Oregon Gov“s race heats up Oregon
From our weekly issue dated June 23, 2010
During most election years, candidates ramp up for the May primary election; step back slightly during the warmer summer months; and begin campaigning aggressively in the fall.
But Oregon“s gubernatorial election looks to be an exception, with many recent developments in that race.
Chris Dudley, the Republican nominee for the state“s highest office, has started running television commercials discussing the obstacles he has overcome in his life. Dudley was diagnosed with diabetes as a teenager, but went on to attend Yale and play professional basketball for such teams as the Portland Trailblazers.
Spokesman Leroy Coleman claims that the message appears to be “resonating“ with voters statewide.
“We“re reintroducing Oregonians to who Chris is, the kind of person he is and the character he has,“ Coleman said.
Derek Humphrey, campaign manager for John Kitzhaber, Democratic nominee and former governor, said that camp was a “little surprised“ to see Dudley airing TV ads this far before the Nov. 2 general election.
But Humphrey added that the Kitzhaber campaign does not plan to do the same at this point.
“We“re not going to change our campaign strategy around to match his,“ Humphrey said. “Maybe an early investment in TV makes more sense for his campaign than ours.“
A pair of recent polls also has produced some positive headlines for the Dudley campaign.
A May 24 poll by Rasmussen showed Dudley leading Kitzhaber 45 to 44 percent. Those figures improved in a June 10 SurveyUSA poll, which put Dudley at 47 percent and Kitzhaber at 40.
The June poll showed the candidates tied among women voters, and Dudley beating Kitzhaber among independents by 6 percent.
Humphrey said that the polls simply reinforce the hotly contested nature of the campaign.
“We always expected an incredibly competitive race, and we still do,“ Humphrey said. “There will be a lot of polls between now and the election. But the only one that matters is in November.“
Humphrey also said that there were “problems“ with the SurveyUSA poll. One, he said, was the modeling it used to predict Democratic voter turnout and its inclusion of presumptive Progressive Party nominee Jerry Wilson. The poll showed Wilson receiving 6 percent of the vote.
Instead of airing advertisements, the Kitzhaber campaign has been focusing on its ground game, Humphrey said, with a “big robust field program“ in Portland, Salem, Eugene and Corvallis.
“We“re canvassing every weekend and phone banking every day,“ he said.
Tom DiLorenzo, a lobbyist who works in Salem, had publicly announced that he was considering running as a nonaffiliated candidate, but has since dropped that bid. But Humphrey said that “wasn“t big news to us.“
“I don“t think it was a significant moment in the campaign,“ he said.
Both major state parties have become increasingly involved in the governor“s race. The Democratic Party of Oregon has issued press releases blasting Dudley“s positions on key issues, and Oregon Republican Party (ORP) Chairman Bob Tiernan filed a complaint with the Secretary of State“s office regarding a $5,000 contribution from a member of Kitzhaber“s finance committee chairman to the Independent Party.
ORP also has criticized Kitzhaber and members of the state Senate Democratic leadership for a planned June 29 private fund-raiser with 15 participants. An invitation distributed by the Senate Democratic Leadership fund states that the event is to discuss “potential (legislative) session issues.“
Humphrey dismissed the complaints outright as “desperate“ acts.
“They don“t have any dirt, so they have to make stuff up,“ Humphrey said. “I don“t think anybody took it very seriously.“
Minor parties also are gearing up for the fall race. The Libertarian Party of Oregon nominated its vice chairman, 33-year old Aurora resident Wes Wagner, for governor during a convention in Salem earlier this month.
The Constitution Party is planning its statewide convention for Saturday, June 26 in Woodburn. Chairman Jack Brown, a Grants Pass resident, said that Gresham resident Greg Kord likely will be that party“s nominee.
A nominating convention was held by the Pacific Green Party of Oregon in Eugene at the beginning of June. But a summary of the convention on the party“s Website lists no candidate for governor.
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