Oregon’s Secretary of State on Tuesday released the preliminary list of candidates who will appear in the 2024 presidential primary. It comes as the secretary has been under pressure to remove former President Donald Trump from the ballot.
The Republican side includes Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
The Democratic side includes President Joe Biden, Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and author Marianne Williamson.
Oregon Supreme Court won’t hear case to remove Trump from ballot for now
“ORS 249.078 (1)(a) states that a Secretary of State may place the name of a candidate on a major party Presidential primary ballot if the Secretary, in their “sole discretion, has determined that the candidate’s candidacy is generally advocated or is recognized in national news media,” the office said Tuesday.
“To decide if candidates meet the statutory criteria, the Secretary is relying on national polls and including all candidates who have the support of a minimum of 1% of party voters,” it continued. “Candidates may also access the ballot by nominating petition as provided in ORS 249.078 (1)(b). The deadline to submit already verified signatures of nominating petition is March 14, 2024.”
A final list will be released later. Names will be removed if a candidate suspends their campaign, publicly announces that they are no longer running or is removed by the courts.
Oregon’s Supreme Court announced last week that it will not rule on whether to keep Trump off the ballot, responding to a lawsuit calling for his removal under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause. Those filing the suit on behalf of five Oregon voters say Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, disqualify him.
The Oregon high court said it will wait to hear what the U.S. Supreme Court decides as it reviews an appeal in a similar case in which the Colorado Supreme Court banned Trump from the ballot.
The Oregon primary election is set for May 21. Assuming Trump is not removed by the U.S. Supreme Court, these races may be already decided by the time Oregon gets its turn.
Republicans
Trump dominated the Iowa Caucuses Monday. He finished with 51% of the vote. DeSantis won just over 21%, edging former Haley at 19%.
Polls show Trump is expected to continue to dominate, although Haley may keep the margin under double digits in the New Hampshire primary next Tuesday.
Democrats
The first Democratic primary is Tuesday in New Hampshire, without the blessing of the Democratic National Committee. The DNC decided to make South Carolina its first primary of the season on Feb. 3. Biden struggled in the 2020 primaries until finally winning in South Carolina.
However, it is written into New Hampshire’s state law that it must be the first primary state. New Hampshire’s secretary of state did not reschedule it, so Biden will not appear on the ballot there. The only way he can win there is as a write-in.
A handful of other states reportedly only have Biden on the Democratic primary ballot.
Between now and Oregon’s primary is Super Tuesday, when 16 states including California and Texas — the two largest voting bases in the country — will choose their nominees.
The final primaries will be June 4.
Most political parties in Oregon choose a closed primary system, meaning a voter must be registered as a Democrat or Republican in order to vote in those primaries.
