Christopher Christensen
Christopher Christensen (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Oregon. He lost in the Republican primary on May 17, 2022.
Christensen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Christopher Christensen was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and lives in Beaverton, Oregon. Christensen graduated from Jesuit High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of San Diego.[1] Christensen's career experience includes working as a consumer finance specialist, small business owner, entrepreneur, and artist. He founded a real estate consulting and lobbying firm.[2]
Elections
2022
See also: United States Senate election in Oregon, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Oregon
Incumbent Ron Wyden defeated Jo Rae Perkins, Chris Henry, and Dan Pulju in the general election for U.S. Senate Oregon on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ron Wyden (D / Independent Party) | 55.8 | 1,076,424 |
 | Jo Rae Perkins (R / Constitution Party)  | 40.9 | 788,991 | |
 | Chris Henry (Progressive Party) | 1.9 | 36,883 | |
 | Dan Pulju (Pacific Green Party) | 1.2 | 23,454 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 2,197 | ||
| Total votes: 1,927,949 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michael Stettler (Constitution Party)
- Bret Westwood (Independent)
- Thomas Verde (Independent)
- John Newton (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon
Incumbent Ron Wyden defeated William Barlow and Brent Thompson in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ron Wyden | 88.8 | 439,665 |
 | William Barlow | 7.1 | 35,025 | |
| Brent Thompson | 3.5 | 17,197 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 3,279 | ||
| Total votes: 495,166 | |||
| = 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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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jo Rae Perkins | 33.0 | 115,701 |
 | Darin Harbick | 30.7 | 107,506 | |
 | Samuel Palmer | 12.2 | 42,703 | |
 | Jason Beebe | 11.3 | 39,456 | |
 | Christopher Christensen | 8.1 | 28,433 | |
| Robert Fleming | 1.9 | 6,821 | ||
 | Ibrahim Taher | 1.9 | 6,659 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 3,024 | ||
| Total votes: 350,303 | |||
| = 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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2020
See also: Oregon's 1st Congressional District election, 2020
Oregon's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (May 19 Republican primary)
Oregon's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (May 19 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Oregon District 1
Incumbent Suzanne Bonamici defeated Christopher Christensen in the general election for U.S. House Oregon District 1 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Suzanne Bonamici (D / Working Families Party) | 64.6 | 297,071 |
| Christopher Christensen (R) | 35.2 | 161,928 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 900 | ||
| Total votes: 459,899 | |||
| = 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 U.S. House Oregon District 1
Incumbent Suzanne Bonamici defeated Heidi Briones, Amanda Siebe, and Ricky Barajas in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 1 on May 19, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Suzanne Bonamici | 83.6 | 100,733 |
 | Heidi Briones | 6.9 | 8,260 | |
 | Amanda Siebe | 6.7 | 8,055 | |
 | Ricky Barajas | 2.4 | 2,948 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 523 | ||
| Total votes: 120,519 | |||
| = 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 U.S. House Oregon District 1
Christopher Christensen defeated Army Murray in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 1 on May 19, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Christopher Christensen | 55.9 | 27,417 |
| Army Murray | 41.8 | 20,509 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.4 | 1,162 | ||
| Total votes: 49,088 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Bryan Tatum (R)
Campaign themes
2022
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released March 28, 2022 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Christopher Christensen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Christensen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Chris Christensen Is The Right Choice For United States Senate from Oregon in 2022
- My Top Priority For Oregon Will Be To Secure Federal Resources to Start Construction On the New I-5 Columbia River Bridge.
- Time For Change: I Will Support An Amendment to the Constitution Establishing Term Limits For Congress
"What do we do now"?
High "EQ", self-confidence, the ability to inspire others, good communication skills, have passion for the role, be committed, intelligent, experienced, be a goal setter, a good decision maker, a good politician learns from their mistakes, can accepts criticism and tries to better themselves and those around them. A good politician should lead by example and build trust in others; Most importantly, a good leader must first be a good listener so that they can serve successfully as the voice of the people. Greatness is within the grasp of any politician who practices most of these qualities.
High "EQ", self-confidence, the ability to inspire others, good communication skills, have passion for the role, be committed, intelligent, experienced, be a goal setter, a good decision maker, a good politician learns from their mistakes, can accepts criticism and tries to better themselves and those around them. A good politician should lead by example and build trust in others; Most importantly, a good leader must first be a good listener so that they can serve successfully as the voice of the people.
Among other powers, United States Senators make all laws, declare war, regulate interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies. U.S. Senators enact legislation, oversee the implementation of laws, listen to constituents, drafting and introduction of legislation; helping constituents solve problems and representing the interests of their districts and constituents. U.S. Senators are expected to represent the people and district according to the wishes of the majority; to solve problems in the district; and to keep in contact with the people in the district through regular visits and meetings in the district and polls or questionnaires.
2. When elected, I will aggregate the federal resources needed to begin construction on the Bridge replacement over the Columbia River on I-5.
I will serve a single term when elected.
This is a primary plank of my candidacy.
The incumbent in this race has served more than 40 years in Congress.
Only a vote of the people will remove him from office.
This is NOT an ideal representative government.
The Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution empowers the president to appoint certain public officials with the “advice and consent” of the U.S. Senate. Some of the character traits I would seek in a judicial nominee forwarded to the Senate for consideration would be: independence, open-mindedness, integrity, courage, empathy, sensitivity, Intellect, fairness, good judgment, perceptiveness, stamina, determination, industrious and a passion for vigorous internal debate aimed at diluting an issue to it's most salient points. A judicial nominee should have strong writing skills, be a good listener, and an excellent verbal and non-verbal communicator.
As humans, we sometimes think ‘my idea is better.’ But when you reflect on all points of view, have a conversation with others, take the time to really dig in to an issue, you then see the value in other, different perspectives. The result is often an improvement on the original idea. The kind of relationships I would build with other U.S. senators would be one that would start with listening, taking lots of notes, working hard towards consensus, and, eventually building mutual trust and respect while maintaining one's own independence.
There are those who maintain that any compromise is evil or shameful because it may involve some surrender of “principle” or freedom. However, compromise is not a diminution of one’s freedom or free agency, because the scriptures are full of admonitions to use our freedom in the service of others and not for our selfish ends. (e.g. Christ said, “Agree with thine adversary quickly.” [Matt. 5:25.]).
In our American form of government, the responsibility to find solutions to the problems of our citizens rests chiefly upon the Congress. Nearly every issue that comes to Congress for a solution represents a conflict of interest between groups or forces within our society or our economy, or between other elements of the government itself—conflicts which those involved have been either unable or unwilling to resolve themselves. So compromise is an important element in lawmaking, the search for a combination of ideas that will not only provide the highest level of satisfaction for each and all of the groups whose interests are in conflict, but also, of necessity, attract the support of the needed majority to get legislation passed.
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
Christensen's campaign website stated the following:
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MY ANCESTOR SERVED IN CONGRESS IN THE 1890'S AND FOUGHT FOR THE ELECTION OF U.S. SENATORS BY THE PEOPLE. PRIOR TO THAT, STATE GOVERNMENTS APPOINTED SENATORS AND THE PEOPLE HAD NO INPUT IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS. WHY AM I RUNNING TO WIN A SEAT IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE? SIMPLE. BECAUSE I CAN. THE 17TH AMENDMENT
ON THE ECONOMY I believe that free market capitalism, private property rights, low taxation, domestic energy independence, minimal regulation, and limited political and government intervention are the foundations of a vibrant and prosperous economy.
I advocate limiting the scope and jurisdiction of the Federal Government, addressing abuses in the commerce and general welfare clauses, and I support enacting term limits on all elected political members of Congress.
Our tax code is a political mess, and that's putting it lightly. Multiple brackets, High rates, special interest breaks everywhere, rules and regulations that are too complicated to understand. It costs more and more each year just to do your taxes, let alone pay them. All of this places a heavy burden upon the people and leaves businesses prostrated in paperwork and compliance problems. So instead of promoting growth, our tax code has pushed jobs overseas; And the agency charged with overseeing all of this--the IRS--has repeatedly violated the trust of the American taxpayer. We need a new tax code. It needs to be fair and simple for everyone. It should be so simple that most Americans can do their taxes on a form as simple as a postcard. Our tax code should be built for growth, it should be simple and fair, it should promote jobs and growth, and expand opportunity for all Americans. Tax rates on small businesses should be low so that Main Streets across America can thrive. The IRS should be more service oriented. The agency should reduce red tape, clear out the bureaucracy by doing away with all the abusive rules, excessive regulations, wasteful forms, and instructions that wouldn’t be needed with a simpler, fairer tax code. My plan matches a simpler, fairer tax code with a simpler, fairer IRS that puts taxpayers first. I will support a full repeal of the death tax. Oregonians, please elect Chris Christensen candidate for United States Senate from Oregon 2022.
America recognizes and values the many contributions of legal immigrants. I encourage legal immigration and assimilation, including the adoption of English as the official language. I recognize that securing our national borders is essential to ensuring the sovereignty and safety of our state. All publicly-funded entities shall comply with federal immigration laws and cooperate with their enforcement. I oppose and abhor current or future policies or practices of any governmental administration that encourages or allows the unfettered flood of unvetted immigrants into our nation. A porous border puts our nation at risk. The surge of illegal immigrants across our borders cannot just be a wake-up call--it must be a call to action. As a nation of laws, we must insist that everyone come here legally and maintain legal status. A porous border puts our communities and our nation at risk. America must secure the border once and for all by accelerating the deployment of fencing, technology, air assets, and personnel. We must also protect our country and promote fairness by enforcing our immigration laws. Americans know our borders are not secure--and so do criminals, drug cartels, and violent extremists. A flood of illicit traffic across our borders has destabilized communities and damaged our national security. The problem is vast. Securing the borders is no small task, but it is a fundamental responsibility of our government. Make no mistake: The borders are not secure, and the threats along them are growing more dynamic by the day. There must be strong workplace enforcement with tough penalties against employees and employers who violate immigration laws. We oppose amnesty because it would have the effect of encouraging illegal immigration and would give an unfair advantage to those who have broken our laws.
All people have the unalienable right to defend themselves, others, their home, and their lives without fear of criminal or civil reprisal. All law-abiding citizens have the right to keep and bear arms in a manner of their choosing without government infringement and I support interstate reciprocity of all government-issued concealed carry licenses.
I support election integrity that contains the following components: an official ballot prepared and printed at public expense on which the names of all nominated candidates of all parties and proposals shall appear, ballots that are fairly and lawfully distributed only to current registered legal voters, ballots shall be marked in secret, expressing the will of the individual voter with no undo outside influence. This, and only this, will express the true will of the People. Mail in ballots, as they are distributed to voter’s homes, have no guarantee that they are marked secretly. Primary elections shall be bound to party membership. The citizens’ right to initiative, referendum, and recall shall not be infringed. All ballots not received by 8 pm on Election Day shall not be counted. It is the inherent responsibility of each individual citizen to submit their ballot in a timely fashion.
I believe that all children deserve an excellent, quality and unbiased education. Families have the primary right and responsibility to educate their children in the manner they choose. I support parental choice in education and will advocate for direct funding to families for the educational path of their choosing through federal community development block grants. I will support comprehensive STEM vocational programs with career tracking and mentorship support for all.
Families and individuals have the sole responsibility and right to make their own healthcare decisions. A free market system of health insurance and health care delivery is the surest way to provide high-quality, affordable, physical and mental health care that preserves individual freedom and privacy. We advocate the protection of the physician-patient relationship, the promotion of competition and the provision of individual freedom.
I believe that foreign policy decisions must adhere to the United States Constitution, based upon the security, vital long-term national interests, sovereignty, and well-being of its citizens. I support the policy of America First, Peace Through Strength.
I support a robust, full strength, and modern military. I support the most up to date, state of the art equipment, and training for our servicemembers both active duty and Guard/Reserve component. I support the policy of America First, Peace Through Strength. If it fires, flies, floats or foils...I like it.
Limited, responsible, and transparent government at all levels is essential. Government shall not issue special privileges or funding by select category of persons, which are not available to all citizens. Recalls, Initiatives or referenda decided by the people should not be overturned or obstructed by the legislature. The Judicial branch must refrain from activism and government overreach. All levels of government should operate within the confines of a balanced budget.
The current Administration has burdened Americans with costly regulations that have shed American jobs and domestic energy production. I support policies that would reverse the regulations on American jobs and energy production. I would increase domestic energy production and remove regulations that hinder American energy independence. I will work tirelessly to free American industry and ingenuity from the constraints of Government overreach. For decades leaders have peddled the myth of energy scarcity. Most of it is self-imposed. What the country needs isn't "alternative" energy, or new austerity measures; It's a government that "promotes sustainable domestic energy development."[3] |
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| —Christopher Christensen's campaign website (2022)[4] | ||
2020
Christopher Christensen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Christensen's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- I believe that free markets and individual achievement are the primary factors behind economic prosperity.
- Economic prosperity and environmental protection must advance together, environmental regulations should be based on science, the government's role should be to provide market-based incentives to develop the technologies to meet environmental standards, we should ensure that environmental policy meets the needs of localities, and environmental policy should focus on achieving results.
- I believe that government should be smaller, smarter and more efficient.
I will work hard towards a bipartisan solution to infrastructure and transportation improvements in the region; Build the Bridge!
America should be energy independent.
Social programs should help lift people out of poverty, not enable it.
Children should never be left in failing schools, parents should be able to have choices in education.
Leaders should serve the people, not party politics or special interests.
I will oppose the artificial creation of emissions trading platforms and cap & trade legislative policies.
I will honor and uphold the Second Amendment to the Constitution.
I admire the charisma and oratory skills of our previous President.
I follow humbly in the footsteps of my great, great grandfather Congressman Omer Madison Kem whose writings and memoirs inspired me on this journey.
"The Candidate", starring Robert Redford
Honesty
Integrity
Compassion
Creativity
Representing the interests of the citizens of the Nation, State and District;
Directly servicing and representing constituents;
Lawmaking;
Better yet, I'd like to be in Congress to see the first REAL starship commander in the U.S Space Force!
House Appropriations Committee
House Natural Resources Committee
House Armed Services Committee
House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
House Agriculture Committee
Odds of passage
Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Roll on, Columbia, roll on
Your power is turning our darkness to dawn
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
Green Douglas firs where the waters cut through
Down her wild mountains and canyons she flew
Canadian Northwest to the oceans so blue
Roll on Columbia, roll on
Other great rivers add power to you
Yakima, Snake, and the Klickitat, too
Sandy Willamette and Hood River too
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
Tom Jefferson's vision would not let him rest
An empire he saw in the Pacific Northwest
Sent Lewis and Clark and they did the rest
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
It's there on your banks that we fought many a fight
Sheridan's boys in the blockhouse that night
They saw us in death but never in flight
So roll on Columbia, roll on
At Bonneville now there are ships in the locks
The waters have risen and cleared all the rocks
Shiploads of plenty will steam past the docks
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
And on up the river is Grand Coulee Dam
The mightiest thing ever built by a man
To run the great factories and water the land
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
These mighty men labored by day and by night
Matching their strength 'gainst the river's wild flight
Through rapids and falls, they won the hard fight
So roll on, Columbia, roll on
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.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Christopher Christensen's campaign website, "About," accessed March 30, 2022
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 5, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Christopher Christensen's campaign website, “Home,” accessed March 28, 2022
