Lorentz Scott Bruun ( ; born May 3, 1966) is an American Republican politician from the US state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. He served in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

representing District 37, which encompasses some of the southern suburbs of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, including part or all of the cities of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

Lake Oswego Lake Oswego ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon, primarily in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, with small portions extending into neighboring Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah and Washington County, Oregon, Washington counties ...

, Rivergrove, Tualatin and West Linn, as well as the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

and parts of unincorporated

Clackamas County Clackamas County ( ) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the na ...

. Bruun did not seek re-election in 2010 and was the Republican nominee for in 2010, losing to incumbent Democrat

Kurt Schrader Walter Kurt Schrader (born October 19, 1951) is an American politician and veterinarian who served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2023. His district covered most of Oregon's central coast, plus Salem, and many of Portland's south ...

Early life and career

Bruun grew up in Portland, Oregon and graduated from Lincoln High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1988 and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

in 1992. He worked as a commercial and corporate banker for more than ten years before joining his family's general contracting company Lorentz Bruun as vice president and chief financial officer.

Political campaigns

1996

In April 1996, Bruun sought the Republican nomination for a special election to complete the term for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

seat in

Oregon's 3rd congressional district Oregon's 3rd congressional district covers most of Multnomah County, including Gresham, Troutdale, and most of Portland east of the Willamette River (parts of Northwest and Southwest Portland lie in the 1st and 5th districts). It also in ...

, vacated when

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden ( ; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United States Senate special el ...

won election to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Bruun lost the Republican primary to Mark Brunelle, who then lost the special election to

Earl Blumenauer Earl Francis Blumenauer ( ; born August 16, 1948) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1996 to 2025. The district includes most of Portland, Oregon, ...

. However, Bruun was unopposed for the Republican nomination for the November election for the full term because Brunelle failed to register for the May primary. Blumenauer went on to defeat Bruun to win re-election to the seat.

2004, 2006, 2008

In 2004, Bruun won a close election for a vacant seat in the

over Jim Morton. He was re-elected in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and again in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, facing Democratic West Linn city councilor Michele Eberle.

2010

Bruun unsuccessfully challenged Democratic incumbent

for a seat in the House of Representatives in . In May 2010, Bruun won the Republican nomination against Fred Thompson.

Personal

Bruun and his wife Alison live in West Linn with their two children and is a principal at Hubbell Communications, a public relations firm in Portland.

Electoral history

References

External links

Legislative website

Project VoteSmart biography

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruun, Scott Members of the Oregon House of Representatives Portland, Oregon, Republicans University of Oregon alumni Portland State University alumni Politicians from West Linn, Oregon Living people 1966 births 21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly