Benton, Marion, Polk, Yamhill County Commissions Have Until July 9th To Appoint Replacement

Salem, OR – At a special nominating convention held by the Oregon Republican Party on Friday, June 25th in Dallas, Oregon, Republican Precinct Committee Persons comprising State House District 23 nominated five candidates to be considered by Benton, Marion, Polk, and Yamhill County Commissioners to fill the vacancy left by the expulsion of Rep. Mike Nearman from the State House of Representatives on June 10th. The five nominees in order of most weighted vote received from left to right (Mike Nearman, John Swanson, Jim Bunn, Micky Garus, Anna Scharf):

On June 10th, 2021, Republican Representative Mike Nearman was expelled from office by a vote of the State House of Representatives for his alleged role in permitting protesters to enter the state capitol building was has been closed to the public, including in-person testimony, since being locked down as a result of the pandemic beginning in March of 2020.

Under state law, five County Commissioners from each county of HD 23 must now select by Friday, July 9th from one of the five Republican nominees. The nominee selected by commissioners will officially take office after commissioners cast their votes weighted according to the proportion of their county’s voters registered in House District 23 and transmit the results of that vote to the state. Rep. Nearman’s replacement will serve for the remainder of the current two-year term, which, in this case, is until early January of 2023 – and must stand for election in November 2022 in order to serve a successive term thereafter.

The Oregon Republican Party is the state’s arm of the Republican National Committee. Its Chairman and officers are dedicated to promoting Republican principles within the state of Oregon and to improving the lives and livelihoods of Oregon’s working families through economic freedom and equal protection under the law.

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