BAKER CITY — Bud Pierce figures 2022 is the best time in the past four decades for a Republican to run for Oregon governor in the general election.

And he’d like to be that Republican.

Pierce, one of a dozen Republicans seeking his party’s nomination in the May 17 primary, visited Baker City on Wednesday, Jan. 12. He hosted a meet-and-greet that evening at the Baker County Events Center. It was his third campaign event of the day, following appearances in Ontario and John Day.

An airplane made the hectic day possible, said Pierce, an oncologist who started the day at his home in Salem.

Pierce knows firsthand how challenging it is for a Republican seeking to become Oregon governor. He was the party’s nominee in the 2016 election, losing to incumbent Kate Brown, who had almost 51% of the vote compared with Pierce’s 43.5%.

Pierce, 65, was the latest in a series of eight Republicans who tried to break a string of Democratic victories dating to 1986.

Vic Atiyeh, who was elected to his second four-year term in 1982, is the last Republican to hold that office.

Brown can’t run this year due to the state’s term limits law.

The absence of an incumbent is one of the factors Pierce believes makes 2022 such an auspicious year for Republicans.

“Incumbency is worth a lot,” he said during an interview with the Baker City Herald the afternoon of Jan. 12.

Another difference this year is who’s likely to be on the general election ballot.

Betsy Johnson, a former Democratic state legislator, resigned her position last fall to run for governor, but as an independent, not a Democrat.

Several prominent Democrats, including House Speaker Tina Kotek, who is resigning from the Legislature Jan. 21, and Tobias Read, Oregon state treasurer, are seeking their party’s nomination.

Pierce said he believes with two Democrats on the general election ballot — Johnson and the party’s nominee — votes from Democrats, who outnumber registered Republicans by about 34%, could be divided enough to give the Republican candidate “a pathway to victory.”

Pierce acknowledged that Johnson, who is generally considered more moderate than the leading Democratic candidates, could also attract Republican votes.

But overall, Pierce believes a general election with both Johnson and a Democratic nominee on the ballot benefits the Republican candidate.

“Republican voters tend to back the Republican candidate,” he said.

Pierce said he also has noticed during his campaigning that, unlike in 2016, Oregon voters don’t seem satisfied with the current political leadership.

He describes this is a “roiled electorate.”

Pierce said he senses that many voters, including Democrats, in effect want to “punish” the party in charge, and in Oregon that’s been the Democratic Party for many years, with its supermajorities in the Legislature.

“People rightfully feel that their government isn’t responsive to them,” he said.

In Eastern Oregon in particular, Pierce said, that includes a failure by state officials to advocate on behalf of residents with regard to how the vast swathes of public land is managed by federal agencies.

Half of Baker County’s 2 million acres are managed by either the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management.

Pierce said he believes timber from those public lands should be used to benefit the economy, locally and statewide, rather than relying on obtaining those resources from outside the state or country.

Although Brown won’t be on the ballot, Pierce said he doesn’t think the Democratic candidate can deflect blame for voter dissatisfaction — especially if a current state official, such as Kotek or Read, is the nominee.

The pandemic, and specifically Brown’s response to it, is among the issues that Pierce believes is fueling that dissatisfaction.

He contended Democrats need to “accept responsibility” for the state-ordered restrictions that in his view were “more disruptive than they needed to be” to the economy and to public schools.

Pierce, who treats cancer patients five days per week, said he was vaccinated as soon as vaccines were available, in December 2020 and January 2021. He said he had a breakthrough infection last fall, but had mild symptoms.

He said he believes the current surge in infections due to omicron will “quiet down” relatively soon.

“I think we’re on the right path,” Pierce said.

He criticized Brown for what he considers a consistent lack of positive, encouraging statements.

“The messaging was damagingly pessimistic,” Pierce said. “A steady drumbeat of disaster.”

He said Brown’s executive orders for mask and vaccine mandates were “not appropriate” and residents should make their decisions.

In a Jan. 6, 2022, speech kicking off his campaign at the Willamette Heritage Center near Salem, Pierce said he believes “the majority of us will voluntarily receive life protecting vaccines. All people in their daily lives will decide proper precautions for their health and vigor.”

Pierce also said he believes another focus of his campaign — improving public safety — will resonate with voters even in Democratic strongholds such as Multnomah County. Pierce said the riots that played out in downtown Portland on more than 100 consecutive nights in 2020, and the record number of homicides in the city in 2021 have left many voters looking for new leaders, regardless of the party, who will make it a priority to punish criminals.

During his Jan. 6 speech, Pierce said: “Imagine when we can once again safely walk the streets of our cities in Oregon.”

Pierce said his campaign will focus, in addition to public safety, on finding a solution to the homeless crisis that benefits communities and those who need shelter, bettering public schools and creating a more hospitable climate for business.

Pierce said he would like the next governor to spend more time outside Salem, potentially living elsewhere in the state for a month or so occasionally.