Christine Drazan

Drazan was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, the youngest of three children. Her father worked at a veneer plant, and the family moved to the Medford area as the timber industry declined. She has said she lived in 15 homes before graduating from high school.⁠[1][2]

She graduated from Eagle Point High School and in 1993 earned a degree in communication arts from George Fox University in Newberg.⁠[1]

After college Drazan worked briefly in public relations and then joined the Capitol as a staffer for House Republican Leader Ray Baum, later working for four more legislative leaders. In 2001 she became chief of staff to House Speaker Mark Simmons, leaving the job in 2003.⁠[1]

She then worked for the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, serving as its political coordinator from 2006 to 2011, and was executive director of the Cultural Advocacy Coalition of Oregon from 2011 to 2018. In 2017 she joined the Clackamas County Planning Commission.⁠[3][1]

In 2018 Drazan was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives from District 39 and took office in 2019. On September 16, 2019, she won a closed-door caucus vote that replaced Carl Wilson as House Republican leader.⁠[3][1]

In February 2020 she led House Republicans in walking out of the Capitol to block a vote on a cap-and-trade bill.⁠[1]

She gave up the Republican leader post in 2021 and was succeeded by Vikki Breese-Iverson; in January 2022 she announced she would resign from the House, effective January 31, to focus on her campaign for governor.⁠[4]

Drazan ran as the Republican nominee in the 2022 gubernatorial election. Asked about abortion law during the campaign, she said: “I have been very clear that I will in fact enforce existing laws and will not change existing laws.”⁠[1]

In the three-way race she lost to Tina KotekTina KotekTina Kotek is an American Democratic politician who has been governor of Oregon since January 2023. She previously served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2007 to 2022, including as speaker from 2013 to 2022, and was re-elected governor in November 2026.Open the full entry by more than 3 percentage points, with independent Betsy Johnson taking 8.6 percent. On November 11, 2022, almost a full day after the Associated Press called the race for Kotek, Drazan conceded; her campaign said: “The math for a comeback simply does not add up.”⁠[5][6]

On May 21, 2024, Drazan defeated incumbent James Hieb 68.4 percent to 31.5 percent in the Republican primary for House District 51, and she won the November 5 general election with 94.1 percent. She was re-elected House Republican caucus leader before taking office and returned to the House in 2025.⁠[3][7]

After state Senator Daniel Bonham resigned, county commissioners from Clackamas, Hood River, Multnomah and Wasco counties appointed Drazan on October 23, 2025, to Oregon Senate District 26; she took office on October 24 for a term ending January 11, 2027.⁠[3][7]

In the May 19, 2026, Republican primary for governor Drazan won with 40.5 percent of the vote, ahead of state Representative Ed Diehl and former NBANBAThe National Basketball Association (NBA) is a North American professional basketball league with 30 teams.Open the full entry player Chris Dudley; the Associated Press called the race for her shortly before 9 p.m. “We’re not a state that can’t change,” she said that night.⁠[3][7]

On July 25, 2026, she also received the Libertarian Party’s nomination at its convention.⁠[3]

In the November 3, 2026, gubernatorial election Drazan again faced Tina Kotek, with Pacific Green candidate Brett Smith also on the ballot. The Associated Press declared Kotek the winner early on November 4.⁠[8][3]

She did not seek re-election to her Senate seat in 2026; her Senate term ends on January 11, 2027.⁠[3]

Christine Drazan campaign: Official website: https://christinefororegon.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[9]

X: Public account: https://x.com/ChristineDrazan (opens in a new window).⁠[9]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzj0___2WruvJsMn3KZkCDw (opens in a new window).⁠[9]