Torrent slows to a trickle in Oregon's 2024 primary

Torrent slows to a trickle in 2024 primary

Two years ago, we led off the start of the biennial candidate endorsement process with an editorial headlined: “Showering of April endorsements marks flowering of May elections.” And with Oregon’s May 2022 ballot featuring 36 candidates for governor, 16 for 6th District Congress, 10 for U.S. Senate and seven each for labor commissioner and county commissioner, it couldn’t have rung more true.

Well, what a difference two years can make.

This year, nominations are going utterly uncontested on the Republican side for U.S. president and state treasurer. That’s also true — on both the Republican and Democratic sides — for six of the seven legislative seats serving any portion of Yamhill County.

A broad array of posts are destined to go uncontested in November as well, including two local House seats, the local county posts of sheriff, district attorney, assessor and circuit judge, and, on the state level, all appellate judgeships.

Six candidates are seeking a 6th District congressional nomination and eight a secretary of state nomination. That’s what passes for crowded fields on this year’s May ballot.

Undeterred, we plan to endorse in contested races at all levels, based on credentials, campaigns, experiences, accomplishments, news reports and such. And we plan to supplement that research with face-to-face interviews in the primary’s leading local contest — the three-way race for Position 2 on the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners, which could be settled outright in May.

In some cases, the four members of our editorial board may reach difficult and divided conclusions. But that’s OK, as our aim is not delivering the last word, rather serving up the facts we found relevant and conclusions we drew in order to assist readers in reaching their own decisions.