OREGON 7 Electoral Votes
Population 
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Oregon Secretary of State)
Total Population, July 1, 2004 est. 3,594,586
Total Registration, Nov. 2004  2,141,249
Dem. 829,197 (38.72%)   Rep. 761,717 (35.57%)   NAff. 477,682 (22.31%)   Others  72,653 (3.39%)
Oregon has: 36 counties, 240 incorp. cities.
Five largest counties: Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Lane, Marion.
Five largest cities: Portland, Eugene, Salem, Gresham, Beaverton.

Government
Governor: Ted Kulongoski (D) elected Nov. 2002.
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) re-elected in 2002, Ron Wyden (D) re-elected in 2004.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D) was easily re-elected to a second term defeating Republican Al King by 1,128,728 votes to 565,254 votes, with 85,032 votes going to three minor party candidates.  All U.S. House members were re-elected; the closest race was in the 5th CD where Rep. Darlene Hooley (D) defeated Republican Jim Zupancic by 184,833 votes to 154,933 with less than 10,000 votes going to two others.

The Beaver State

Oregon.gov
Secretary of State

Democratic Party of OR
Libertarian Party of OR
Natural Law Party-OR
OR Republican Party
Pacific Green Party of OR
Reform Party of OR
Constitution Party of OR

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Politics1-OR
 

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 254.056ORS 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."
 

2000 page >

Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.