SALEM — As Oregon’s political campaigns head into the final stretch before the May 17 primary, candidates on the left and right are working for votes among their ideological base to win the closed primaries. With only party members able to vote in partisan primary races, the turnout is usually about half of the general election.

Republicans are seeking votes of Republican activists who won’t skip the primary, while Democrats go after the progressive wing of their party who turn out in large numbers for primaries. It’s also a time when lesser-known candidates can make a splash and draw the attention of the party faithful. That’s been the story in recent days in political action around the state.

Baker City mayor speaks at a right-wing rally in Salem

Baker City Mayor Kerry McQuisten, a Republican candidate for governor, appeared at the Reawaken America rally of radical conservatives on Friday, April 1, near the Capitol in the Salem suburb of Keizer. The event was sponsored by The River Church in Salem, a church active in conservative politics, and held at Volcano Stadium, a former minor league baseball park near Interstate 5.

Originally scheduled to be held in Bend, the event was canceled due to questions involving the enforcement of coronavirus restrictions at the Deschutes County fairgrounds.

The Salem Statesman-Journal reported that stores at Keizer Station mall next to the ballpark decided to close April 1 and 2 because of the rally and expected counterprotests.

Keizer is the latest stop on a national tour focusing on debunked claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” from former President Donald Trump, and COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

Photos on Twitter showed McQuisten with Morrow County Sheriff Ken Matlack and former Gen. Michael Flynn, who President Donald Trump pardoned of charges he lied about contacts with Russian agents while working at the White House. Flynn also has appeared in a video taking “the Qanon Oath” of the far-right political conspiracy group, which ends with “Where we go one, we go all.”

McQuisten has made an energetic bid to break through the crowded Republican field for governor, which includes former House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, Sandy Mayor Bill Pulliam and 2016 GOP nominee for governor Bud Pierce of Salem.

McQuisten was recently endorsed by The Northwest Observer, a popular conservative political blog in Oregon.

Other GOP candidates taking a hard right on campaign trail

Marc Thielman, a Republican candidate for governor who appeared with Senate candidate Darin Harbick and Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair with a QAnon-supporting pastor at a Bend church last week, gained notice while he was superintendent of the Alsea School District near Corvallis for refusing to enforce state coronavirus mandates. He resigned in February. He’s the subject of a $3.7 million lawsuit against the district by the principal of Alsea Elementary School, who alleges a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, gender discrimination and whistleblower retaliation.

Willamette Week reports Thielman is scheduled to speak April 15 at a fundraiser for Dan Tooze, a Republican candidate for House District 40 in the Oregon City area. Tooze is a self-described member of the Proud Boys, a group involved in riots in downtown Portland, the Oregon Capitol and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Tooze has not said he was at any of those incidents.

Reed Christensen, an electrical engineer from Hillsboro, faces federal charges for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers while attempting to enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Christensen has made his arrest the centerpiece of his campaign for governor, saying he was trying to oppose “tyranny” by taking part in the riot’s attempt to stop the count of electoral votes that Joe Biden won the presidential election.

Jo Rae Perkins, a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, also has taken the QAnon pledge. She was the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2020, losing to incumbent U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon.