Wallowa County cattle rancher Todd Nash won the Republican nomination to represent Oregon’s Senate District 29 in the primary election on Tuesday, May 21.

Partial results updated on 9 a.m. May 23 showed Nash, a Wallowa County commissioner, with 8,712 votes, 53.1%.

“It’s extremely humbling to have the support,” Nash said. “I’m so thankful to serve the people of Eastern Oregon.”

Nash may be the first state senator from Wallowa County. While he cannot be sure of this, he said, the records he checked did not show any previous state senators from the county.

Nash will not face a Democratic challenger in the November general election. No Democrats ran for the District 29 seat.

Former Morrow County commissioner Jim Doherty finished second with 4,082 votes (24.9%) of the vote and Hermiston mayor Dave Drotzman was third, with 3,298 votes, 20.1%.

Andy Huwe, of Enterprise, collected 284 votes, about 1.7%.

Some 16,395 ballots had been counted in the race as of Thursday at 9 a.m.

The four sought the Republican nomination after Bill Hansell, of Athena, opted not to seek a fourth term.

Nash has been a Wallowa County commissioner since 2016. He grew up in Enterprise and owns a cow-calf ranch. He also is the immediate past president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association.

Doherty is a former Morrow County commissioner who served six years before losing his seat in a recall in late 2022. He was raised in the county and owns a cattle ranch there. He is a past president of the Association of Oregon Counties.

Drotzmann is the mayor of Hermiston and is an optometrist who owns a private practice in Hermiston. He moved to the city about 25 years ago and has served as mayor since 2012. He’s also held positions on the Hermiston School District Board of Directors and with the League of Oregon Cities Board of Directors.

Huwe is an Eastern Oregon University student whose family moved to Wallowa County in 2018, when he was a teenager. His experience comes from working as an in-district liaison for Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, and serving as a precinct committeeperson in Enterprise, as well as his experience with the Young Republicans of Oregon and EOU’s student government.

Senate District 29 encompasses all of Umatilla, Morrow, Union, Wallowa, Gilliam, Sherman and Wheeler counties, as well as the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, north Jefferson County, most of Wasco County and a small portion of Clackamas and Marion counties.