Mark Callahan

Mark Callahan
Personal details
Born Mark Allen Callahan
(1977-05-11) May 11, 1977
San Diego, California, U.S.
Political party Democratic (Before 2010)
Oregon Independent (2010)
Green (2010–2011)
Republican (2011–present)
Spouse(s) Sherry (divorced 2013)[1]
Children 2
Alma mater Oregon State University (BS)
Website Campaign website

Mark Allen Callahan (born May 11, 1977) is an American politician who was the Republican nominee in the 2016 United States Senate election in Oregon. He is an information technology consultant based out of Portland, Oregon.[2]

Political career

Callahan is known as a perennial candidate, having frequently sought office since 2009.[3]

Callahan sought appointment to a seat in the Oregon Senate in 2009 as a Democrat.[2]

In 2010, he ran for the Lane County Commission.[4] Later in 2010, Callahan ran for the Oregon House of Representatives, unsuccessfully seeking the nomination of the Independent Party of Oregon before receiving the nomination of the Pacific Green Party, in what he later said was an attempt to take away votes from the Democratic incumbent, Nancy Nathanson, in order to help the Republican nominee win.[2][5]

In 2011, Callahan unsuccessfully sought a school board seat in Eugene.[6] His then-wife, Sherry, also unsuccessfully ran for a different seat on the board in the same election.[7]

In 2012, Callahan ran for President of the United States as a Republican.[8] He filed to run in both the New Hampshire and Arizona primaries.[2]

Later in 2012, Callahan won the Republican nomination without opposition for the same Oregon House of Representatives seat he had sought in 2010, losing again to Nancy Nathanson in the general election.[9]

In 2014, Callahan sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, receiving nearly 7% of the vote and coming in third place, behind Jason Conger and eventual nominee Monica Wehby.[10][11] During this campaign, Callahan was featured on Fox News after an argument with Nigel Jaquiss, a reporter, resulted in him being kicked out of a Willamette Week editorial interview.[8]

In 2015, Callahan unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Mt. Hood Community College Board of Directors.[12]

In 2016, Callahan received the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, winning the primary with 38% of the vote.[13][14] He won the primary over businessman Sam Carpenter, Lane County Commissioner Faye Stewart, and business consultant Dan Laschober.[15][16][17] He lost the election to incumbent U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Political positions

Callahan stated he is "focusing on the pressing issues and problems that are facing Oregonians right now, and am committed to finding and pursuing real solutions for our state."

Callahan supports implementing a flat tax. He also supports implementing term limits for members of Congress, and is opposed to illegal immigration. Callahan is opposed to both the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.[18] In a 2014 interview he said, "it’s a myth” when asked about climate change.[19]

Personal life

Callahan has two daughters, and divorced in 2013.[2] His ex-wife, Sherry, supported his 2014 U.S. Senate campaign.[1]

Electoral history

2010 Lane County Commission election[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Sid Leiken 5,103 42.10
Nonpartisan Pat Riggs-Henson 3,306 27.27
Nonpartisan Joe Pishioneri 2,061 17.00
Nonpartisan Dave Ralston 845 6.97
Nonpartisan Patrick Hurley 332 2.74
Nonpartisan Mark Callahan 263 2.17
Nonpartisan Michael Tayloe 181 1.49
write-ins 31 0.26
Total votes 12,122 100.00
2010 Oregon House of Representatives Independent primary election[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent Nancy Nathanson 20 52.63
Independent Mark Callahan 16 42.10
None of the above 1 2.63
write-ins 1 2.63
Total votes 38 100.00
2010 Oregon House of Representatives District 13 general election[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nancy Nathanson 15,967 64.79
Republican Bill Young 7,890 32.01
Pacific Green Mark Callahan 749 3.04
write-ins 40 0.16
Total votes 24,646 100.00
2011 Eugene School District #4J, place 4 election[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Craig Smith 15,279 52.51
Nonpartisan Mark Callahan 6,212 21.35
Nonpartisan Linda Hamilton 5,120 17.59
Nonpartisan Natasha Hennings 2,286 7.86
write-ins 203 0.70
Total votes 29,100 100.00
2012 Oregon House of Representatives District 13 general election[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nancy Nathanson 19,110 68.70
Republican Mark Callahan 8,651 31.10
write-ins 56 0.20
Total votes 27,817 100.00
2014 U.S. Senate Republican primary election[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Monica Wehby 134,627 49.96
Republican Jason Conger 101,401 37.63
Republican Mark Callahan 18,220 6.76
Republican Jo Rae Perkins 7,602 2.82
Republican Tim Crawley 6,566 2.44
write-ins 1,027 0.38
Total votes 266,438 100.00
2015 Mt. Hood Community College Board of Directors, Zone 3 election[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Teena Ainslie 1,890 53.50
Nonpartisan Mark Callahan 1,643 46.50
Total votes 3,533 100.00
2016 U.S. Senate Republican primary election[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Mark Callahan 123,473 38.24
Republican Sam Carpenter 104,494 32.36
Republican Faye Stewart 57,399 17.78
Republican Dan Laschober 34,157 10.58
write-ins 3,357 1.04
Total votes 322,880 100.00

References

  1. 1 2 Callahan, Sherry (January 30, 2014). "News Release" (PDF). Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mark Callahan's party switches, bankruptcy and divorce roil Oregon GOP Senate race". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  3. ↑ Lehman, Chris. "Perennial Oregon Political Candidate Mark Callahan Heads For His Biggest Stage Yet. But How?". www.opb.org. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  4. ↑ Cooper, Matt. "Lane County commissioner candidates, Springfield district". The Register-Guard. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  5. ↑ "CONVENTION MINUTES JULY 31, 2010". Pacific Green Party. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Callahan Responds To Lawsuit". Eugene Daily News. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  7. 1 2 "May 17, 2011 Special Election". Lane County, Oregon. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Mapes, Jeff (September 10, 2015). "Republican Mark Callahan of 'blah, blah, blah' fame runs again for U.S. Senate". The Oregonian (OregonLive.com). Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Who will control the Oregon House: Election results". Oregon Live. November 6, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  10. 1 2 "May 20, 2014 Primary Election Abstract of Votes: United States Senator" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  11. ↑ Mesh, Aaron (May 2, 2014). "BlahBlahBlahGate: Watch What Really Happened When We Kicked a U.S. Senate Candidate Out of Our Offices". Willamette Week. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  12. ↑ Carson, Teresa (May 19, 2015). "MHCC board has four new directors". Portland Tribune. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  13. 1 2 "May 17, 2016 Primary Election Official Results". Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  14. ↑ Jaquiss, Nigel (September 10, 2015). "Mark Callahan Makes Another Run for U.S. Senate". Willamette Week. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  15. ↑ Mapes, Jeff (September 10, 2015). "Republican Mark Callahan of 'blah, blah, blah' fame runs again for U.S. Senate". The Oregonian. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
  16. ↑ Hubbard, Saul (April 27, 2016). "Four GOP candidates in primary vie for spot to face off against U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden". The Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  17. ↑ Jaquiss, Nigel (May 18, 2016). "Surprise Winners, Lousy Polls and Cheap Shots—Last Night's Primary Had It All". Willamette Week. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Issues". Callahan for Senate. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  19. ↑ Weigel, David (2014-05-02). "Video: A Long-Shot Senate Candidate Heroically Berates a Reporter for Writing "Blah Blah Blah" in His Notebook". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2016-10-02.
  20. ↑ "Lance County Election Results: May 18, 2010". Lane County, Oregon. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Independent Party of Oregon primary election July 30, 2010" (PDF). Independent Party of Oregon. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  22. ↑ "November 2, 2010, General Election Abstracts of Votes" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. November 2, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Official Results November 2012 general election" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  24. ↑ Carson, Teresa (May 19, 2015). "MHCC board has four new directors". Portland Tribune. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Jim Huffman		 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Oregon
(Class 3)
2016 		Most recent
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