Looks like Republicans will be getting
primary ballots with many blanks. So any Republicans out there who have ever thought, “I can do a better job than that other guy,” sharpen your No. 2 pencils and get your Facebook pages ready. You can still run in the Republican primary as a write-in candidate for any of the partisan nominations. You can beat that blank (or Donald Duck and Spiderman and the other write-in favorites) and become the nominee for the fall.

There will be no candidates to choose from for Attorney General. For half the state, there will be no Republican candidates for the State Senate Seat. For many there will be a blank for State House of Representatives as well.

For the Democrats and Republicans Oregon law makes the primary balloting process the only way to become a nominee and compete in the general election. Smaller parties may hold their own nominating process at any time. But for the major parties, the only ways to receive votes in the primary are through either filing the right documents and paying fees by March 11 this year, or by writing in your name on the ballot when it comes in the mail.