Brent Barker

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Brent Barker

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 21, 2024

Education

High school

Aloha High School

Associate

Saddleback Community College, 1988

Bachelor's

California State University, 1990

Graduate

California State University, 1991

Personal

Birthplace

Iowa

Religion

Christian

Profession

Commercial Real Estate Broker

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Brent Barker (Republican Party) ran for election for Oregon Secretary of State. He lost in the Republican primary on May 21, 2024.

Barker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Brent Barker was born in Iowa. He graduated from Aloha High School. He earned an associate degree from Saddleback Community College in 1988, a bachelor's degree from California State University in 1990, a graduate degree from California State University in 1991, and a graduate degree from Pepperdine University, Caruso School of Law. His career experience includes working as a commercial real estate broker.

Barker has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• Heritage Foundation
• Entrepreneur Network
• National Association of Realtors
• Certified Commercial Investment Member

Elections

2024

See also: Oregon Secretary of State election, 2024

General election

General election for Oregon Secretary of State

Tobias Read defeated Dennis Linthicum and Nathalie Paravicini in the general election for Oregon Secretary of State on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tobias Read (D / Working Families Party / Independent Party)	54.4	1,166,447
		Dennis Linthicum (R / Constitution Party)	41.9	897,704
		Nathalie Paravicini (Pacific Green Party / Progressive Party)	3.6	76,170
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2,011

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,142,332
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Oregon Secretary of State

Tobias Read defeated James Manning, Jim Crary, Paul Damian Wells, and Dave Stauffer in the Democratic primary for Oregon Secretary of State on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tobias Read	69.4	303,089
		James Manning	22.3	97,427
		Jim Crary	3.7	16,340
		Paul Damian Wells	2.2	9,425
		Dave Stauffer	1.8	7,921
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	2,515

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 436,717
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Oregon Secretary of State

Dennis Linthicum defeated Brent Barker and Tim McCloud in the Republican primary for Oregon Secretary of State on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Dennis Linthicum	66.0	199,243
		Brent Barker	20.2	61,011
		Tim McCloud	13.0	39,109
		Other/Write-in votes	0.8	2,560

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 301,923
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Barker in this election.

2022

See also: Oregon Labor Commissioner election, 2022

General election

General election for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries

Christina Stephenson defeated Cheri Helt in the general election for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christina Stephenson (Nonpartisan)	60.7	916,455
		Cheri Helt (Nonpartisan)	38.6	582,609
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	9,826

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,508,890
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries

The following candidates ran in the primary for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christina Stephenson (Nonpartisan)	47.2	421,619
✔		Cheri Helt (Nonpartisan)	19.2	171,168
		Casey Kulla (Nonpartisan)	14.1	126,036
		Brent Barker (Nonpartisan)	11.4	101,576
	Submit photo	Robert Neuman (Nonpartisan)	3.6	32,331
		Chris Henry (Nonpartisan)	2.6	22,936
	Submit photo	Aaron Baca (Nonpartisan)	1.6	14,217
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	3,922

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 893,805
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brent Barker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Barker's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Brent Barker for Oregon will promote, and build fair access to our democracy in the State of Oregon; making reliable tools available to achieve economic success in the capacity of Secretary of State; ensuring resources are used responsibly and efficiently, with accountability, integrity, competency, honesty, and transparency to the public.

Have a level of experience and education commensurate with the mission of government and community service. Empathic to Oregon taxpayers, voting integrity, environment, job creation; in a safe, healthy community.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• A New Day is Coming
• When values are clear decisions are easy
• Integrity Job Growth and Collaboration

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1. Listen to business and support responsible state growth

2. Ensure fair elections and support all candidates equally

3. Encourage, promote, and incentivize new business

4. Bring high paying jobs to Oregon

5. Protect voting integrity, process, and sovereignty

6. Collaborate with business, and the state legislature

7. Identify and implement public health and safety solutions

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Election Integrity - Job Growth - Collaboration

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Abraham Lincoln - Lincoln, a moderate Republican, had to navigate a contentious array of factions with friends and opponents from both the Democratic and Republican parties. Lincoln managed his own successful re-election campaign. He sought to heal the war-torn nation through reconciliation. In 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the slaves in the states "in rebellion" to be free.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius - Spiritual Teachings and Reflections

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Have a level of experience and education commensurate with the mission of government and community service.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Integrity, honesty, and collaboration of ideas.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

JFK Assassination - recall father coming in from work - 3 Years

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Paper route and mowing lawns - 4 Yrs

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

America - "you can do magic"

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

The secretary of state serves as the auditor of public accounts, chief elections officer, and administrator of public records.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Elections oversight, processes and following legislative rules

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

Not always.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Sense of urgency to responsibilities. Empathic to Oregon taxpayers, voting integrity, environment, job creation; in a safe, healthy community.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

TBD

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Barker’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Brent Barker 2024 Candidate for Oregon Secretary of State Proposes: "Oregon's Organic Voting Measure" Statewide Holiday for all State and Federal Elections Tax credit to employer that provide ½ and full day paid holiday to employees Statewide In-Person Voting Valid Government Issued ID Required Mail-In-ballots for Military and Provisions for Absentee Voters Voter Registration Rolls are all Reset to Zero (requiring new registration), in lieu of costly audits. After which, renew all Voter Registrations every 8 years. Equal observers of major parties required at all voting stations Hand count tally results with observers Ballots are archived – for automatic recounts of 51%	”
—Brent Barker’s campaign website (2024)

2022

Brent Barker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Barker's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Small Business Owner and Coldwell Banker Oregon Commercial Principal Broker with licensing in Washington & Arizona. Worked in construction projects and trades in the early years to pay for a college education. Nationally Accredited Exercise Physiologist and trainer to work with professional sports teams (NHL, NFL, Track and Minor League Baseball); and their athletes to become a television spokesperson. Graduate of Aloha High School earned a Bachelor of Science in Administration and Master of Arts at California State University, Chico. Certified by the Leadership Institute’s 2018 International School of Campaign Fundraising in Vienna, Austria. Graduate education continues at Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law - Master of Legal Studies (MLS) emphasis Dispute Resolution. Named 2009 US-Asia Expo Ambassador for Arizona by Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) International Trade Council. Received the 2015 Commendation Award for Public Service by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Precinct Committee Person (PCP) and Oregon Delegate. White House - Executive Office of the President (EOP) - Associate, Office of Advance Charitable and volunteer activities include Homes for Hope, UMOM New Day Homeless Centers and fundraising for World Vision.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Listen to and support labor and business needs
• Train a qualified workforce with marketable skills
• Encourage, promote, and incentivize new businesses to move operations to Oregon

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Long-term goal has always been a level of experience and education commensurate with the mission of government and community service. Empathic to Oregon taxpayers, citizenry and concerned to the longer-term interests of society.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Brent Barker campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Oregon Secretary of State	Lost primary	$44,500	$18,359
2022	Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries	Lost primary	$12,450	$12,020
Grand total			$56,950	$30,379
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2024 Elections

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Oregon Secretary of State

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