Roseburg native Knute Buehler has announced he is running for Congress in the 2nd congressional district.
The former Bend state representative is seeking the Republican nomination for the seat being vacated due to the retirement of longtime Congressman Greg Walden.
In a press release, Buehler said “many Oregonians are tired of being disrespected or ignored by Portland liberals and elite D.C. politicians”. If elected, Buehler said he will “defend the values, rights and jobs threatened by the powerful arm of big government”. His release said he will be “a conservative voice for the people and place I call home”.
Buehler’s release said he grew up working in the woods and driving a Pepsi delivery truck. He said he and his two brothers were the first in their family to attend college. Buehler earned an undergraduate degree from Oregon State University, played baseball and was a Rhodes scholar. After attending Oxford University, Buehler earned a medical degree from the John Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Buehler was elected to the Oregon House in 2014 and was re-elected in 2016. He was the Republican nominee for Secretary of State in 2012 and for Governor in 2018. In four statewide elections, including primary and general, he won the second congressional district each time.
His release said “Oregon’s rural urban divide isn’t an immovable feature of the national landscape, it is an artificial divide created by politicians each day in Salem, Portland and Washington D.C.”. He said he would “never stop fighting for Oregon’s traditional jobs in farming, ranching and timber”. He also said he would work for limited government, secure borders and would “stand firm against government takeover of health care”.
The 2nd district includes the larger cities of Medford, and Bend, and takes up all of central and eastern Oregon.