State Sen. Christine Drazan holds a commanding lead in the Republican race for Oregon governor, according to the only public poll to emerge in the race to date.

The new survey of 515 likely Republican primary voters shows Drazan with 31.1% support, compared to 15.6% support for state Rep. Ed Diehl, and 14.8% support for former Trail Blazer Chris Dudley.

Roughly 30% of those polled said they were still undecided in the race, but pollsters found Drazan gained ground when participants were asked who they’d pick if forced to choose. In that scenario, Drazan picked up an additional 5.8% of voters, while Dudley gained 3.3% and Diehl got 2%.

“This poll proves what we have been hearing and seeing around the state since Christine launched her campaign,” Drazan’s campaign manager, Jim Dornan, said in a statement to OPB. “Oregonians trust Christine as the best Republican candidate to take on Tina Kotek in November and make her a one-term governor.”

The poll, by Salem-based Nelson Research, has a 4.3% margin of error. It was conducted from April 14-17, using a mix of phone conversations and text messages directing respondents to an online survey. That timeline coincides in part with the race’s first debate, held in Hillsboro on April 16.

J.L. Wilson, the pollster behind the new data, said Tuesday he self-funded the survey in part because he was struck by the lack of information about the race. Wilson said he sees little hope in the results for Dudley, Diehl or other GOP contenders.

“I have a hard time seeing how the field is going to catch up with her,” Wilson said of Drazan, the party’s 2022 nominee for governor. “If anything, you are going to see her come out of the primary with a higher percentage of votes than she did four years ago.”

Wilson based that opinion on both the new results and a poll he conducted for a client in March. While he did not release those earlier results, Wilson said they showed Drazan with a substantial lead, with Diehl in second place and Dudley a distant third.

“What has happened over the course of five weeks is Dudley and Diehl are more closely grouped for second,” Wilson said. “Diehl doesn’t hold that position on his own anymore.”

Wilson, a longtime lobbyist and former Republican legislative aide, attributes the shift to voters hearing more about Dudley.

As the party’s 2010 nominee for governor, Dudley came closer than any Republican in decades to retaking the governor’s mansion. This year, he’s raised more than $2 million, including $1 million from Nike co-founder Phil Knight, to reintroduce himself to Republican voters in a series of ads.

The new poll shows 24% of likely Republicans still don’t know who Dudley is, compared to 8% for Drazan. Wilson doesn’t believe Dudley can close the gap in support with broader name ID.

“You look at where his support is coming from — it’s coming from self-identified moderates,” Wilson said. “Even then, he’s not necessarily beating Christine within that faction.”

Diehl, who has raised far less than Dudley and Drazan, is relying on enthusiasm and grassroots connections he forged last year, when he led a successful campaign to waylay gas tax increases passed by legislative Democrats. But the two-term state representative has less name ID than his top opponents. Roughly 37% of respondents said they had not heard of him.

Diehl and Dudley’s campaigns did not immediately offer comment on the poll when asked Tuesday.

Other candidates in the race got even less traction among poll respondents. David Medina, a social media figure from Sherwood who was pardoned by President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, saw 7% support in the new poll.

Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell, who participated in last week’s debate alongside Drazan, Diehl and Dudley, had support from 2% of respondents.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/21/oregon-politics-governor-republican-candidates-drazan-diehl-dudley/