I'm uncertain about who to vote for in the Democratic Governor primary

I'm usually quite opinionated when it comes to politics. But this morning my wife asked me who I favored in the upcoming May Democratic primary for Oregon Governor. 

I said, "I don't know. Tina Kotek and Tobias Read are the favorites. I'm not sure which is best."

A KGW story, updated as of April 12, shows 16 candidates in the Democratic primary. Wikipedia has 15 candidates, lacking Michael David. This is the Wikipedia list.

Again, Tina Kotek and Tobias Read seem to be the only viable candidates. Both are experienced in Oregon politics, have a decent amount of campaign funds, and have gotten high-profile endorsements, according to Wikipedia. (Highest profile is Elizabeth Warren endorsing Kotek.)

I find myself leaning toward Kotek for these reasons.

She knows how to play political hardball, given the nine years she spent as Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. Betsy Johnson, a former Democratic state senator with a decided independent streak, is running for Governor as -- no big surprise -- an independent. 

Johnson has more campaign funds than any other candidate. She's tough. I worry that Tobias Read, who strikes me as a very nice guy, albeit a bit too bland for my tastes, wouldn't be able to handle debates with Johnson and my guess who will win the Republican primary, Christine Drazan. 

Drazan was minority leader in the House for two years, 2019-21. If she's the GOP candidate, Drazan will attack the Democratic candidate even more vociferously than Johnson will. After all, until recently Johnson was a Democrat, so Johnson and Kotek will agree on more than Drazan and Kotek do.

And I like the idea of having three women vying to be Governor on the November ballot. 

Still, I'm open to arguments as to why I should vote for Tobias Read in the May primary rather than Tina Kotek. If you have one, share away in a comment or email (address is in right sidebar).

I'm curious about any substantive policy differences between Kotek and Read. However, my top priority for the Democratic Governor candidate is that they're able to defeat Betsy Johnson and the Republican candidate in the November election. 

Comments

[Jim Scheppke]

In the recent Legislative session Read did not support the Treasury Transparency bill that would have required his department to disclose investments in fossil fuels, a first step in getting to divestment, which he has always resisted in the past. The bill died as a result. The Treasury under his watch is still investing millions of our dollars in companies that are destroying the livability of the planet. That's why I'm voting for Kotek, who has worked to pass all the major climate actions the Legislature has taken recently.

[Laurel Muller]

I’m still undecided but also leaning toward Kotek. Some of Read’s early Facebook ads attacking Kotek and blaming her for every Oregon problem really turned me off. For instance, he blamed her for Intel choosing Ohio instead of Oregon for their huge new chip plant, assuming that any huge manufacturing plant is always a plus, even if we have to compete with huge tax breaks and land use waivers. He also wondered how through all her years as speaker she was not able to solve the homelessness problem.