OR-1: There will be no Republican congressional candidate

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U.S. congressional candidate Joel Haugen (R-Scappoose) said Friday he will represent the Independent Party on the ballot in November, meaning there will be no Republican candidate running for Congress in the 1st Congressional District.

Haugen, who won the Republican primary in May with close to 70 percent of the vote, looked to the Independent Party for support after local Republican officials banned Haugen from Republican events because of his endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

Haugen originally wanted to list both the Republican and the Independent Party next to his name on the ballot, but Secretary of State Bill Bradbury ruled that under current election law only one party can be represented on the ballot. The Independent Party requested clarification on the law, but a Marion County judge ruled in favor of Bradbury.

Don Hamilton, a spokesman for Bradbury, said that the deadline for a candidate to remove their name from the ballot was today, but the deadline to add a candidate to the ballot was Tuesday. Therefore, there will be no Republican candidate on the ballot in the 1st district.

“I feel that the most accurate representation of my candidacy and of the voters' judgment would occur with a dual-party listing on the ballot,” Haugen said. “But the state’s Elections Division requires that I choose either the Republican or Independent nomination, based on their current interpretation of Oregon election law.”

While Haugen said he would keep his Republican registration, Haugen’s campaign said they looked forward to moving forward in the election under a party that more closely supported their ideals.

“We’re excited,” Haugen campaign manager Sarah Tiedemann said. “Joel doesn’t want to turn his back on the large majority of Republican voters that supported him, but we feel that maybe the Independent Party is more in line with traditional Republican values than the Republican Party is.”

Haugen will face off against incumbent U.S. Rep. David Wu (D-Portland) in the November election.