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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to join Christine Drazan at Hillsboro event
Published 3:51 pm Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is headed to Washington County later this month, where the former presidential candidate is scheduled to appear alongside Republican gubernatorial nominee Christine Drazan just weeks before the November election.
DeSantis will speak at the Oregon Reagan Dinner 2026 Gala on Saturday, Sept. 26, at NW Events & Environments, 2900 N.E. Century Blvd. in Hillsboro, according to an announcement from the Oregon Republican Party.
Drazan, a state senator from Canby, faces Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek in a rematch of Oregon’s 2022 race for governor — with President Donald Trump and his administration repeatedly coming up during the campaign.
The Democratic Party of Oregon launched a statewide “No Trump in Oregon” tour in September aimed at tying Drazan to Trump and his administration, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported. Drazan has pushed back on that effort, arguing that Democrats are trying to distract voters from Kotek’s record on issues such as homelessness, education and economic development.
DeSantis, meanwhile, has a yearslong political relationship with Trump. Trump endorsed DeSantis during his first campaign for Florida governor in 2018, before DeSantis later challenged him for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
DeSantis ultimately dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump. Later that year, DeSantis helped raise more than $3 million for Right for America, a pro-Trump super PAC.
DeSantis has served as Florida’s governor since 2019 and is nearing the end of his second term.
The Sept. 26 event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. State Sen. Bruce Starr and Katie Harman Ebner, who was crowned Miss America 2002, are also listed as speakers.
