Population  (Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Oregon Secretary of State) Total Population, July 1, 2008 est. 3,790,060 Total Registration, Nov. 2008 2,153,914 Dem. 929,741 (43.17%)   Rep. 695,677 (32.30%)   NAff. 431,922 (20.05%)   Other 96,574 (4.48%)    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. 2008 update   U.S. Senate:  Sen. Gordon Smith (R) lost to Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley (D) in his bid for re-election.  Merkley obtained 864,392 votes (48.90%) to 805,159 (45.55%) for Smith, 92,565 (5.24%) for Dave Brownlow (C) and 5,388 misc..  U.S. House:  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) defeated business executive Mike Erickson (R), also the 2006 nominee, by 181,577 votes to 128,297 and 24,800 for others  The U.S. House delegation remains at 4D, 1R.     > Democrats pick up U.S. Senate seat.  MORE

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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
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

Voting Eligible Population*: 2,550,887. VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 72.0%. Vote by Mail -- Ballots mailed any time between the 14th and 18th days before election. Registration:  Dem. 829,197 (38.72%)   Rep. 761,717 (35.57%)   NAff. 477,682 (22.31%)   Others  72,653 (3.39%)   ...Total 2,141,249. Registration deadline: Oct. 12, 2004.

Official Results +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]

General Election -- Tuesday, November 7, 2000

Voting Eligible Population*: 2,364,402. VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 64.9%. The election was conducted entirely by mail.  First day for mailing ballots: Oct. 20, 2000.   Registration: Dem. 769,195 (39.37%)   Rep. 699,179 (35.78%)   NAff. 428,406 (21.92%)   Others 57,226 (2.93%)   ...Total 1,954,006. Registration deadline: Oct. 17, 2000.

Official Results         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.

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

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