Oregon Secretary of State, Dennis Richardson, who has been suffering from brain cancer, has died. He was elected two years ago and was the only Republican elected statewide. The SOS is first in line to replace the governor as there is no lieutenant governor. Governor Kate Brown (D), who was previously SOS and initially took office in 2015 when former Governor Kitzaber stepped down amid a scandal, will appoint his replacement. The state constitution requires that she appoint another Republican to the office, who will then serve through 2020. Governor Brown has indicated that she will search for someone who will not run again in 2020. Republicans are already playing politics, accusing her of plans to replace him with a recently converted Republican or someone with no ties to the party leadership.
Since SOS Richardson was elected I have been watching his office as closely as I could, looking for signs that he would participate in the voter suppression tactics seen in other states. As far as I can tell, he has not. He rejected Kris Kobach’s Crosscheck system. He reported 54 cases of voter fraud in 2016, and indicated that none of them affected outcomes of elections. He refused to comply with the Trump administration’s request for voter data.
I am always very suspicious of Republicans and their behavior in office. SOS Richardson was apparently one of the ethical ones. He will be missed.