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Oregon Elections Chief Wants Earlier Presidential Primary

Oregon's secretary of state wants to move the state's next presidential primary to an earlier date.
Kevin Mooney
/
Northwest News Network
Oregon's secretary of state wants to move the state's next presidential primary to an earlier date.

Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson wants to move the state’s next presidential primary to an earlier date. Oregon currently holds its presidential primary in mid-May.

That places it fairly late in the primary election cycle. By the time Oregon voters selected Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican Donald Trump in 2016, most Americans had already had a crack at filling out their primary ballot.

In a letter to Oregon Governor Kate Brown and legislative leaders, Richardson proposed to move the state’s primary earlier in the year. He said the change would elevate Oregon’s priorities in the national discussion. 


The change would require legislative approval. Richardson said under his proposal, candidates for non-presidential offices would still be nominated in May.

Copyright 2017 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman has been reporting on Oregon issues since 2006. He joined the KLCC news department in December 2018 and became News Director in March 2023. Chris was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism. His public broadcasting career includes stops in Louisiana and Illinois. Chris has filed for national programs including “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”