Local to challenge U.S. Senate seat

RAINBOW: Darin Harbick on Saturday ended his campaign for governor and is now running as a Republican to unseat incumbent Ron Wyden as one of Oregon's two U.S. Senators.

Harbick, an entrepreneur and former school board member, said decided he would, "No longer sit on the sidelines and watch federal government failures and bureaucratic overreach.."

He and his wife, Kail, started in business buying Phil's Phine Phoods only to see the business burn to the ground less than two years later. They built a brand-new store opening exactly one year later. Over the next 30 years, the couple went on to own and operate restaurants, a motel, a trucking business and a state licensed faith-based mental health treatment facility.

Harbick was born in Oregon and is critical of Wyden who he says flies to New York to see his wife and children.

"Oregon deserves a Senator who represents Oregon's interests, fights for Oregonians' freedoms, and will work to limit the role of the federal government in Oregon's businesses," according to Harbick. "After a work session, I will fly home to my family, community, and put my boots back on the ground to listen to all Oregonians" he added.

Wyden, a Democrat, has held the federal position since winning a special election in 1986 to fill the seat vacated by Bob Packwood. He is currently the dean of the Oregon delegation in Washington and chairman of the Senate Finance and Joint Committee on Taxation. Prior to the Senate he represented Oregon's 3rd Congressional District from 1981 to 1996.

Harbick served 14 years on the McKenzie School Board, 15 years on the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce board and 3 years on Travel Lane County's board. He coached a high school girls' basketball team to a State Championship as well as a women's basketball at a private college in Eugene.

If elected Harbick said he would focus on restoring Oregon's national forests as a sustainable renewable resource while making them accessible to Oregonians. Other parts of his campaign platform include securing the southern border, opposing vaccine mandates and bureaucratic overreach, a balanced budget amendment, Second Amendment rights, supporting law enforcement, and working to create livable communities.

Harbick says he plans to tour across the state and meet with entrepreneurs, educators, mental health leaders. "I look forward to the opportunity in the months ahead to travel across the state of Oregon meeting with and listening to Oregonians, and ultimately forging a new and different path for Oregon." Harbick said.