Rep Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, responds to questions during a town hall meeting in August at The Expo in Central Point.

U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, who represents the Rogue Valley in Congress, said Wednesday he’ll back former President Donald Trump’s campaign for president.

Bentz’s sprawling 2nd Congressional District encompasses the Rogue Valley and most of the state east of the Cascades. He is a Republican from Ontario.

Trump leads the small pack of candidates vying for the Republican nomination, which will be decided in state primaries between January and June. Oregon’s primary will be held May 21, and the Oregon Supreme Court is weighing a challenge to bar Trump from the ballot on the grounds that he engaged in insurrection.

Bentz tweeted Wednesday morning that he chose Trump after talking with friends, constituents and the former president’s cabinet members.

“I now believe that Donald Trump will ultimately win the Republican primary and if we Republicans join together he will be elected president,” Bentz wrote.

He and the Oregon Republican Party did not immediately respond to questions from the Capital Chronicle Wednesday. Bentz will also be on the primary ballot in May, and faces a challenge in the Republican primary from Prineville Mayor Jason Beebe.

Bentz previously endorsed Trump for president in 2020 and joined fellow Republicans who voted against certifying election results from Pennsylvania, one of six swing states won by President Joe Biden. That vote was unsuccessful, but it would have denied nearly 7 million voters a say in who should be president. Bentz also supported an impeachment inquiry into Biden.

Every Republican leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Speaker Jim Jordan, R-Louisiana, has endorsed Trump. Oregon’s only other Republican representative, Lori Chavez DeRemer, has not yet endorsed a candidate.

“The first votes of the 2024 race still haven’t been cast, and I look forward to seeing the process play out,” she said in an email.