Brandon Merritt

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Brandon Merritt

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 17, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Berklee College of Music, 2014

Personal

Religion

Christian

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

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Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

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Brandon Merritt (Republican Party) ran for election for Governor of Oregon. He lost in the Republican primary on May 17, 2022.

Merritt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Brandon Merritt was born in Beverley Hills, California. Merritt's professional experience includes working in consulting. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Berklee College of Music in 2014.

Merritt has been affiliated with the Deschutes County Republican Party.

Elections

2022

See also: Oregon gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of Oregon

The following candidates ran in the general election for Governor of Oregon on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tina Kotek (D / Working Families Party)	47.0	917,074
		Christine Drazan (R)	43.5	850,347
		Betsy Johnson (Independent)	8.6	168,431
		Donice Smith (Constitution Party)	0.4	8,051
		R. Leon Noble (L)	0.4	6,867
		Paul Romero (Constitution Party of Oregon) (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	2,113

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,952,883
= 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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Nathalie Paravicini (Pacific Green Party / Progressive Party)
• Tom Cox (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Oregon

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Oregon on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tina Kotek	56.0	275,301
		Tobias Read	31.7	156,017
		Patrick Starnes	2.1	10,524
		George Carrillo	1.9	9,365
		Michael Trimble	1.0	5,000
		John Sweeney	0.9	4,193
		Julian Bell	0.8	3,926
		Wilson Bright	0.5	2,316
		Dave Stauffer	0.5	2,302
		Ifeanyichukwu Diru	0.4	1,780
	Submit photo	Keisha Merchant	0.4	1,755
	Submit photo	Genevieve Wilson	0.3	1,588
		Michael Cross	0.3	1,342
	Submit photo	David Beem	0.3	1,308
		Peter Hall	0.2	982
		Other/Write-in votes	2.8	13,746

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 491,445
= 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

• Peter Winter (D)
• Casey Kulla (D)
• Nicholas Kristof (D)
• Dave Lavinsky (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Oregon

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Oregon on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christine Drazan	22.5	85,255
		Bob Tiernan	17.5	66,089
		Stan Pulliam	10.9	41,123
		Bridget Barton	10.8	40,886
		Bud Pierce	8.7	32,965
		Marc Thielman	7.9	30,076
		Kerry McQuisten	7.6	28,727
	Submit photo	Bill Sizemore	3.5	13,261
		Jessica Gomez	2.6	9,970
		Tim McCloud	1.2	4,400
		Nick Hess	1.1	4,287
		Court Boice	1.1	4,040
		Brandon Merritt	1.0	3,615
	Submit photo	Reed Christensen	0.8	3,082
		Amber Richardson	0.5	1,924
		Raymond Baldwin	0.1	459
		David Burch	0.1	406
	Submit photo	John Presco	0.0	174
		Stefan Strek	0.0	171
		Other/Write-in votes	2.0	7,407

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 378,317
= 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

• Darin Harbick (R)
• John Fosdick III (R)
• Jim Huggins (R)

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brandon Merritt completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Merritt'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.

Brandon has an extensive track record building sustainable programs for businesses and organizations in crisis mode. His expertise in building high-performance teams, overseeing budgets, and satisfying strict project timelines earned Brandon the reputation as the “go-to-guy” for solving complex challenges. As the youngest Elected Delegate to serve Deschutes County and the State of Oregon, Brandon represents the future of Oregon and Oregonians across the state who want their voices heard in Salem. Throughout the pandemic, Brandon has stood up to elected officials who openly disregarded their own rules as a moral failing and betrayal of their oaths of office.

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?

• Make Oregon Whole Again
• $7500 tax credits for school choice
• Support Safer Communities

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Education is my primary passion, followed by taxation and regulation of individuals and small businesses.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

The man I admire most was my grandfather, who was a Marine who served in the 4th infantry of the Marine Corps as a bazooka-shooter on Iwo Jima and Okinawa, where he earned 2 purple hearts. He taught me how to be a man, and instilled into me his love of this country. I mention him frequently on the campaign trail, because he was full of pearls of wisdom that I love to share with audiences.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

I would recommend they read "Think and Grow Rich"

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have extensive experience in investing in people. I have recruited and placed high-level executives in major corporations, and this experience will serve me well when building high-powered teams as governor. I have over 3000 appointed positions to fill, and I intend to find the best people to fill them, no matter where they come from.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to instill a moral compass and love of country into the younger generations.

What is your favorite book? Why?

A Purpose Driven Life

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Easy On Me, by Adele

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I am often portrayed as something I'm not, and I have an uphill path to overcome that preconception.

A governor is the top executive authority in his or her state. What does that mean do you?

I view it as a servant's role, but with leadership qualities. A successful governor needs to be in touch with the people, and needs to represent not just his constituency, but all 4.3 million people who live in our state. At the same time, a successful governor needs to have the leadership qualities necessary to work with the legislative branch and make deals happen.

Governors have many responsibilities, which vary from state to state. Which of those do you personally consider the most important in your state?

Right now, in Oregon, the most valuable role a governor can play is to provide political balance against the power of the legislature. For many years, the Democrat party has enjoyed control of all 3 branches of the government, often as a super-majority. Not only has this caused a significant amount of frustration among rural and conservative Oregonians who feel entirely disenfranchised and unrepresented, it also has led to inefficiencies within the government itself.

Different states require governors to have different degrees of responsibility for the state budgeting process. If it were your choice, what do you believe is the appropriate degree of gubernatorial involvement with this process in your state?

In Oregon, the governor exerts a tremendous amount of influence over the budget. Not only do they work with the legislature on the baseline budget requests, but they also have a line-item veto on any appropriations bill. I look forward to applying these tools to put Oregon on a prosperous path forward.

In most states, governors have the power to make line-item vetoes. If that is true in your state, what would be your philosophy for how and when to use this power?

This is true for appropriations bills, but not for others. However, constitutionally, each bill (other than appropriations) must only address a single issue.

I will be a vigorous and active user of my veto power, and I will encourage the legislature to put any major issue to voters as a ballot initiative.

What do you love most about your state?

Oregon is an incredibly diverse and beautiful state. We have a rugged coastline, dense forests, tall mountains, deserts, prairies, rivers, lakes, farms, and cities. Traveling the state during the campaign has given me a new appreciation for it.

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

Our state was not in great shape even before the pandemic, and the past 2 years have merely exacerbated the pre-existing problems. We need to attract new industries and re-invigorate our traditional industries.

Under what circumstances should the governor of your state be able to use emergency powers?

Only in the most extreme circumstances, and absolutely not for an unlimited amount of time or for the entire state.

I do plan to declare emergencies with regards to the cartels and human trafficking in our southern counties, and the mental health crisis afflicting our state.

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

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