Oregon State Sen. Rick Metsger, a Democrat and the industry favorite in Tuesday's primary turned up the loser but the Credit Union Association of Oregon said Thursday the effort was worth it.
Metsger, a former Portland sports broadcaster and ex-CU director, lost to the incumbent, Ted Wheeler, who was appointed to the job last March and ran a well-financed race. Wheeler succeeds Ben Westlund who died last March but also was a "strong credit union friend," said CUAO.
"We're disappointed in the outcome, but we were proud to have supported his campaign and we hope to have the opportunity to work with Senator Metsger in the future," said a spokeswoman for CUAO.
CUAO officials said that while barred from doing endorsements CUs across the state were active on their websites posting messages of "thanks" to Metsger on home pages and praising Metsger "for his many years of supporting credit unions in the Oregon legislature" and wishing him luck in his treasurer race.
