My US Senate Campaign Officially Endorses Ed Diehl for Governor

Why Oregon Republicans Must Choose Ed Diehl for Governor

As the only veteran (Marines) running for the United States Senate in Oregon, I am officially endorsing Ed Diehl for Governor over Christine Drazan - the establishment choice. 

This race is not about personalities. It is about whether Oregon Republicans will finally break free from the small circle of Salem insiders who have turned our party into the smallest major party in the state, or whether we will send a true outsider and fresh Republican to the governor’s office who can actually defeat Tina Kotek in November.

Christine Drazan is the clear favorite of the Republican establishment—the “Salem Swamp.” When Ed Diehl was still in the race against her, Bruce Starr, the Senate Minority Leader, publicly endorsed Drazan anyway. That single act told every Oregon Republican exactly who the insiders want in the governor’s mansion: one of their own.

Drazan, Adair, David Smith, Bruce Starr, and their tight-knit group have controlled the party’s direction for years, and the results speak for themselves. Oregon Republicans have been losing ground, losing seats, and losing elections because the establishment keeps offering the same tired, insider-driven choices that voters have already rejected.

Ed Diehl is not one of them.

He is a newcomer to the Oregon legislature. He has never been part of the insider club in Salem. He does not owe favors to the same consultants, donors, or party bosses who have been running the show. And that is precisely why he is the strongest candidate we have.

Most Oregon Republicans are not part of that small Salem circle. They are fed up with it. They see how the establishment has weakened our party and left us unable to win statewide. They are looking for someone who will fight the status quo, not protect it.

Ed Diehl is that fighter.

Like Ed, I am an outsider in my US Senate race as a Republican also. I am not backed by Bruce Starr or the Salem Swamp. In fact, establishment Republicans in my own county have attacked me online, posted against me on Facebook, and worked behind the scenes to try to clear the field for their preferred candidates.

They are playing the same games against Ed—boosting Drazan, whispering doubts about Diehl, doing everything they can to keep power inside their small circle. I see it. I recognize it. And I reject it.

That is why I identify so strongly with Ed Diehl. We are both outsiders who refuse to kneel to the insiders. We both believe the only way to win in November is to give Oregon voters a real choice—someone who has not already been compromised by the very system voters want to change.

I personally like some of the other candidates running for governor. I respect their service and their ideas. But respect is not the same as confidence. After looking at the race, the polling, the mood of Oregon voters, and the reality of what it will take to beat Tina Kotek, I am convinced that Ed Diehl is the only Republican who can win in November and give Oregon its first Republican governor in many years.

Tina Kotek and the Democrats have controlled the state for too long. They have driven up housing costs, failed our schools, and burdened families with higher taxes and more government interference. Oregon is ready for change. But that change will not come from another establishment Republican who is already on a first-name basis with the same lobbyists and insiders who run Salem.

It will only come from an outsider who has never been part of the problem. That is Ed Diehl.

As I campaign across Oregon for the U.S. Senate—fighting to defeat Jeff Merkley and restore real representation in Washington—I will continue to fight the establishment Republicans in my own county, in Salem, and across the state.

I will never apologize for being an outsider, and I will never stop fighting for the Republican voters who have been ignored by the insiders for far too long.

That is why I am proud to stand with Ed Diehl for Governor of Oregon. 

Disclaimer: I, or my campaign, have not reached out to Ed or spoken to him about this endorsement. We have not received or been given anything for this endorsement. He and his campaign are not even aware of it until someone sends this to him or he sees it online. .

Russ McAlmond MBA,MSFS,CFP
US Marine Corps Veteran - Republican 
Candidate for United States Senate, Oregon