Poll: Oregon Could Elect Its First Republican Governor Since 1982

Christine Drazan leads her Democratic opponent in a decent race

Josh Christenson • September 28, 2022 1:15 pm

Oregon voters may very well be able to elect their first Republican governor because the Nineteen Eighties, based on a ballot launched this week.

Thirty-two p.c of Oregon voters say they’d vote for Republican candidate Christine Drazan, based on an unbiased poll revealed by the Oregonian on Wednesday. Democratic candidate Tina Kotek is neck and neck with Drazan at 31 p.c—the second time this 12 months a ballot has proven Kotek trailing behind. Independent candidate Betsy Johnson sits at 18 p.c.

If she wins, Drazan could be the primary Republican governor elected in Oregon since 1982, when GOP incumbent Victor Atiyeh gained reelection.

The news comes as Democrats mount an enormous marketing campaign to maintain Oregon blue. The Democratic Governors Association this 12 months has donated greater than $3 million to Kotek, together with $1.25 million in September. The Cook Political Report and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics have both moved the race to a “tossup” since August.

The election has turn into a referendum on the liberal state’s method to rising violent crime and rampant drug use. Portland, Oregon’s largest metropolis, noticed probably the most homicides in its historical past final 12 months. Nearly 90 p.c of voters say the standard of life has worsened within the metropolis, based on a February ballot, and 1 / 4 say crime is Portland’s largest downside.

Kotek has largely embraced the permissive method towards crime and medicines of outgoing Gov. Kate Brown (D.). As House speaker in 2020, she sided with rioters who destroyed native companies and attacked police throughout summer time protests.

During a debate Tuesday night time, Kotek defended Measure 110, a 2020 poll measure that decriminalized all medication in small quantities. The regulation “may be imperfect,” Kotek stated, however “that doesn’t mean we throw the whole thing out.” Drazan and Johnson dedicated to repealing the measure, although Johnson voted for it as a Democratic state senator in June 2021.

The candidates additionally mentioned gun management and abortion, with Kotek criticizing Drazan for the Republican’s pro-life stance. Drazan stated Oregon’s abortion legal guidelines had been “among the most extreme in the nation” and that Kotek and Johnson had been utilizing the difficulty “to distract from their failed records.”

“This is the definition of Tina Kotek’s approach to the governor’s office,” Drazan stated on the debate. “Don’t change course. Don’t change direction. Keep doing more of the same. Oregonians need change.”

Kotek’s marketing campaign didn’t reply to a request for remark.