Wallowa County cattle rancher Todd Nash won the Republican nomination to represent Oregon’s Senate District 29 on Tuesday, May 21.
Partial results released as of 9 p.m. show Nash, a Wallowa County commissioner, with a commanding lead. Nash has nearly 52% of the vote.
“It’s extremely humbling to have the support,” Nash said. “I’m so thankful to serve the people of Eastern Oregon.”
Nash may be the first state senator from Wallowa County. While he cannot be perfectly sure of this fact, he said from the records he checked he wasn’t able to find any previous state senators from the county.
Nash will not face a Democratic challenger in the November general election. No Democrats ran for the District 29 seat.
Former Morrow County commissioner Jim Doherty is in second with 25% and Hermiston mayor Dave Drotzman is a distant third with 20%.
Andy Huwe, of Enterprise, has just just over 1.5%.
More than 12,450 ballots have been counted.
The four are seeking the seat after Bill Hansell, of Athena, opted not to seek a fourth term.
Nash has been a Wallowa County commissioner since 2016. He grew up in Enterprise and owns a cow-calf ranch. He also is the immediate past president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association.
Doherty is a former Morrow County commissioner who served six years before losing his seat in a recall in late 2022. He was raised in the county and owns a cattle ranch there. He is a past president of the Association of Oregon Counties.
Drotzmann is the mayor of Hermiston and is an optometrist who owns a private practice in Hermiston. He moved to the city about 25 years ago and has served as mayor since 2012. He’s also held positions on the Hermiston School District Board of Directors and with the League of Oregon Cities Board of Directors.
Huwe is an Eastern Oregon University student whose family moved to Wallowa County in 2018, when he was a teenager. His experience comes from working as an in-district liaison for Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, and serving as a precinct committeeperson in Enterprise, as well as his experience with the Young Republicans of Oregon and EOU’s student government.
Senate District 29 encompasses all of Umatilla, Morrow, Union, Wallowa, Gilliam, Sherman and Wheeler counties, as well as the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, north Jefferson County, most of Wasco County and a small portion of Clackamas and Marion counties.
