Knute Buehler, an orthopedic surgeon who represented Bend in the state House until an unsuccessful run for governor in 2018, announced Tuesday he will seek the Republican nomination for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Umatilla and Morrow counties.

BEND — Knute Buehler, an orthopedic surgeon who represented Bend in the state House until an unsuccessful run for governor in 2018, announced Tuesday he will seek the Republican nomination for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Umatilla and Morrow counties.

The Congressional seat opened when U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, decided not to seek re-election next year.

Buehler hinted at plans to run for the seat in October, and made it official Tuesday.

“Many Oregonians are tired of being disrespected or ignored by Portland liberals and elite D.C. politicians,” Buehler said Tuesday in a press release. “In Congress, I will defend the values, rights and jobs threatened by the powerful arm of big government. I will be a conservative voice for the people and place I call home.”

Buehler’s announcement comes about a year since he lost the governor’s race to Kate Brown. The 2018 governor’s race was the most expensive in Oregon history.

More than $35 million was raised between Brown and Buehler. The largest chunk went to television ads, primarily negative attack ads by the candidates on each other that blanketed the state.

Buehler raised and spent more than $19 million during his campaign for governor. It set a new record for a Republican seeking statewide office.

The governor’s race was a rematch. Brown defeated Buehler in the 2012 race for secretary of state. Brown then became governor in February 2015 when Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned amid allegations of influence peddling in his administration.

Buehler said in October he had conversations with people who backed his past campaigns to gauge whether a run for Walden’s seat is a good idea.

The Bend Republican considers himself fiscally conservative, but is more moderate than Walden on social issues, such as abortion and LGBTQ rights. He is pro-choice and a supporter of gay marriage.

The 2nd Congressional District is one of the largest in the country, covering more territory than any state east of the Mississippi River. The district includes all of Eastern and Central Oregon, and much of the southern part of the state.

Walden’s departure leaves the seat up for grabs for the first time in a generation. Walden won the heavily Republican district in 1998 and was re-elected 10 more times, most recently last year. Walden always won with more than 60% of the vote — until Democrat Jamie McLeod-Skinner of Terrebonne held him to 56% in 2018.

Buehler will face five other Republican candidates for the Congressional nomination. Challengers are State Senator Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario; former State Senator Jason Atkinson; Mark Roberts, former Independent Party nominee for the congressional seat in 2018; Jeff Smith, a computer programmer from Fairview; and Kenneth Medenbach, who was a part of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation in 2016.

Three Democratic candidates have filed to run for the nomination. The candidates are Medford resident John Holm, community organizer Isabella Tibbetts and Raz Mason, a high school teacher from The Dalles.