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Ben West
Ben West was a 2016 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 5th Congressional District of Oregon.[1][2] West was defeated by Colm Willis in the Republican primary.[3]
Biography
West attended Portland Bible College. He then worked as a Senior Mortgage Banker for several years, before deciding to pursue a career as a nurse. He has also worked as a therapeutic foster provider, helping provide for "the clinical needs of vulnerable and under-represented children." West was a plaintiff in the Oregan law suit, Rummell vs. Kitzhaber, that ended the state's ban on same-sex marriage.[1][4]
Elections
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Kurt Schrader (D) defeated Colm Willis (R) and Marvin Sandnes (Pacific Green) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Schrader defeated Dave McTeague in the Democratic primary, while Willis defeated Seth Allan, Earl Rainey, and Ben West to win the Republican nomination. The primary elections took place on May 17, 2016.[2][3]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Kurt Schrader Incumbent |
53.5% | 199,505 | |
| Republican | Colm Willis | 43% | 160,443 | |
| Pacific Green | Marvin Sandnes | 3.4% | 12,542 | |
| N/A | Misc. | 0.2% | 618 | |
| Total Votes | 373,108 | |||
| Source: Oregon Secretary of State | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Kurt Schrader Incumbent |
72% | 72,634 | ||
| Dave McTeague | 28% | 28,184 | ||
| Total Votes | 100,818 | |||
| Source: Oregon Secretary of State |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Colm Willis |
58.1% | 40,568 | ||
| Ben West | 21% | 14,696 | ||
| Seth Allan | 15.4% | 10,779 | ||
| Earl Rainey | 5.4% | 3,783 | ||
| Total Votes | 69,826 | |||
| Source: Oregon Secretary of State |
||||
West said in an interview at the time he declared, "We have a history of being inclusive. We have a history of equality. This is the greatness of America, and I believe the Republican Party as a whole offers the most to achieve that than anywhere else. There is a conviction in my heart that a limited government is the key to unlocking everybody’s potential." West also stated, "I think I’m absolutely electable. I’m not running because I want to be the first gay candidate in Oregon. I’m running because where there are problems in your community, I think good men need to stand up and take those problems head on."[1]
Campaign themes
2016
The following issues were listed on West's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.
| “ |
|
” |
| —Ben West's campaign website, http://www.benwestfororegon.com/issues | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Ben West Oregon Congress. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- United States House of Representatives
- Oregon's 5th Congressional District election, 2016
- Oregon's 5th Congressional District
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Hill, "Gay Republicans seek breakthrough in 2016," February 10, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Oregon Secretary of State, "Candidate filing search results," accessed March 9, 2016 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "filed" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 The New York Times, "Oregon Primary Results," May 17, 2016
- ↑ Ben West for Oregon, "Main page," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
