OREGON 7 Electoral Votes
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

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, Radio
Media

Politics1-OR

blogs
Blue Oregon
NW Republican


The Beaver State 
General Election -- Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Voting Eligible Population*2,695,058.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 67.8%.


                           Official Results >


Nader/Gonzalez (Peace)
18,614 (1.02)
McKinney/Clemente (PG)
4,543 (0.25)
McCain/Palin (Rep.)
738,475 (40.40)
Barr/Root (Lib.)
7,635 (0.42)
Baldwin/Castle (Const.)
7,693 (0.42)
+Obama/Biden (Dem.)
1,037,291 (56.75)
Misc.
13,613 (0.74)
Total........1,827,864


Number voting on Nov. 4......1,845,251

2008 Overview
Oregon was a battleground in 2000 and again tight in 2004, but this year it was not close. 
From June to November here were no visits by the major party principals. (In a sign of things to come, in June  2008 Sen. Gordon Smith (R), seeking re-election, ran an ad in which the announcer asked, "Who says Gordon Smith helped lead the fight for better gas mileage and a cleaner environment?"  The answer: Barack Obama). 

Obama-Biden won Oregon with a plurality of 298,816 votes (16.35 percentage points); McCain carried 23 counties to 13 for Obama.  In Multnomah County Obama amassed a plurality of more than 200,000 votes (279,696 to 75,171). 
Obama/Allies  |  McCain/Allies  |  Nader  

Primary Election -- Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Registration: Dem. 861,998 (42.9%)   Rep. 669,636 (33.3%)   NAff. 404,924 (20.2%)   Other 72,399 (3.6%)   ...Total 2,008,957
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

Official Results

Hillary Clinton
259,825
40.50%
+Barack Obama 375,385
58.52%
Misc.
6,289
0.98%

641,499

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.")

+John McCain
285,881
80.88%
Ron Paul
51,100
14.46%
Misc.
16,495
4.67%

353,476

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.

RegistrationDem. 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

1992 and 1996 General Elections

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

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
2004 page >
2000 page >
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.