Starr named Senate Minority Leader following Bonham's resignation
By SHAANTH NANGUNERI
Of the Oregon Capital Chronicle
Oregon Senate Republicans chose one of their most experienced members to lead the caucus on Monday after outgoing Minority Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, stepped down and announced plans to resign from the Senate.
Bonham’s move, which resulted in Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, taking the reins after a closed-door meeting, spurred renewed speculation about his future plans. He did not elaborate on those plans in a statement Monday, welcoming the new leadership and subsequently announcing a resignation effective Oct. 5.
“I couldn’t be more confident in Sen. Starr stepping in as our new Leader. Bruce is steady, experienced, and committed to fighting for Oregonians,” he said. “I know this caucus will continue moving forward with focus and purpose.”
Bonham is barred from running for reelection next year because he participated in a six-week quorum-denying walkout in 2023 to protest Democratic bills on guns, abortion and gender-affirming care.
Starr regained his place in the Senate this year after serving in the Legislature from 1999 to 2015 and losing his 2014 reelection bid narrowly. He replaced former Sen. Brian Boquist, who like Bonham was barred from running for reelection because of the 2023 walkout.
Starr called Bonham’s service “exceptional” in a statement Monday, saying he “leaves huge shoes to fill.”
“It is humbling, and an honor, to be chosen among my Senate Republican colleagues to serve as Minority Leader,” Starr said. “Oregon is at a crossroads, and we know the solvency and viability of our state depends on our ability to achieve electoral and policy victories for Oregonians.”
Despite being among a special group of four Republicans who were tapped to help Democrats pass a landmark transportation package earlier this year, Starr told Oregon Public Broadcasting in June that he would not support the legislation.
“This Republican is not going to just be a stamp of approval on a partisan tax increase without additional collaboration,” he said at the time.
Many in the Republican caucus have known for around a week that Bonham would not run for his leadership position again, Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, told the Capital Chronicle on Friday. Another Republican lawmaker, Sen. Todd Nash, R-Enterprise, confirmed the meeting and said that a forthcoming vote on leadership has been planned since lawmakers elected Bonham leader of their caucus last year.
“There are others that are interested in leadership,” Nash said. “I don’t have any information about what that’s going to look like.”
His future plans remain to be seen, and it’s not clear whether he has discussed them with his fellow colleagues, several of whom told the Capital Chronicle they had no knowledge of them. But on the right-leaning political commentary podcast Crosstabs on Friday, co-host Bryan Iverson, a Senate staffer and husband of Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, said said he was hearing that Bonham “got a job in the Trump administration” to work for U.S Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a former Oregon congressmember appointed by President Donald Trump after losing her reelection bid to Democrat Janelle Bynum.
“The rumor mill is telling me that he’s out of here,” Iverson said. “He’s gonna go work for Lori Chavez-DeRemer or one of the agencies over there and he’s gonna step down.”
The U.S. Department of Labor did not answer repeated inquiries about Bonham’s role and whether he was being hired by the department. An agency spokesperson reached last week stopped responding to messages after asking for Bonham’s name to confirm the position.
Bonham has long been supportive of Chavez-DeRemer, whom he endorsed out the gate for her 2024 reelection bid to Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, which spans from southeast Portland across the Cascades to Bend. She most recently drew headlines for requesting a federal “crack down” on Portland.
Nash added that the last time the caucus moved to appoint Bonham, a consensus emerged quickly given that “nobody else” was interested in the position.
Bonham and his office have not responded to text messages, emails and a phone call seeking clarity on his future position or plans for leadership. His term doesn’t end until January 2027, so commissioners from Hood River, Wasco, Clackamas and Multnomah counties will have to appoint a replacement from a list compiled by local Republican officials.
Bonham said in a statement Monday that he supported House Minority Leader, Christine Drazan, R-Canby, filling his position for the remainder of his term. Drazan, who previously ran against Gov. Tina Kotek in 2022, has not announced her plans for the 2026 general election.
“I also trust that Representative Drazan will serve the remainder of my term with the same integrity and dedication she has always shown,” he said. “I know this caucus will build on the successes we’ve had, and I leave with deep gratitude for the opportunity to serve alongside them.”
In a statement following Bonham’s announcement, Drazan confirmed she’ll seek the Senate appointment. If county commissioners choose her, that would trigger an open seat in the 51st House District spanning much of Clackamas County. Her caucus will elect leadership during legislative days from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, when lawmakers meet at the Capitol in Salem every few weeks outside of scheduled sessions for informational hearings, said Sam Herscovitz, a spokesperson for House Republicans.
“During his service in the legislature, Senator Daniel Bonham has been a fearless leader and invaluable partner, wholly committed to standing up for Oregonians and their families,” Drazan said. “It has been a privilege to serve our shared constituents and I welcome the opportunity to complete his term and uphold his high standards of public service in the State Senate.”
Rep. Jeff Helfrich, R-Hood River, announced in February that he would be running for Bonham’s seat. He did not respond to requests for comment about Bonham’s position in the Senate.
Some of Bonham’s colleagues, meanwhile, are keeping their cards closer to their vest. Sen. Noah Robinson, R-Cave Junction, declined to comment on the specifics of internal caucus deliberations out of “politeness” for his colleagues. In a brief phone interview, he praised Bonham’s leadership and said lawmakers would stay focused on fighting tax increases for Oregonians.
“Bonham’s been a good leader. We’re working together, and I think we’re united in this opposition to these new taxes,” Robinson said. “So you’ll get the same thing, I think, from all of us.”
Senators are expected to convene in Salem on Wednesday to vote on the new version of the proposal.
Used with permission from Oregon Capital Chronicle. See more at www.oregoncapitalchronicle.com.
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