The concerns of central and eastern Oregon were in the spotlight Tuesday, as the top candidates for governor held their final debate in Bend.

In an event that featured few new issues but plenty of barbs, Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek and Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan each pitched themself as the most qualified person to guide the state for the next four years.

Kotek brought a trusty argument to the high-desert showdown: Blaming many of the state’s woes on President Donald Trump, and insisting Drazan will carry water for the president.

“My opponent and I don’t agree on some very key issues, and I think her record doesn’t back up what she says she will do,” Kotek said. “And for those really consequential, consequential things where we disagree, I think at the end of the day that she will choose to side with President Donald Trump and not with Oregon.”

Drazan was toting her favorite line, too, casting the governor as ineffective and lacking vision.

“Four years ago, Tina Kotek told Oregonians that she would solve all the problems facing Oregon,” Drazan said. “She’s failed, and now we’re in the heat of an election, and she’s going to ask Oregonians to ignore the last four years and her record of failure.”

The debate was hosted by KTVZ and moderated by station anchor Lee Anderson. It featured questions from the station’s politics reporter, Spencer Sacks, and Aaron Switzer, publisher of weekly newspaper The Source.

The questions touched on topics that have dominated the race. Housing, schools, health care, the economy and data centers all got their due. But the debate also provided a forum to discuss how those issues are playing out in the eastern two-thirds of the state.

When asked how she would give voice to deep-red Eastern Oregon, where the idea of seceding to join Idaho is popular among some, Kotek described visiting each of the state’s 36 counties in her first year in office. She said she was fighting for rural Oregonians everyday by trying to preserve the state’s Medicaid system from cuts under Trump.

“No matter where you live in the state, I’m a governor for you,” Kotek said. “I will fight for you.”

Drazan, who grew up in Southern Oregon, used the same question to paint the governor as out of touch on rural issues. She recounted a gas tax increase Kotek recently attempted to pass to fund road maintenance, and a 2020 climate change bill Drazan and Republicans blocked by walking away from the Capitol while Kotek was House speaker.

“I won’t need to wait until I am elected to see what Oregon’s really about. I’ve lived it,” Drazan said. “I love this place, and I also recognize that for the people that are thinking Idaho is looking pretty good right now, it’s because Idaho actually provides opportunity.”

In fast growing Bend, where housing prices have soared since the pandemic, both candidates were asked for their prescription for helping people afford homes and reducing homelessness.

Drazan pledged to slash building regulations and overhaul Oregon’s strict land use laws, crafted 50 years ago to ensure the state’s farmland and wild areas didn’t become victim to sprawl.

“We can’t lose our communities and the culture within our communities, but we’ve got to do everything we can for government to get to ‘yes’ and get out of the way,” she said.

Kotek, for her part, answered that government needs to make things “simpler” for people who want to build housing. She stopped short of calling for major change. While Oregon is on pace to add fewer units this year than the year before Kotek was elected, she pointed to a recent upturn in new units that she said shows Oregon is on the right track.

“Sure, we need more, but we are compared to the rest of the country actually seeing increases,” Kotek said.

On the question of curbing homelessness, Kotek was in somewhat friendly territory. The governor’s efforts to shelter and rehouse Oregonians are one reason why year-over-year homelessness was down 19% in Central Oregon. She touted that success when asked about the issue.

But Drazan, who often points to less positive stats surrounding Oregon’s homeless crisis, said the state needs to change it’s direction entirely. She advocates steering people who are homeless into recovery or mental health treatment, if needed.

“The metrics have to be that someone has moved from homelessness into detox, into treatment, into long-term recovery, and the governor has failed to deliver this,” Drazan said, later adding: “My approach is to recognize that the actual challenge that we’re facing isn’t as simple as giving somebody a key to a tiny house.”

On the subject of health care, Kotek repeatedly criticized Drazan for voting against a state tax package that the state counts on to fund the Oregon Health Plan for low-income residents.

“My opponent has voted to defund the Oregon Health Plan and will not be supportive of saving the Oregon Health Plan,” Kotek said.

Drazan said her reason for voting against that bill and others were because they enacted new taxes. She said majority Democrats should look for more creative ways to fund priorities with money the state already has.

‘The governor’s solution to every problem is a new tax,” Drazan said. “There are plenty of ways to fund these essential services to Oregonians. The governor made the decision to increase taxes to do it.”

The debate touched on education, economic development and data centers before closing with a question about water rights: What changes would the candidates make to the state’s system of allocating finite water in order to deal with drought?

Kotek suggested some changes may be necessary, though she did not offer any specifics.

“It is important for us as Oregonians to think about the future of water, she said. “Systems that were established a century ago to manage a resource that is different under different conditions have to be examined.”

Drazan suggested she would take a hands-off approach.

“Water is a fighting word,” she said. “But I can tell you this: I respect water rights. I am not going to be the one to attach a meter to your well. I’m not going to be to be the one to put your farm at risk.”

Polling in this year’s race suggests Drazan and Kotek are locked in a tight contest. Ballots for the Nov. 3 election will be sent to voters beginning Wednesday.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/13/kotek-drazan-square-off-in-final-debate-of-governors-race/