Harbick leads Oregon race against incumbent Charlie Conrad for District 12 Representative

Incumbent Oregon Republican state Rep. Charlie Conrad appears to be on his way out of the legislature, trailing by a wide margin to challenger Darin Harbick in the race for the GOP nomination in House District 12.

Conrad, a Dexter-based public employee, was among a group of Republicans who walked out on the legislature last year, including a bill intended to guarantee access to abortion and gender-affirming care, but he lost the support of the party when he changed his mind on the bill and returned to support it, saying he had done more research into transgender issues.

Groups like the Oregon Right to Life and Lane County Republican Party withdrew their support and eventually backed Harbick, a McKenzie Bridge resident and business owner.

District 12 covers most of eastern Lane County and part of southern Linn County.

Conrad had campaigned on his two decades of experience serving communities across Springfield and Lane County in a variety of jobs, from working as a police officer in Springfield to coordinating research for the League of Oregon Cities.

Harbick touted his experiences in the private sector, including his ownership of Harbick Inc., a logging company, Harbick’s Country Inn and Ark77 Recovery Center. He said he has taken on roles across the community such as serving on the McKenzie School District Board, the Travel Lane County Tourism Board and coaching high school and college basketball.

Harbick raised more than $129,000 for his campaign as of last week, according to Oregon's election financial database, while Conrad raised nearly $69,000.

Hannarose McGuinness is The Register-Guard’s growth and development reporter. Contact her at 541-844-9859 or hmcguinness@registerguard.com

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Election results: Harbick leads in District 12 GOP primary