Oregon 2000?

[Kevin]

Why was Oregon in 2000 so close?

I'd figured Gore would have carried the state by a good margin sinc he seemed like the type of canidate who woul have done well there ompared to Bush?

[phk]

Why was Oregon in 2000 so close?

I'd figured Gore would have carried the state by a good margin sinc he seemed like the type of canidate who woul have done well there ompared to Bush?

Nader was also an ideal candidate for the Pacific Northwest.

If there's no Nader, instead of Gore winning by 1%, he would win by 6%.

[Alcon]

Gore (and later Kerry) did awful in the interior because of environmental issues.

Nader was a good candidate for liberal anti-establishment types, of which there are plenty in Oregon.

If you look at 2000 to 2004, Bush's vote-share actually improved.  2000 wasn't the anomaly, 2008 is.

[minionofmidas]

If you look at 2000 to 2004, Bush's vote-share actually improved.  2000 wasn't the anomaly, 2008 is.

I dunno, it was still the best result for a Republican not named "Bush" since 1988. [ducks]

[RosettaStoned]

If it were'nt for Portland Gore would have lost Oregon to Bush.

[Husker]

A good portion of Oregon (same thing with WA)  is pretty republican, which is why I don't put OR and WA in the same league with VT in terms of liberalism. Compared to most of the U.S. they are though.

[Verily]

If it were'nt for Portland Gore would have lost Oregon to Bush.

This is generally true of most states Gore won if you remove their largest city. (Depends a bit on what city lines look like, of course.)

I will also posit that 2000's focus on gun control as an issue made interior Oregon (and Washington) more hostile than usual to Democrats. But of course Nader was the major factor.

2008 was an anomaly compared to the most recent Presidential elections. It may be becoming the norm in Oregon, however; the most conservative factions are ascendant in the state Republican Party.

[Holmes]

If it were'nt for Portland Gore would have lost Oregon to Bush.

Remove Portland and you get rid of almost 50% of the electorate...