Walter Huss

Walter L. Huss (1918 – 2006) was a fundamentalist minister, anti-communist activist, and newspaper publisher who served as chairman of the Oregon Republican Party between August 1978 and May 1979. Huss ran multiple times for statewide office in Oregon as a Republican, but never won a primary.

1964 congressional campaign
Huss was a candidate for congress in 1964, running in the republican primary to represent Oregon's 3rd congressional district. He ultimately finished second behind Lyle Dean, with 21,087 votes to Dean's 27,325. Dean went on to lose the general election to incumbent congresswoman Edith Green.

1966 senatorial campaign
In 1966 Huss ran in the Republican primary for Oregon's Class 2 senate seat. He finished second behind Mark Hatfield, who went on to win the general election. Hatfield was an opponent of the Vietnam War, which Huss supported.



Chair of Oregon Republican Party
On August 5th, 1978 at a GOP organizational meeting in Bend, Oregon, Huss defeated incumbent Oregon party chair Steve Young in a delegate vote by a margin of 51 to 44. His candidacy for chair was supported by conservative activists. Less than 8 months later (on March 16, 1978), Huss announced his intention to resign effective April 30th of that year, under pressure from fellow conservatives who felt he had been insufficiently focused on his job as chair. Huss ultimately stayed on as chair past April to finish overseeing a financial audit started under his leadership, leaving the job in May.

During Huss's tenure as chair, he repeatedly clashed with moderates in the party. At one point, moderate Republicans including secretary of state Norma Paulus and state treasurer Clay Myers organized a rival organization, the Council of Elected Republicans, to raise funds without going through the state party. Huss also came under fire for saying he preferred candidates who were Christians. Accused of antisemitism for these comments by the likes of Republican gubernatorial nominee Victor Atiyeh, Huss denied any ill intent, saying in part that "one of my best friends is a Jew — Jesus Christ."

1980 senatorial campaign
Instead of running for office in 1980, Huss campaigned for his wife, Rosalie, who ran in the Republican primary against incumbent senator Bob Packwood. Packwood won both the primary and the general.

1982 gubernatorial campaign
In 1982 Huss ran against incumbent governor Victor Atiyeh in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Atiyeh won both the primary and the general elections.