Governor Brown and Bud Pierce Face Off In Second Debate

Governor Kate Brown and her Republican challenger, Dr. Bud Pierce, met in Portland for their second debate of the campaign season. The exchanges were noticeably more pointed than in their first debate.

Pierce, an oncologist from Salem, warned that he is needed to balance the "hard left" leanings of the Democratic majority in the legislature. Electing her would just result in "more of the same."

Brown, meanwhile, defended her record over the past year and a half.

"I'm so proud of the work we've done over the past 18 months," she said.

The two are running to fill the last two years of the term that John Kitzhaber had been elected to in 2014. He resigned abruptly in February 2015 under a cloud of scandal. The federal investigation into the activities of Kitzhaber and his fiancee, Cylvia Hayes, is ongoing.

At the debate - sponsored by the City Club of Portland - the two went through the laundry list of issues that they disagree on - from Measure 97 (she supports and he doesn't) to different approaches to gun control (she favors more, he doesn't).

The two will next meet on October 6th in Eugene.