Knute Buehler
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 54th district
In office
January 12, 2015 – January 15, 2019
Preceded byJason Conger
Succeeded byCheri Helt
Personal details
Born
Knute Carl Buehler

(1964-08-01) August 1, 1964
Roseburg, Oregon, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (before 2021)
Independent (2021–present)
Children2
EducationOregon State University, Corvallis (BS)
Merton College, Oxford (MA)
Johns Hopkins University (MD)

Knute Carl Buehler (born August 1, 1964)[1][2] is an American physician and politician who served as the Oregon State Representative for the 54th district from 2015 until January 2019.[3] He was the Republican nominee for Governor of Oregon in the 2018 election,[4][5] losing to incumbent Democrat Kate Brown.[6] In 2021, he stated that he had left the Republican Party, citing the state party's response to the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol as his primary motivation. Buehler is no longer registered with any political party.[7]

Early life

Buehler is originally from Roseburg, Oregon, and was born in 1964.[8][9] He attended Oregon State University (OSU) where he played on the varsity baseball team.[10] He graduated from OSU in 1986 with degrees in history and microbiology.[10] Buehler attended Merton College, Oxford as OSU's first Rhodes Scholar, studying philosophy, politics and economics, before graduating from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.[10][11]

An orthopedic surgeon, he lives in Bend in Central Oregon with his wife and two children.[10] He worked on political independent Ross Perot's presidential campaign in 1992 and was one of the primary authors of a campaign finance ballot measure which passed by a wide margin in 1994.[12] The limits were knocked-down by the Oregon Supreme Court in 1997 as a violation of the state's wide-ranging freedom of speech protections.[13]

Political career

2012 Oregon Secretary of State campaign

Buehler was the unsuccessful Republican Party nominee for Oregon Secretary of State in 2012, losing to incumbent secretary of state Democrat Kate Brown with five candidates on the ballot.[14]

State representative

Buehler won election to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2014, defeating Democrat Craig Wilhelm.[15] In his first session as a lawmaker he was the primary author of a new law which allows women in Oregon to buy oral contraception over the counter without a doctors prescription.[16] Buehler was re-elected in 2016, narrowly defeating Democrat Gena Goodman-Campbell.[17]

Buehler describes himself as a moderate and his pro-choice stances on abortion have been a source of political tension "from left and right."[18][19] In July 2016, Buehler received a 65% rating from the American Conservative Union, although by November of that year it had dropped to 58%.[20] In November 2017, Knute Buehler was the first Republican to call for the resignation of fellow Republican State Senator Jeff Kruse following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.[21]

Ethics complaints

The Democratic Party of Oregon Chair filed three ethics complaints against Buehler in the spring of 2017 regarding his campaign finance disclosures for the last four years. Two claims were dismissed by a state ethics committee. Buehler avoided civil penalties in the third complaint by acknowledging his violation of an Oregon statute which requires listing of all income received over $1,000 from any source as part of a state-mandated Letter of Education, along with restating his finance declarations retroactively to 2013. Buehler said the censure was "politically motivated," the original filers claimed that "he continues to hide income."[22][23]

Gubernatorial campaign

Campaign logo

Almost immediately after his re-election, Buehler was considered a front-runner for the Republican nomination to run for governor in 2018.[24] Republicans claimed Democrats were already working to undercut Buehler through legislative committee assignments.[25] On August 3, 2017, Buehler announced he would run for Governor of Oregon in the 2018 election.[26] On May 15, 2018, Buehler won the Republican nomination for Governor of Oregon to face off against Democratic incumbent Kate Brown in November 2018, in a rematch of the 2012 Secretary of State election. Buehler lost the general election to Kate Brown by 6.4%[27]  Both Brown and Buehler raised and spent record amounts in their campaigns.[28]

Political positions

Buehler is considered a fiscally conservative moderate Republican.[29] He is pro-choice on the issue of abortion.[30] On immigration, he opposes sanctuary cities and opposes Oregon's statewide sanctuary policy.[31] He supports gay rights, including same-sex marriage, and voted to ban conversion therapy from being used on minors.[32] Buehler said during the gubernatorial campaign that he supported Oregon's capital punishment law which was passed by Oregon voters in 1984.[33] In the wake of the contentious events of 6 January 2021 in Washington D.C., and especially a controversial statement by the Oregon Republican Party issued by its chairman Bill Currier two weeks afterwards, Buehler announced his departure from the Republican party to become a non-affiliated voter.[34] The New York Times wrote "The night after his party's leadership passed a formal resolution promoting the false flag theory, Mr. Buehler claimed to have cracked open a local microbrew and filed to change his registration from Republican to independent. 'It was very painful', he said. Knute is no longer registered with any political party.[35]

Electoral history

Oregon's 2nd Congressional District Republican primary, 2020[36]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cliff Bentz 37,045 31.4
Republican Knute Buehler 25,976 22.0
Republican Jason Atkinson 22,966 19.5
Republican Jimmy Crumpacker 21,117 17.9
Republican Travis A. Fager 4,201 3.6
Republican Jeff Smith 2,494 2.1
Republican Mark R. Roberts 1,307 1.1
Republican Justin Livingston 1,306 1.1
Republican David R. Campbell 410 0.3
Republican Glenn Carey 280 0.2
Republican Kenneth W. Medenbach 262 0.2
Republican Write-in 447 0.4
Total votes 117,811 100.0
Oregon Gubernatorial Election, 2018[37]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kate Brown (Incumbent) 934,498 50.05%
Republican Knute Buehler 814,988 43.65%
Independent Patrick Starnes 53,392 2.86%
Libertarian Nick Chen 28,927 1.55%
Constitution Aaron Auer 21,145 1.13%
Progressive Chris Henry 11,013 0.59%
n/a Write-ins 3,034 0.16%
Total votes 1,866,997 100.0%
Oregon Gubernatorial Republican Primary Election, 2018[38]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Knute Buehler 144,103 45.9
Republican Sam Carpenter 90,572 28.8
Republican Greg C. Wooldridge 63,049 20.1
Republican Bruce Cuff 4,857 1.5
Republican Jeff Smith 4,691 1.5
Republican David Stauffer 2,096 0.7
Republican Write-ins 1,701 0.5
Republican Jonathan Edwards III 861 0.3
Republican Keenan Bohach 787 0.3
Republican Brett Hyland 755 0.2
Republican Jack W. Tacy 512 0.2
Total votes 313,984 100
Oregon House of Representatives 54th District, 2016[39]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Knute Buehler 19,352 51.92
Democratic Gena Goodman-Campbell 17,804 47.77
Write-In 117 0.31
Total votes 37,273 100
Oregon House of Representatives 54th District, 2014[40]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Knute Buehler 15,348 58.23
Democratic Craig Wilhelm 10,876 41.26
Write-In 134 0.51
Total votes 26,358 100
Oregon Secretary of State 2012[41]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kate Brown 863,656 51.28
Republican Knute Buehler 727,607 43.20
Pacific Green Seth Woolley 44,235 2.63
Libertarian Bruce Alexander Knight 24,273 1.44
Progressive Robert Wolfe 21,783 1.29
write-ins 2,561 0.15
Total votes 1,684,115 100

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Knute Buehler Oral History Interviews". Oregon State University. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  2. ↑ Eggers, Kerry. "Former Beaver makes pitch for politics". Portland Tribune.
  3. ↑ "Representative Knute Buehler Home Page". www.oregonlegislature.gov. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  4. ↑ Selsky, Andrew (August 3, 2017). "Bend lawmaker Knute Buehler announces run for governor". KATU (KATU.com). Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Knute Buehler for Governor". Knute Buehler for Governor. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  6. ↑ Jaquiss, Nigel (November 7, 2018). "Oregon Gov. Kate Brown Triumphs Over Republican Knute Buehler". Willamette Week. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Welcome to ORESTAR !". secure.sos.state.or.us. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Taylor W. (October 16, 2014). "Buehler, Wilhelm fighting on rare battleground". The Bend Bulletin. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Dr. Knute Buehler, Prominent Bend Surgeon Announces Campaign for Secretary of State". Cascade Business News. August 30, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Kinkley, Ann (Fall 2015). "Alumni Profile" (PDF). Oregon Stater. 100 (3): 62. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ Warner, Gary (September 9, 2018). "Gov. candidate Knute Buehler, from Roseburg to Rhodes scholar". The Bulletin. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Vote for Knute Buehler: editorial endorsement". OregonLive.com. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  13. ↑ Zimmerman, Sarah (June 6, 2019). "Oregon takes steps toward campaign finance reform". AP NEWS. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  14. ↑ Gaston, Christian (December 1, 2013). "Knute Buehler, former Secretary of State candidate, will run for Oregon House". The Oregonian. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  15. ↑ Lerten, Barney (November 4, 2014). "Final votes firm up Buehler win; 2 Bend councilors out". KTVZ. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  16. ↑ Jepsen, Sue (July 9, 2015). "Oregon dramatically expands access to birth control with 2 laws". oregonlive.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  17. ↑ Warner, Gary (September 16, 2018). "Gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler and his political battles". The Bulletin. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Murmurs: GOP Candidate For Governor Knute Buehler Getting Hit From Left and Right". August 23, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  19. ↑ Borrud, Hillary (August 3, 2017). "Republican Knute Buehler faces uphill campaign trail for Oregon governor in 2018". The Oregonian. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Knute Buehler's Political Summary". Project VoteSmart. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Buehler, Oregon Democrats' chair call on Kruse to resign". KTVZ.com. Associated Press. November 16, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  22. ↑ sources, KTVZ.COM news (August 4, 2017). "It's official: Bend's Knute Buehler launches bid for governor". Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  23. ↑ Lerten, Barney (July 16, 2017). "State ethics panel won't fine Buehler over ethics violation". KTVZ. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  24. ↑ Anderson, Taylor (November 10, 2016). "Oregon Republicans see hope after win". The Bulletin. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  25. ↑ Oregonian/OregonLive, Hillary Borrud | The (December 28, 2016). "Republican outcry over committees could signal partisan fights in 2017 Legislature". oregonlive. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  26. ↑ Warner, Gary (August 3, 2017). "Bend's Buehler running for governor". The Bulletin. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  27. ↑ "New York Times 2018 Election Results - Oregon Governor - Buehler vs. Brown". The New York Times. January 28, 2019. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  28. ↑ Oregonian/OregonLive, Hillary Borrud | The (November 20, 2018). "Political spending in Oregon governor's race tops $37 million, shatters old record". oregonlive.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  29. ↑ Richards, Parker (August 10, 2018). "Oregon's Hard Road for a Moderate Republican". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  30. ↑ Radnovich, Connor (September 6, 2018). "Buehler's 'pro-choice' stance: Disliked by conservatives, discredited by Democrats". Statesman Journal. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  31. ↑ "Republican Knute Buehler says he'll vote to repeal Oregon's sanctuary law". OregonLive.com. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  32. ↑ Borrud, Hillary (June 17, 2018). "Politics and Pride: Kate Brown and Knute Buehler appeal to voters on LGBTQ rights". The Oregonian. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  33. ↑ Sheppard, Katie (October 12, 2018). "As Washington Scraps Death Penalty, Gubernatorial Candidate Knute Buehler Pledges To Bring Back Executions". Willamette Week. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  34. ↑ Mila Mimica, "Knute Buehler on leaving GOP: 'I don't even know what the Republican Party stands for'," KGW.com February 2, 2021 at
  35. ↑ "Welcome to ORESTAR !". secure.sos.state.or.us. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  36. ↑ "UNOFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION MAY 19, 2020". Oregon Secretary of State. May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  37. ↑ "November 6, 2018, General Election Abstract of Votes". Oregon Elections Division. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  38. ↑ "May 15, 2018, Primary Election Abstract of Votes". Oregon Elections Division. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  39. ↑ "Content Manager WebDrawer - 2016 General Election Official Results".
  40. ↑ "HP Records Manager WebDrawer - 2014 General Election Official Results". records.sos.state.or.us.
  41. ↑ "November 6, 2012, General Election Abstract of Votes". Oregon Elections Division. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
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