New Yorker Files to Run Against Merkley In May Primary

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
By NIGEL JAQUISS

It's common for unheralded candidates to challenge incumbents such as U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). For instance, Pavel Goberman, a Washington County fitness instructor and perennial candidate for a variety of offices is seeking to unseat Merkley in May.

What's highly unusual for Oregon is that Merkley is also getting a challenge from a resident of Brooklyn—the one in New York, not the neighborhood in Southeast Portland.

William Bryk, a lawyer, has previously entered primary races in several states in recent years, including Idaho, Indiana, New Hampshire, Alaska and Wyoming, all while living in New York.

Tony Green, a spokesman for Secretary of State Kate Brown, acknowledges it's very unusual for a non-Oregonian to run in an election here but says Bryk made a convincing legal argument.

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