrified of the progressive left,&#8221; Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/senbetsyjohnson\/status\/1553221998909837313\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> during the first gubernatorial debate in July. &#8220;There is a thirst for common-sense change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The same month, Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/ktvl.com\/news\/ripple-effect\/oregon-gubernatorial-candidates-thoughts-on-measure-110-and-what-they-would-do-if-elected-betsy-johnson-christine-drazan-tina-kotek-governor-race\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">claimed<\/a> she voted against Oregon&#8217;s drug decriminalization ballot measure, which she said &#8220;without question&#8221; worsened the state&#8217;s &#8220;substance abuse problem.&#8221; But she <a href=\"https:\/\/olis.oregonlegislature.gov\/liz\/2021R1\/Measures\/Overview\/SB755\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">voted for<\/a> a law to enforce the measure as a Democratic state senator in June 2021, months before she announced her candidacy. Johnson had served as a Democratic state representative and state senator since 2001 before she announced her run for governor in December.<\/p>\n<p>A spokeswoman for Johnson&#8217;s campaign told the <em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em> that the former senator only voted for drug decriminalization &#8220;once the fate of the measure was already determined by Oregon voters.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Overdose deaths in Oregon have been on the rise in the last few years, up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregon.gov\/oha\/PH\/PREVENTIONWELLNESS\/SUBSTANCEUSE\/OPIOIDS\/Documents\/monthly_opioid_overdose_related_data_report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">40 percent in 2021<\/a>. Portland, the state&#8217;s largest city, set an all-time record for homicides last year.<\/p>\n<p>In March, Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/nbc16.com\/news\/local\/i-can-now-be-loyal-only-to-oregonians-betsy-johnson-runs-unaffiliated-for-governor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> her views &#8220;have not changed&#8221; since she entered the race.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I still have my core values and those don&#8217;t change,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;I would describe myself as fiscally more conservative; socially very moderate, more to liberal.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, though, Johnson joined with outgoing Oregon governor Kate Brown (D.) to push through a $5 billion infrastructure bill, which the governor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonlive.com\/politics\/2017\/07\/big_win_for_legislative_leader.html#:~:text=On%20a%20vote%20of%2022,Gov.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hailed<\/a> as one of her three biggest legislative achievements. The law added a four-cent gas tax increase. Johnson in 2019 also <a href=\"https:\/\/olis.oregonlegislature.gov\/liz\/2019R1\/Measures\/Overview\/HB3427\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">voted<\/a> for a $2 billion corporate tax, driving up the cost of goods and services for business owners of all stripes in Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson has also tried to position herself as tough on crime. In a November op-ed, she <a href=\"https:\/\/pamplinmedia.com\/pt\/10-opinion\/528260-422232-our-opinion-keeping-the-public-in-public-safety\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">criticized<\/a>\u00a0Brown for signing a sweeping commutation order. But as a state senator, Johnson voted for <a href=\"https:\/\/justfacts.votesmart.org\/bill\/9834\/26730\/46663\/implementing-measure-57\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a law<\/a> that made nearly a third of the prison population\u2014including convicted murderers\u2014eligible for release as long as they demonstrated good behavior.<\/p>\n<p>The former Democrat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/politics\/politics-news\/betsy-johnson-extremist-oregon-governor-race-1234579086\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has said<\/a> protecting &#8220;a woman&#8217;s right to choose&#8221; is one of three pillars of her campaign. She <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opb.org\/article\/2022\/07\/14\/oregon-governor-candidate-betsy-johnson-answers-opb-questions-on-abortion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">supports<\/a> late-term abortions and boasts about having a stronger pro-choice record than Kotek. &#8220;I was on a Planned Parenthood board in Oregon before Tina was even an Oregonian,&#8221; she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wweek.com\/news\/2022\/07\/13\/three-clues-to-where-the-candidates-for-oregon-governor-stand-on-abortion-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elections Former Democrat Betsy Johnson has a history of voting with progressive opponent Tina Kotek  Oregon independent gubernatorial candidate Betsy Johnson \/ Twitter screenshot  Josh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1622800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1622800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1622800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1622800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1622800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1622800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1622800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}