JOHN DAY — “Come on in. We’re just shooting the bull and having a beer,” said Betsy Johnson, the unaffiliated candidate for governor, as she welcomed a new arrival to the “Beers with Betsy” event at the Grant County Regional Airport on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

The event was part of an ambitious two-day tour by airplane that would take Johnson to 10 stops around Oregon, and in doing so tick off the last boxes of her pledge to visit all 36 counties as part of her campaign. On Tuesday, after starting out in Scappoose, she’d already visited Independence, Newport, Gold Beach and Madras before touching down in John Day. As the event kicked off, her team was watching the weather, “making a game time call on Joseph,” the first stop on Wednesday’s leg.

“This is an incredible airport!” Johnson exclaimed, perched in front of the terminal’s grand fireplace as she held court and threw back complimentary nuts. The beer was free, the talk was loose and the language was salty. Forget the old line about watching sausage being made; here, the freewheeling conversation ranged from the inner workings of the Legislature to the mechanics of “breaking down a beef.”

“I ain’t going anywhere,” Johnson said in response to an early question about her intentions as Election Day draws near. “I don’t believe the polls. It ain’t over till the fat lady sings, and I haven’t even tuned up yet.”

She seemed to relish her role as gadfly and flinch at the idea that her candidacy could lead to a victory for Republican Christine Drazan by taking votes away from Democrat Tina Kotek. She explained that she was proud to bring a credible third party choice to Oregonians and emphasized her potential to bring divided sides together.

“The farther south and the farther east you go, the angrier people are,” Johnson said. She noted that eight counties are saying they want to cleave from Oregon and join Idaho as evidence of just how deep the divisions go. “I’ve never seen us so divided politically.”

She said that as governor she wouldn’t sign any major bill or budget without evidence of bipartisan support: “Not to give veto to the minority, but you ought to be able to bring a couple of the other party along.”

She touched on such topics as wolf predation, economic development and the need for the state to be seen as more business-friendly. When asked about her take on the lottery, she was quick to answer: “I’ve never won, and I’m pissed!” She went on to lay out her plans for a detailed audit of where lottery spending goes and to lament Oregon’s addiction to “booze, cannabis and the lottery.”

One moment that stood out among the familiar campaign talking points came when Johnson was asked about an article that mentioned some land in Central Oregon from which the headwaters of the Metolious River emerge. Johnson’s family owned the land before donating it to the U.S. Forest service. (Johnson was born in Bend and raised in Redmond.)

She mentioned that nobody knows the origin of that water. At that point an audience member explained that the source was in fact the meadows near Black Butte Ranch and that the water then flows straight underneath Black Butte, which arose after the river was established. Johnson was visibly astonished to learn this and seemed genuinely appreciative for the new information, saying, “Here I had to fly all the way over to John Day to find out!”

At one point her pilot flagged her attention from the back of the room with news. “What’s the go/no-go decision on Joseph?” Johnson asked.

“I was just gonna grab a beer,” the pilot said.

“We’re staying all night!” Johnson said. “Cool. Have a beer!”