Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey
Melissa Busch
Melissa Busch (Democratic Party, Independent Party) ran for election to the Oregon State Senate to represent District 16. She lost in the general election on November 8, 2022. She advanced from the Democratic primary on May 17, 2022.
Busch completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Melissa Busch was born in Topeka, Kansas. Her career experience includes working as a registered nurse.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Oregon State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Oregon State Senate District 16
Suzanne Weber defeated Melissa Busch in the general election for Oregon State Senate District 16 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Suzanne Weber (R) | 56.5 | 41,144 |
 | Melissa Busch (D / Independent Party)  | 43.4 | 31,585 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 74 | ||
| Total votes: 72,803 | |||
| = 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 State Senate District 16
Melissa Busch advanced from the Democratic primary for Oregon State Senate District 16 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Melissa Busch | 97.8 | 12,496 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 2.2 | 279 | ||
| Total votes: 12,775 | |||
| = 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 16
Suzanne Weber advanced from the Republican primary for Oregon State Senate District 16 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Suzanne Weber | 98.5 | 11,744 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.5 | 176 | ||
| Total votes: 11,920 | |||
| = 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
To view Busch's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Melissa Busch completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Busch's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- I am a nurse and champion for quality, comprehensive, affordable health care. I want to ensure every Oregonian has the ability to access affordable care for everything from preventative services to emergency medicine to behavioral health and substance use treatment, to comprehensive reproductive health care. It is critical we have nurses' voices at the decision making table, and once there I will support legislative efforts to ensure health care for all Oregonians, address rising costs of prescription medications, and remove barriers to care in underserved rural and coastal communities.
- I understand that part of creating healthy communities is ensuring that everyone has a place to call home; from working people priced out of the market, to our elderly neighbors on fixed incomes, to folks impacted by houselessness, mental illness, and substance use. As a nurse, I see the impacts of inadequate housing on the health, safety, and well-being our communities. I know that in order to have people work and participate in our communities they must have a place to live.
- Our communities need access to dependable and affordable childcare and eldercare so families, especially mothers, have access to entering the workforce and staying there if they chose to. The childcare and eldercare crisis is impacting working families and our local small businesses. I want to work towards access to quality, affordable childcare and eldercare options for working families across the state, particularly in our more rural communities, and to ensure that both childcare and eldercare providers are able to stay open to meet the needs of our communities, and also that they are able to pay these essential workers adequately.
Rising rents and home prices have taken a toll on our community. I have seen this first hand when caring for patients in their homes. We need to take action to find affordable housing solutions for seniors and hard working families.
I want to take immediate steps to reduce homelessness, like increasing shelter capacity, investing in mental health and wraparound services, and supporting coordinated local response.
Education
Every child deserves access to a quality education, no matter their zip code. I will stand up for students, teachers and parents, and invest in public schools so they have the resources they need to be successful. I also will support apprenticeship programs and career tech education.
Healthcare
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen just how essential the components of the umbrella of healthcare are. Lack of access to sufficient healthcare services has resulted in preventable human suffering and economic loss, particularly amongst our most vulnerable communities. I will focus on this broader understanding of health and work towards securing access to the fundamental needs that will ensure that our communities can thrive.
Supporting Small Businesses
Housing and Development; Housing is a looming issue across the state and in my district. As a nurse, I know that stable housing is essential to our communities; housing is a critical part of healthy communities. In my district, affordable, workforce housing is a critical need, as well as housing solutions for families and individuals on fixed incomes. I would approach housing as an intersectional issue, by for example, taking into account the relationship with living-wage work.
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
|
Candidate Oregon State Senate District 16 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on May 4, 2022
