(“The Law” could be headed to the Oregon Statehouse)

As you may have heard, Matt Lindland is running for public office. But what you may not know is he actually has a pretty decent chance of getting elected.

I spoke with Lindland recently about his political campaign. If you think it’s some kind of publicity stunt ala the porn star who ran for governor of California, think again. Lindland has a platform, an organization, and the backing of a real political party.

Guess which one it is. Give up? Hint: the phrase “the liberals in Salem” was peppered throughout our conversation.

That’s right, Lindland is a Republican. And while, yes, Oregon may have something of a reputation as a “granola” state, Lindland reminds us that his district leans more to the right.

“Don’t think that just because we’re close to Portland we’re all a bunch of liberals,” he said, referring to Oregon’s 52nd District, which we’re going to go ahead and dub “Lindland Country”.

Portland may be all latte-sipping, North Face-wearing, Prius-owners (that, and some awesome strip clubs…seriously), but the state representative seat that Lindland is seeking was vacated by a Republican woman.

“Outside of Multnomah County it’s a little more rural, with a different set of values,” he added.

But Lindland doesn’t seem to be running as a “values candidate”. Not really. His beef with Oregon state politics is an economic one, and judging from their high unemployment rate in recent years, that seems like a good way to court voters there.

At the heart of Lindland’s proposal is the ever-popular anti-tax stance. He says that business-owners in Oregon (of which he is one) are taxed too much already – a position that rarely gets argued against, considering even those people who don’t own businesses often, you know, work for them or buy things from them.

“We should be seeing Oregon businesses expand and hire more people, but we aren’t, and that’s because of the burden placed on business owners,” Lindland said.

What’s especially interesting is Lindland’s answer to the question of when he decided to run for the Oregon Statehouse:

“On the last day of the filing deadline.”

And why did he make that decision?

“Because there were no other Republican candidates on the ballot.”

Of course, he does allow that, also on the last day of the filing period, another Republican signed up, but he said he doesn’t consider her a “true conservative Republican.”

Lindland had no problem admitting that he has absolutely no experience as a legislator, but in a campaign predicated on bringing new blood to a Statehouse choked with tax-happy Democrats, he seems poised to use that as an advantage.

The irony here is that while Lindland is the only famous candidate in the race (debatable, but he’s been on TV, okay?), that fame doesn’t seem to carry over to the Fightin’ 52nd.

“I’m more well-known nationally than I am in my own district,” Lindland lamented.

Thing is, I don’t know about the rest of you, but seldom have I ever known much about local candidates or state representatives when I vote. I usually make my decisions on those races based on a) whether someone has an unfortunate name, b) what their occupation is, or c) political party. In other words, I vote the way Thomas Jefferson intended.

My point is, if you lived in the 52nd and were going to vote Republican anyway, how could you not go with the guy who is listed as ‘Matt Lindland: Mixed Martial Arts Fighter’?

All I’m saying is, “The Law” might really have a shot at this one.