2026 Candidates

Dawn Rasmussen is the president of Pathfinder Writing and Career Services and author of two different books. She lives just outside of The Dalles, Oregon with Brad, her husband, and their two cats. She is running to flip the U.S. House of Representatives for Congressional District 2 blue, which covers most of Eastern and Southern Oregon. She is a passionate advocate for defending democracy, building good government, embodying the highest level of integrity and ethics, and ensuring that elected representatives represent the voice of citizens in the government and in policy making. 

When she isn’t busy working on her campaign, serving résumé clients, speaking to conference groups internationally and nationally, writing articles / blogs, or teaching, Dawn is hiking in Oregon’s spectacular outdoors, kayaking, or plotting her next adventure with Brad. 

I am a pediatrician, advocate, and mother, running to restore balance reason and trust in our government. 

The working class and rural Americans have felt left out of the patchwork of legislative advocacy and disregarded in their struggles for opportunity. They do not realize that the Democratic Party wants to fight for them, too! Experts say the economy is strong, but our local bank accounts tell a different story. Websites tout the best health care in the world, but our rural hospitals are on the brink of closure, autism rates are rising, and contamination in food and water is a constant battle for every local community. 

My background and daily experience help me to work with folks who have different beliefs and backgrounds, to find common ground and a path forward together. Our best days are not in the past! Our government and leaders must be More Than This.

I was born and raised in the small rural town of Burley, Idaho. Although my parents were generational Republicans, they taught me that caring for our neighbors and the community was more important than political differences. Being raised in that environment helped me understand the value of both fiscal responsibility and compassion. 

I am a small business owner with 40 years of business management experience, a wife and a mother. My work has taken me around the country but in 2017, I made Oregon my home and I love being a proud Oregonian. I am a fighter for human rights, I understand the value of listening to others, and I believe strongly that people are more important than political parties. These are the values I will bring to the U.S. Congress as I work for bipartisan support on bills that will have a positive impact on our great state.

Mary Doyle is a lifelong educator, community advocate, and proud Oregonian committed to restoring trust and accountability in government. With years of experience in public education, school administration, and community partnerships, she’s led initiatives that strengthen opportunity, fairness, and inclusion across rural Oregon.

Mary has also worked with the U.S. Forest Service and in local industries — grocery, retail, restaurant, ski, and short-term rental management — giving her firsthand insight into the challenges facing working families and small businesses. Her campaign focuses on protecting democracy, ensuring affordable healthcare, and defending Oregon’s water, and, and agricultural heritage.

Mary believes representation means listening, showing up, and fighting for real people —  not corporate interests. She’s ready to bring rural Oregon the engaged, transparent, and effective leadership it deserves.

Your voice matters. Your vote matters.

David Osborn is a lifelong Oregonian, community leader, husband, and parent of two young children in Corbett. After growing up in Douglas County, David has spent nearly two decades living, exploring, and working in the Columbia Gorge and Mt. Hood region. He teaches in Oregon’s public universities, was formerly a small farmer, has led community and nonprofit organizations, and currently serves on the Corbett School Board. 

David brings leadership experience to address Oregon’s affordability crisis. This crisis is not inevitable. It is the result of political choices, and it will intensify with a projected $5.7 billion budget shortfall in 2027. David is committed to lowering the cost of living by fully funding housing, healthcare, education, and childcare. He also believes good representation starts with listening to people throughout the district and that caring for the land is essential to community well-being, including climate resilience, restoration, and reducing wildfire risk.

First generation American born in Longview TX.  Parents from Prussia and France. Wrestled 11 years: formative to my grit/fighting spirit.  Top 5% of high school, then US Military Academy at West Point, NY.  After graduation served 8 years in US Army as an infantry officer in posts around the world.  After Army - completed Masters of Public Administration at University of Kansas.  

2002 moved to PNW and worked 5 years in WA: 1 County and 1 City.  Moved to Cascade Locks in 2007 and served as City Administrator for 44 months.  Next served as Finance and Management Services Director for City of Gresham for 8 years.  Currently a senior at OSU studying Forestry Management.  Appointed to Cascade Locks Council 8-24 then elected to 4 year term 11-24.  Have served on City Committees for Cascade Locks including Planning, Budget, Economic Development, Charter and Strategic Vision.  Avid snowboarder, windsurfer, and mountain biker. 

When Hank was 7, a company tried to run a gas pipeline through Gaston, Oregon, the rural farm town where he grew up. The company failed, but Hank learned that some forces can profit from destroying rural Oregon. So Hank fought these forces as a journalist in Oregon and for the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times. He exposed corrupt businesses, politicians, and the Trump Administration.

But Hank missed rural Oregon. So he moved back home and now he is a community organizer in the Gorge and works in the Oregon State Senate. Hank is running because the Gorge is the best place in the world. But it is also unaffordable. That’s why Hank will create a Home Hardening Task Force, tax credits for child care workers, and an Agency of Medicaid Paperwork. Because housing, childcare, and healthcare should be affordable, not a luxury. 

Nick Walden Poublon is a lifelong Oregonian, educator, and public servant rooted in rural values and community care. Raised on a dairy farm near Harrisburg, Nick learned early the importance of hard work, fairness, and looking out for one another. He now lives in Sandy with his husband, a public school educator, and remains deeply connected to the communities of House District 52.

Nick has built a career at the intersection of education, healthcare, and public service. After being diagnosed with a brain tumor more than 20 years ago during graduate school, he successfully fought to improve health insurance access for more than 28,000 students at Portland State University, where he served for over a decade as Student Health Advisor overseeing the student health insurance program. He has also worked as a legislative aide, substitute teacher, and as a drug and alcohol prevention specialist focused on reducing youth access.

Nick serves on the Board of Healthcare for All Oregon and is Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon’s Healthcare Caucus. A former Democratic nominee for Oregon House District 52, he continues to advocate for affordable healthcare, strong public schools, and accountable government that works for working families.

Lisa Gambee brings a rare mix of public‑sector know‑how and private‑sector strategy. As Wasco County Clerk, she modernized critical systems, helped craft the county’s first culture guide, and worked directly with every community in the county - building trusted relationships that give her a clear, ground‑level understanding of local needs.

Before public service, Lisa built a career in brand strategy and entrepreneurship, sharpening her ability to communicate with clarity, think creatively, and lead teams toward meaningful results.

With her record of collaboration, strategic planning, and countywide relationship‑building, Lisa is ready to serve as Wasco County Commissioner with insight, fairness, and a steady hand.

Born and raised in The Dalles, Phil’s journey in life included seven years as a Jesuit and nine years as a Catholic missioner with his wife and daughters in Venezuela. Returning home to The Dalles in 2002, Phil taught science at The Dalles High School and all subjects to the incarcerated youths at NORCOR for nine years. He served on the Mill Creek Watershed Committee and the Mid-Columbia Medical Center Board of Directors before being elected County Commissioner in 2022.

As a commissioner, Phil has focused on public health issues and dedicated himself to building relationships in the small communities of South Wasco. He is especially pleased to have been a part of keeping the Deschutes Rim Clinic open in Maupin and leading the Mid-Columbia Housing Authority which is currently building 200 new low-income housing units in Hood River and The Dalles.