Your county over the past 10 years?

[Rob]

Lane County, Oregon



Area Statistics

Population: 322,959 (2000)
County Seat: Eugene
Geography: 95 miles north of the California line; 65 miles south of Portland
Economy: Agriculture and timber form the traditional base of Lane's economy, but these industries have been declining. Other important sources of revenue include tourism and education; the 20,000-student University of Oregon is located in Eugene.

Voting Record

Governor (2006)
Ted Kulongoski (D): 58.31%
Ron Saxton (R): 35.96%

President (2004)
John Kerry (D) 57.98%
George W. Bush (R): 40.35%

Senate (2004)
Ron Wyden (D): 64.61%
Al King (R): 29.70%
Teresa Kean (G): 3.07%

Governor (2002)
Ted Kulongoski (D): 56.89%
Kevin Mannix (R): 38.51%
Tom Cox (L): 4.51%

Senate (2002)
Gordon Smith (R): 48.56%
Bill Bradbury (D): 47.13%
Dan Fitzgerald (L): 2.52%

President (2000)
Al Gore (D): 51.64%
George W. Bush (R): 40.46%
Ralph Nader (G): 6.73%

Governor (1998)
John Kitzhaber (D): 68.33%
Bill Sizemore (R): 25.17%
Blair Bobier (P): 2.34%

Senate (1998)
Ron Wyden (D): 61.44%
John Lim (R): 31.35%
Karyn Moskowitz (P): 3.23%

President (1996)
William Clinton (D): 49.69%
Robert Dole (R): 34.52%
H. Ross Perot (REF): 8.23%
Ralph Nader (P): 5.66%

Senate (1996)
Tom Bruggere (D): 52.05%
Gordon Smith (R): 43.03%

Lane is dominated by the Eugene-Springfield metro area, and votes accordingly. In Eugene, the tone is set by the progressive-to-radical activism of the student body; the city is also known as the headquarters of the Pacific Northwest's anarchist movement, with a strong emphasis on environmentalism.

But this is a city where virtually everyone- from professionals to factory workers- votes Democratic. The views of the majority are expressed in the establishment liberalism of the Register-Guard editorial page, or with a militant edge in the alternative Eugene Weekly. John Kerry took 69 percent to George W. Bush's 28 percent; Greens regularly outpoll Republicans in the university precincts (and, in 1996, Socialists knocked the GOP into third place).

Springfield is the smaller, less affluent of the two cities. Located across the Willamette River, it lacks the revenue provided by the University and depends on timber and manufacturing. With a gritty, blue-collar atmosphere, it has moved toward Republicans because of the same cultural issues that help the Democrats in Eugene. There is also a backlash against the environmentalism so prominent across the river, and the perceived excesses of campus leftism. Still, Kerry won a solid 56 percent in 2004.

Smaller towns and cities- Junction City, Creswell, Cottage Grove- tend to be quite conservative, and vote solidly Republican. There may be an "anti-Eugene" vote in these places as well, but it's not nearly enough to make the county competitive.