Brownsville man is Independent Party’s gubernatorial nominee

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Secretary of State’s office says a cabinet maker from Brownsville is the Independent Party of Oregon’s candidate for governor in the upcoming election.

Patrick Starnes narrowly won the Independent Party’s nomination this week with 6,030 votes. Republican State Rep. Knute Buehler received 5,793 votes while Democratic Gov. Kate Brown received 2,899 votes.

Brown and Buehler likely spent thousands of dollars on write-in campaigns attempting to win a cross-nomination from the Independent Party.

The Independent Party’s primarily was open to any voter who requested a ballot.

Starnes says he hopes to get the support of non-affiliated voters and others who may be discouraged by the influence of deep-pocketed political donors.

He says he shares many of Brown and Buehler’s “moderate” political stances and like the two he is “pro-choice, pro-environment.”