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U.S. House · District 2 candidate · U.S. Congress · November 3, 2026

Cliff Bentz

Incumbent U.S. representative; farmer, attorney and former state legislator.

Campaign website (opens in a new tab)

Reach the campaign

As published in their campaign site.

In their words

Said: Cliff Bentz: as a member of the House Water and Wildlife Fisheries Subcommittee, is fighting for reservoir storage, additional hydropower, retention of dams, water for irrigation, delisting of the wolf, and increased timber harvest.

Voters’ pamphlet

Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 pamphlet; posted by the Secretary of State September 9, 2026; extracted September 21, 2026

Oregon voters’ pamphlet candidate statement · PDF page 13 ↗

Verbatim opening of the candidate's own statement; publication by the state does not verify the claims. Skipped before it: the run-in label “Cliff Bentz: PRO-Trump, PRO-2nd Amendment, PRO-Life, PRO-Business, & PRO-Veteran.” (no predicate). The candidate’s run-in name and colon are kept.

The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.

What they say they would do

Our summary of their platform, in our words

His campaign issue pages favor less regulation, lower taxes, irrigation and resource use, stronger border barriers, and opposition to government-run healthcare.

  • Support farmers’ and ranchers’ water access and active federal forest management.
  • Strengthen border security and complete border barriers.
  • Oppose single-payer healthcare and support gun rights.

Our reading

Our interpretation, not their words
  • Resource use
  • Border enforcement

More timber harvest, water storage and lower taxes with less regulation are a consistent program; the campaign's issue pages carry pandemic-era language, so which commitments are current for 2026 is the open question.

Oregon voters’ pamphlet candidate statement · PDF page 13 ↗Bentz · secure our borders (undated issue page) ↗Bentz · fire and federal forest management (undated issue page) ↗

Where they stand

Housing and homelessness

Not foundNot found in the sources we reviewed. That is a research gap, not a position.

Public safety and immigration

Complete border wall
What
Said: Supports a secure border and stopping illegal immigration by improving border security and completing the wall.
How
Not in their sources
Measured by
Not in their sources

Taxes, spending and your bills

Lower taxes, fewer rules
What
Said: Supports lower taxes, reduced regulation and directing investment toward rural Oregon.
How
Not in their sources
Measured by
Not in their sources

Transportation, energy and climate

More timber and hydropower
What
Said: Wants more energy generation, reservoir storage, hydropower, retained dams, irrigation water and increased timber harvest; opposes carbon pricing and would reduce fuel loads on federal forests and change the Equal Access to Justice Act.
How
Said: Reduce fuel loads, enhance salvage logging and sustained-yield harvests on federal forests, and repeal or change the Equal Access to Justice Act he says funds litigation against the government.
Measured by
Not in their sources

The choices this office faces

Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Cliff Bentz is on record on 7, with 1 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.

No answer we could find

  • Should federal policy rein in data centers’ power, water and cost impacts, or keep fast-tracking them?

    Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.

On record

  • Keep H.R. 1’s Medicaid work rules, six-month renewals and SNAP cuts, or repeal them?

    Said: Voted yes on final House passage of H.R. 1 on July 3, 2025 (218–214), a vote on the whole package, including the Medicaid work rules, six-month renewals and SNAP cuts.

  • Restore the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that expired December 31, 2025?

    Said: Voted no on January 8, 2026 on H.R. 1834, the three-year restoration of the enhanced premium tax credits, which passed 230–196.

  • End the tariffs and take tariff power back from the president?

    Said: Voted no on February 11, 2026 on H.J.Res. 72, which ended the national emergency behind the Canada tariffs (219–211).

  • Fund the $70 billion expansion of ICE and Border Patrol through 2029 (the Secure America Act)?

    Said: Voted yes on June 9, 2026 on the Secure America Act’s $70 billion for ICE and Border Patrol through 2029; it passed 214–212.

  • Direct the president to end U.S. military involvement in the war with Iran?

    Said: Voted no on July 23, 2026 on H.Con.Res. 89 directing the president to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran (214–208), as on June 3.

  • Pass the Fix Our Forests Act: faster thinning and logging on federal forests with shorter windows to sue?

    Said: Voted yes on January 23, 2025 on the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 471), which passed 279–141.

  • Expand the federal role in housing, from the new ROAD to Housing law to more vouchers and tax credits?

    Said: Voted yes on June 23, 2026 on final passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (358–32), now Public Law 119-101.

Compare every candidate

Public record

Recorded actions, from the official record

Voted Aye on the final House motion accepting the Senate’s H.R. 1 amendment, July 3, 2025. It passed 218–214. This records a vote on the entire package, not a separate vote on each provision.

Federal record

Public record · July 3, 2025

House Clerk · roll call 190, final House action on H.R. 1 ↗

A question the evidence leaves open

Which positions on these older pages remain your current commitments, and how would you protect rural health access?

Sources (6)

  1. Bentz · published issue pagesCandidate statement · Undated; includes pandemic-era language; reviewed September 18, 2026
  2. 2026 qualified filing · RepublicanElection authority · Checked September 18, 2026
  3. Oregon voters’ pamphlet candidate statement · PDF page 13Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 pamphlet; posted by the Secretary of State September 9, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
  4. Bentz · secure our borders (undated issue page)Candidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
  5. Bentz · fire and federal forest management (undated issue page)Candidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
  6. House Clerk · roll call 190, final House action on H.R. 1Public record · July 3, 2025