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Walden gets primary free pass When Greg Walden ran for the 2nd Congressional District seat two years ago, it was a congressional horse race. Four Republicans and three Democrats were galloping along in the crowded 1998 primary. What a difference two years makes. Incumbent Walden, R-Hood River, faces no opponent in the May 16 primary. Madras farmer Walter Ponsford, a Democrat seeking his party's nomination, is also unopposed in the May 16 election. A Hood River radio station owner and a former state legislator, Walden has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oregon. During his first term, he has earned 100 percent ratings from the National Federation of Independent Business, the Farm Bureau and the League of Private Property Voters. He is a member of the House Agriculture Committee as well as the Resource and Government Reform committees. A retired teacher, Ponsford is a graduate of the Oregon College of Education and has a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He lists prior government experience as an ESD board membership and membership on the state Advisory Council for Citizen Review Boards. Since 1893, only two Democrats have been elected to represent Oregon's 2nd Congressional District. The first was Walter M. Pierce, in 1932, who held the post until 1943. Democrat Al Ullman was elected in 1956. He held the seat until he was bumped by Republican Denny Smith in 1980, when the district was reconfigured. The district covers Jackson County, most of Josephine County and all of Central and Eastern Oregon. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA