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Bailey Thompson | News Editor<\/span><\/p>\n With the 2018 Midterm Elections approaching fast, Oregon voters have a limited amount of time before Nov. 6, the day they must elect Oregon\u2019s next governor. Although Oregon has not had a Republican governor since 1987, Knute Buehler\u2019s moderate social views have recently made this race a toss-up, according to Real Clear Politics and the Cook Political Report. On the other hand, Gov. Kate Brown, after being elected the first openly LGBTQ+ governor of a U.S. state in 2015, is looking to be elected for her first full term. <\/span><\/p>\n Kate Brown<\/b><\/p>\n Oregon\u2019s current governor, Kate Brown, is the Democratic gubernatorial candidate who is also endorsed by the Working Families party. During her time in office, Brown raised Oregon\u2019s minimum wage, signed a law to phase out coal power and signed the bill for Oregon Promise, among other things. The main issues Brown emphasizes on her official website: economy and jobs, government efficiency, healthcare, education, the environment, public safety and strong communities. <\/span><\/p>\n Brown has a background as a family law attorney, but she has also held a number of governmental positions such as representative, senator and secretary of state. <\/span><\/p>\n According to an Oregon Public Broadcasting article, however, Brown\u2019s critics have complained about her time in the governor\u2019s office, stating that \u201cthe state faces massive problems, yet\u2026the governor hasn\u2019t articulated a clear vision or unveiled a comprehensive plan to solve them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Her supporters, on the other hand, assert that Brown simply has a different leadership style that isn\u2019t as assertive as people are used to seeing in a governor. <\/span><\/p>\n Knute Buehler<\/b><\/p>\n Republican candidate Knute Buehler hails from Bend, Oregon and has, until recently, worked as an orthopedic surgeon. In 2015, Buehler was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, where he has since served two terms. The four issues that Buehler lists on his campaign site are education, health care, homelessness, and bridging Oregon\u2019s rural\/urban divide. <\/span><\/p>\n Even though, in many ways, Buehler\u2019s fiscal conservatism aligns with popular expectations for Republican candidates, some of his progressive social beliefs have taken some voters by surprise \u2014 in both positive and negative ways. Buehler, unlike some traditional Republicans, is a pro-choice candidate who both believes in climate change and supported the legalization of gay marriage. While these views are may be a deterrent to a number of conservative Republicans, there are others for whom this is a selling point. For instance, according to the Oregonian, Nike co-founder Phil Knight \u2014 who has supported both Republicans and Democrats in the past \u2014 has contributed $2.5 million to Buehler\u2019s campaign, which breaks the record for a single political donor in Oregon\u2019s history.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n