Looking ahead to an already crowded OR gubernatorial race, including a Bend man

(Update: One Bend candidate says he's withdrawing from race)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- About five months before the deadline, nearly a dozen candidates already have filed to run for Oregon governor in 2022, including a Bend resident. Meanwhile, several others have announced their intentions but are waiting in the wings to make it official, including Oregon's state treasurer, House speaker and another Bend man.

Bend's Brandon Merritt, who works as a business development manager, announced his candidacy as a Republican candidate in a brief news release Monday afternoon.

“Corner to corner, in solidarity, all Oregonians suffer at the hand of failed leadership. This is not a partisan issue as responsibility falls across the political spectrum,” Merritt said.  “This campaign is motivated by a political philosophy that sees the greatness of Oregon, her potential, her people, her resources, her industry, and her reputation."

On the other side of the aisle, Bend's Dave Lavinsky, the president of Growthink, Inc., a business plan development company, initially filed to run as a Democrat, but told NewsChannel 21 he has since withdrawn from the race.

Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read also launched his gubernatorial campaign last week.

In his announcement, the Beaverton Democrat said he would focus on getting Oregonians vaccinated so the state can keep schools and small businesses open safely.

"We need to stop lurching from one crisis to the next and lay out a vision for where to take Oregon, not just next year, but for the next generation," Read said. "My approach is simple: I’ll measure Oregon’s progress by how well our kids are doing.”

Though she has not yet filed to run, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek announced a month ago that she will seek the job now held by fellow Democrat Gov. Kate Brown, who cannot run again in 2022 due to term limits.

One of the five Republicans who have formally filed is Bud Pierce, who lost to Brown in 2016.

The deadline to file with the secretary of state for the May primary election is March 8. 

Here is the full list of candidates who have filed:

• Bridget Barton (R)
• Wilson Bright (D)
• Peter Hall (D)
• Casey Kulla (D)
• Kerry McQuisten (R)
• Keisha Merchant (D)
• Bud Pierce (R)
• Stan Pulliam (R)
• Amber Richardson (R)
• Michael Trimble (D)

NewsChannel 21 spoke Monday evening with former state representative and OSU-Cascades professor Judy Stiegler to see if the high number of candidates at this stage is unusual.

"You know, when it's an open seat like this, I think it's not atypical," Stiegler said. "It's probably more typical in today's time than, say, 20-30 years ago." 

Stiegler says the recent political field appears to be getting wider.

"I think as time has gone on, it's become a more, I guess you would say common thing for people to throw their name in the circle and say, 'Hey, I can do this job just as well as anybody else,'" Stiegler said.

But is it more of an uphill battle coming from this side of the Cascades?

"There's a bit of a challenge," Stiegler said. "But a lot of it has to do more with what your public persona is." 

Stiegler says candidates who have localized their public service efforts need to broaden their horizons.

"It's going to basically take more effort and more resources to get your name out in a statewide arena," she said.