OR: It's Kulongoski vs. Saxton

[Frodo]

In case anyone's interested....

Saxton wins bitter GOP battle; Democrats stay with Kulongoski

Wednesday, May 17, 2006
HARRY ESTEVE

Ron Saxton, making his second try to become Oregon's governor, pulled a solid win in the Republican primary and looked ahead to a November contest with Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who fended off a spirited Democratic challenge Tuesday.

Saxton, a Portland lawyer and former school board chairman, portrayed himself as a more conservative candidate this time around and was able to withstand withering attacks by opponent Kevin Mannix, the 2002 Republican primary winner.

"It shows Oregonians are really ready for a change," Saxton said. Looking ahead to what promises to be an intense campaign, he said Kulongoski "is my opponent, not my enemy." But, he added, "our views of government could not be more different."

Kulongoski, who led the three-way Democratic race with 54 percent of the party vote, and Saxton, who led his two chief GOP opponents with 44 percent, will end up in essentially a three-way race in November if state Sen. Ben Westlund presses his campaign as an independent.

"I'm running against two Republicans, is how I look at it," Kulongoski said at his victory party, a festive affair tempered by the realization that a more difficult campaign awaits. Westlund, of Bend, recently dropped his Republican credentials.

The governor said he will emphasize his plans to bring more stability to school budgets, to ensure more children are covered by health insurance and to boost the state's use of renewable energy.

[Q]

Though 54% was rather low, Kulongoski should be fine in the general.  I wonder what impact the independent candidate will have.

[Frodo]

Is the Oregon Republican Party any better off with Saxton instead of Mannix as its standard bearer against Gov. Kulongoski?  How much of a difference would it make in the upcoming election?     

[ian]

I don't know why I thought this, but I was under the impression there was a guy running against Kulongoski with an equally hard-to-pronounce name starting with a 'k'.  Does anyone know where I got this???

[Gabu]

I don't know why I thought this, but I was under the impression there was a guy running against Kulongoski with an equally hard-to-pronounce name starting with a 'k'.  Does anyone know where I got this???

I believe you're thinking of John Kitzhaber, the Democratic governor who preceded Kulongoski.

If I recall correctly, a lot of people wanted Kitzhaber to run, but he didn't.

[Mr. Paleoconservative]

Is the Oregon Republican Party any better off with Saxton instead of Mannix as its standard bearer against Gov. Kulongoski?  How much of a difference would it make in the upcoming election?     

Ron Saxton has wider appeal to Independent voters, and several conservative to moderate Democrats.  The media also seems friendly to Saxton (they hated Mannix).  Then once you add Ben Westlund into the race, I think Saxton will beat Gov. Teddy K pretty soundly (when your base is 33% it is not exactly difficult) this November.

Saxton will also help GOP candidates down the ticket, making most "risky" legislative races safe, and also increasing the chances of a deadlocked State Senate.

Still, many conservative grassroots GOP activists in Oregon are very bitter towards Saxton and do not trust him.  If the conservatives stay home, or a there is a serious conservative third-party candidate, the race is totally up in the air, but barring that, Saxton and Legislative GOP candidates are in a very strong position going into the election.