Oregon

OREGON

7 Electoral Votes

Population
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Oregon Secretary of State)

Total Population, July 1, 2007 est.	3,747,455
Total Registration, Nov. 2007	1,940,889

Dem. 753,212 (38.81%) Rep. 684,285 (35.25%) NAff. 431,986 (22.26%) Other 31,751 (1.64%) Lib. 14,329 PG 11,221 Soc. 244 Const. 3,000 WF 1,485 Ind. 9,376
Oregon has: 36 counties, 240 incorp. cities.
Largest counties: Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Lane, Marion. >
Largest cities: Portland, Salem, Eugene, Gresham, Beaverton. >

Government
Governor: Ted Kulongoski (D) elected Nov. 2002, re-elected in 2006.
State Legislature: Oregon Legislature House: 60 seats Senate: 30 seats
Local: Cities, Counties, Regional... NACO Counties
U.S. House: 4D, 1R - 1. D.Wu (D) | 2. G.Walden (R) | 3. E.Blumenauer (D) | 4. P.DeFazio (D) | 5. D.Hooley (D).
U.S. Senate: Gordon Smith (R) up for re-election in 2008, Ron Wyden (D) re-elected in 2004.

Sen. Gordon Smith (R) is being challenged by Jeff Merkley (D) in his bid for re-election. In the 5th CD (central coast; Marion and Clackamas Cos.) seat opened up by Rep. Darlene Hooley (D)'s retirement, State Sen. Kurt Schrader (D) faces business executive Mike Erickson, the 2006 nominee.

The Beaver State

Oregon.gov
Secretary of State

Democratic Party of OR
Libertarian Party of OR
OR Republican Party
Pacific Green Party of OR
Constitution Party of OR

The Oregonian
Newspapers
TV
Media

Politics1-OR

blogs
Blue Oregon
NW Republican

General Election -- Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Obama/Allies

McCain/Allies

Primary Election -- Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Qualifying for the Ballot
ORS 249.078 sets out that major party presidential candidates appear on the primary ballot either at the discretion of the Secretary of State (determines "that the candidate’s candidacy is generally advocated or is recognized in national news media") or by nominating petition ("A petition nominating a candidate under this section shall contain from each congressional district the signatures of at least 1,000 electors who are registered in the district and who are members of the major political party of the candidate. The electors in each congressional district shall include electors registered in at least five percent of the precincts in each of at least one-fourth of the counties in the congressional district...") press release

Democrats
65 Delegates (52 Pledged, 13 Unpledged) and 8 Alternates.
1.61% of the 4,049 Delegate Votes.

Clinton | Obama
DeFazio's Mar. 12, 2008 letter

former: Edwards

Republicans
30 Delegates: 3 RNC; 12 at-large; 15 by CD (3 x 5) and 27 alternates. >
1.26% of the 2,380 Delegates.

McCain - Co-Chair: U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (announced Aug. 9, 2006).

former: Romney

Smith for President 2008 (Michael Smith of Corvallis "I’m running for President in Oregon's Republican primary as a gesture, however improbable, that moderation has a following.")

Setting the Primary Date
Oregon Revised Statutes 254.056: "The primary election shall be held on the third Tuesday in May of each even-numbered year."

General Election -- Tuesday, November 2, 2004

-Last day to register to vote for general election is October 12, 2004. Registration cards that are postmarked by this date are valid registrations for the general election.
-Vote by Mail -- Ballots mailed any time between the 14th and 18th days before election.

Nonpartisan Groups
New Voters Project

+Kerry/Edwards (Dem.)

943,163

(51.35)

Cobb/LaMarche (Pac.)
5,315

(0.29)

Peroutka/Baldwin (Const.) 5,257 (0.29)

Badnarik/Campagna (Lib.) 7,260
(0.40)

Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
866,831

(47.19)

Misc.
8,956

(0.49)

Total........1,836,782

Number voting on Nov. 2.......1,851,671 2004 Overview
Oregon saw one of the most protracted battles over ballot access for Ralph Nader, as the consumer advocate went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the end, he did not appear on the ballot. Kerry-Edwards achieved a plurality of 76,332 votes (4.16 percentage points) over the Bush-Cheney ticket. Bush carried 28 counties to 8 for Kerry, but Kerry's 161,146 vote margin in Multnomah County proved insurmountable.
General Election Details
Kerry/Allies | Bush/Cheney '04

(Primary Election: May 18, 2004)

Past Results

1996

Clinton (Dem.).......649,641 (47.15)

Dole (Rep.)............538,152 (39.06)

Perot (Ref.)...........121,221
(8.79)

Nader (Pac.)............49,415
(3.59)

Others (4+misc.)......19,331
(1.40)

Total........1,377,760

1992

Clinton (Dem.).......621,314 (42.48)

Bush (Rep.)............475,757 (32.53)

Perot (IIPO)...........354,091
(24.21)

Others (2 + w/ins)....11,481
(0.78)

Total........1,462,643

2000

Buchanan/Foster (Ind.)
7,063

(0.46)

Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
713,577

(46.52)

Nader/LaDuke (Pac.)
77,357

(5.04)

Hagelin/Goldhaber (Ref.)
2,574

(0.17)

Phillips/Frazier (Const.)
2,189

(0.14)

+Gore/Lieberman (Dem.)
720,342

(46.96)

Browne/Olivier (Lib.)
7,447

(0.49)

Misc.
3,419

(0.22)

Total........1,533,968

1,559,215 total ballots counted; on 25,247 ballots (1.6%) no vote for President was recorded--due to under or over votes.

The election was conducted entirely by mail.
First day for mailing ballots: Oct. 20, 2000. Registration deadline: Oct. 17, 2000.

Total Registration, Nov. 2000: 1,954,006
2000 Overview
In 1996 Oregon provided the best showing of any state for Ralph Nader's "non-campaign." With Nader running an active campaign this time around, great attention focused on how much the Nader factor would hurt Vice President Gore's chances. Oregon became a closely fought battleground state. In the end, however, the Gore-Lieberman ticket did prevail, winning the state's 7 electoral votes by a plurality of 6,765 votes (0.44 percentage points). Bush carried 28 counties to Gore's 8, but Gore's plurality of more than 100,000 votes in Multnomah County (Portland) won the day. Voters faced "the most complex state ballot in Oregon's history;" in addition to the various candidate races, 26 state measures crowded the ballot.
General Election Activity

Primary Election -- Tuesday, May 18, 2004

The date of the biennial primary election, the third Tuesday in May, is set out in Oregon Revised Statutes 254.056. ORS 249.078 describes nomination of presidential candidates by major political parties. There are two methods for major party candidates to get on the primary ballot: determination by the Secretary of State "that the candidate's candidacy is generally advocated or recognized in the national news media" or nominating petition.

Democrat

	Total Vote	Percent
Lyndon H. Larouche, Jr.	8,571	2.33%
^{Dennis J. Kucinich}	60,019	16.29%
^{+John F. Kerry}	289,804	78.63%
Misc.	10,150	2.75%
Total	368,544

58 Delegates (46 Pledged, 12 Unpledged) and 8 Alternates

Republican
George W. Bush 293,806 Misc. 15,700.

Q. Are you aware of any efforts afoot to move Oregon's 2004 pres. primary forward?
Neel Pender, Exec. Dir. Democratic Party of Oregon (2/19/02 e-mail response): "No...there's always the possibility that 2003 Legislature could take the issue up but the chances are slim to none. We are in the midst of a budget crisis and the cost of holding a special presidential preference primary is just an additional burden. Plus, now that all states can move up, it's hard to imagine a scenario where Oregon would get any additional attention."