Brian Pierson

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

Brian Pierson

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

U.S. Military Academy West Point, 1984

Graduate

Naval Postgraduate School, 1994

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1980 - 1995

Personal

Birthplace

New York, N.Y.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Executive

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Brian Pierson (Republican Party) ran for election to the Oregon State Senate to represent District 18. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

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

Biography

Brian Pierson was born in New York, New York. Pierson's career experience includes working as an executive. He served in the U.S. Army from 1980 to 1995. Pierson earned a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Military Academy West Point in 1984 and a graduate degree from Naval Postgraduate School in 1994.

Elections

2024

See also: Oregon State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Oregon State Senate District 18

Incumbent Wlnsvey Campos defeated Brian Pierson in the general election for Oregon State Senate District 18 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wlnsvey Campos (D / Oregon Working Families Party)	62.7	38,956
		Brian Pierson (R)	37.2	23,114
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	65

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,135
= 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 State Senate District 18

Incumbent Wlnsvey Campos advanced from the Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 18 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Wlnsvey Campos	98.9	8,595
		Other/Write-in votes	1.1	94

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 8,689
= 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 State Senate District 18

Brian Pierson advanced from the Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 18 on May 21, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Pierson	98.7	4,338
		Other/Write-in votes	1.3	58

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,396
= 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 Pierson in this election.

2018

See also: Oregon House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Oregon House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Sheri Schouten defeated Brian Pierson and Katy Brumbelow in the general election for Oregon House of Representatives District 27 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sheri Schouten (D)	66.3	20,286
		Brian Pierson (Independent Party of Oregon)	30.6	9,361
		Katy Brumbelow (L)	3.0	924
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	36

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,607
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 27

Incumbent Sheri Schouten advanced from the Democratic primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 27 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sheri Schouten	100.0	5,720

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 5,720
= 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.

Independent Party of Oregon primary election

Independent Party of Oregon primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 27

Brian Pierson advanced from the Independent Party of Oregon primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 27 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Pierson	100.0	212

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 212
= 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

Brian Pierson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pierson'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.

My name is Brian Pierson. I served over a decade as an officer in the US Army, taught at West Point, and then launched a career in the private sector as a Senior Executive. In both the Military and the civilian sector I have led a life of service and now I want to continue serving my community as our State Senator, to help make Oregon safe, affordable, and full of opportunities for us all.

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?

• To address the challenges we face, we need solutions that have broad support across party lines. By working together, we can create lasting change that benefits everyone. My focus will be on encouraging open dialogue between the parties to find a common ground. Prioritizing policies that have widespread public support, by creating several bipartisan committees to tackle major issues! I will implement regular bipartisan town halls to hear directly from my constituents. I will be promoting transparency and full accountability in the legislature as well as encouraging a compromise among the parties to perform an effective pass. The state of Oregon fosters on a political culture that values unity over total division.
• Public safety is a fundamental responsibility of government and requires a renewed focus to ensure all communities feel secure. My commitment to public safety includes the increase in funding for law enforcement training and the overall development, as well as strengthening the trust between public safety officials and communities. We must enhance mental health support services to further prevent more crime from occurring and the support of rehabilitation. We need to address the root causes on the overall burden to society; by restructuring our mental health services for those needing care and expressing a tough love for the habitually homeless by making sure services are provided.
• To secure a prosperous future, we must foster an environment that encourages growth and innovation to all. To become the Oregon we all want, a thriving economy is essential. We need to ensure that our state is a place where small business can grow and larger businesses want to operate. My strategy includes the full investment in education and workforce development to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow. Building partnerships between academia, industry, and government is key in driving overall innovation to Oregon. We are encouraging small businesses and new startups to grow with enhanced streamlined regulations to protect inventors while encouraging competition.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Education is critical to the future of our country. Our schools need to refocus on the true basic fundamentals taught in the classroom and divert their attention away from the political involvement being engrained into children today. I am passionate in how our children will be educated, because I am a product of the public education system growing up with meager means, where the system allowed me to eat free lunch and focus on excelling in my classes without the stress of politics. Somehow we have lost this core value previously taught in schools, and it's my focus to improve the educational standards in schools today. I will bring back vocational teacher training to solidify the core values back to America's future.

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

Most importantly the ability to listen to each other and seek to move the state forward through intelligent compromises. Too many politicians claim they want to "fight" for this or "fight for that". All that does is divide us. We need to partner together listening to new ideas and concepts while providing sound business principles to drive them forward. We must treat the budget of the state like it is our own money because it is. We must look at those programs and laws that are not working and revise or repeal them. While looking at those statutes that can bring about change and driving them quickly through legislature. My goal is to bring an energy to Salem that moves us toward a faster action that addresses the issues of the state today. Another, area of cost will be on accountability for the dollars that we spend in government, an elected official has the responsibility to provide oversight and review of how money is spent. Never accepting government waste is a a requirement of our officials and I am committed that accountability will be my focus.

"We Need Each Other" is my campaign slogan, as we need all views to be heard and then balanced to make the best possible choices for the people of Oregon. One party rule from either party does not produce the best possible results. Elected officials are in place to represent all of their constituents not just a portion. We should measure our politicians not by the times that they voted with their party but the number of times that they did not, focusing on what was accomplished to help the entire state.

Elected officials serve the people of the state. We should not look to career politicians as the norm. Limiting the terms of officials will continue to refresh the skills, talent and point of views that continue to evolve with society

Most importantly, a focus on selfless service is an essential quality for all elected officials.

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

To represent the views of the local constituents and to help craft laws that forward the success of the state. Having success in public safety, the economy, and education is critical.

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

The returning of the Iranian hostages to the United States. I was 17 and a freshman at West Point. Once released, after 444 days the first place the hostages came to on US soil was West Point. I remember standing at attention in the snow saluting the hostages as they came by going to have their first meal back in the US with the Cadets. I can recall sitting at a table with one of the hostages thinking what the person had gone through. The hostages were overjoyed to be back in the USA. As a 17 year old, up to that point I was asking myself, who am I, what am I doing with my life? Seeing the hostages there and then as the meal ended sounds of "USA" and "Never Again" began to echo through the facility. I knew why I was at the Academy and what my purpose was in life. As much as as a 17 year old kid could. My focus was to serve the country and do everything I could not to allow what happened to these Americans ever happen again. Even if it meant at the cost of my own life. That day crystalized for me what the focus of my military career would be. To serve the country to the best of my ability.

This focus on has defined me for the rest of my life. I chose positions and companies that had a purpose that would add value to society and allow me to continue to serve. Whether leading the design of electron microscopes to image viruses to allow faster development of cures, to heading a background screening company keeping people safe, to leading Erickson Aviation's government business flying counter terrorism operations in Africa and Afghanistan, I have tried to focus myself on serving in some way.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Years of Democratic Super Majority has led to increasingly progressive laws and social experiments in Oregon. Drug legalization has accelerated the homelessness issue excessively. Radicalization of the Education system, focus more on Critical Race Theory and other issues that has degraded the education of our future.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Jim Jordan and Marco Rubio

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.

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Candidate

Oregon State Senate District 18

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Oregon State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Rob Wagner

Majority Leader:Kayse Jama

Minority Leader:Daniel Bonham

Senators

District 1

David Smith (R)

District 2

Noah Robinson (R)

District 3

Jeff Golden (D)

District 4

Floyd Prozanski (D)

District 5

Dick Anderson (R)

District 6

Cedric Hayden (R)

District 7

James Manning (D)

District 8

Sara Gelser Blouin (D)

District 9

Fred Girod (R)

District 10

Deb Patterson (D)

District 11

Kim Thatcher (R)

District 12

Bruce Starr (R)

District 13

Courtney Neron (D)

District 14

Kate Lieber (D)

District 15

Janeen Sollman (D)

District 16

Suzanne Weber (R)

District 17

Lisa Reynolds (D)

District 18

WInsvey Campos (D)

District 19

Rob Wagner (D)

District 20

Mark Meek (D)

District 21

Kathleen Taylor (D)

District 22

Lew Frederick (D)

District 23

Khanh Pham (D)

District 24

Kayse Jama (D)

District 25

Chris Gorsek (D)

District 26

Daniel Bonham (R)

District 27

Anthony Broadman (D)

District 28

Diane Linthicum (R)

District 29

Todd Nash (R)

District 30

Mike McLane (R)

Democratic Party (18)

Republican Party (12)