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Deschutes County voters are sending a Democratic lawmaker to the Oregon Senate for the first time in 17 years.
Unofficial results for Senate District 27 showed Anthony Broadman claiming the open seat, decisively leading Republican candidate Michael Summers.
Broadman, 46, is a lawyer for tribal governments who was elected to the Bend City Council in 2020. He also serves as chief judge of the Warm Springs Court of Appeals on the Warm Springs Reservation in Central Oregon.
He branded himself to voters as a pragmatist “who is a problem-solver and looks past partisan divides,” according to his campaign website.
On election night, Broadman said he was “thrilled” with the early results while at a party with other candidates backed by the Democratic Party.
“I think people want good practical government. They want us to show up and do our job, not focus on the culture wars and the politics,” he said.
Broadman added that his focus is “to make sure housing is affordable in this community, that we’re being climate and wildlife resilient, that our kids are safe in school, that our schools are well funded, and that the people who work in Central Oregon can live in the communities where they work.”
Senate District 27 has largely been a GOP stronghold for decades, but the district, including Bend, has become more politically mixed in recent years due to shifting voter demographics and the impacts of legislative redistricting in 2021.
Sen. Tim Knopp, a former leader of the Senate GOP, has held the seat since 2012 and is known for opposing abortion rights, walkouts over climate change legislation, and allying with social conservatives.
Knopp was among Republicans barred from seeking reelection this year because of his participation in the 2023 Capitol walkout.
The race to replace Knopp largely took on a moderate tone, with both Broadman and Summers focusing on similar issues like housing, public safety and education.
Summers, 42, the former chair of the Redmond School District board of directors, cast himself in campaign materials as “a trusted partner in troubling times.”
The contest was influenced by a flood of campaign spending as the Democratic Party sought to flip the seat in its quest to secure supermajority control of the state Legislature.
State campaign finance reports show Broadman outraised Summers nearly 2-1, with $983,000 in contributions, compared to $573,000 given to Summers.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
