Capital Salem Attorney general Ellen Rosenblum (D) | Governor Kate Brown (D) | |
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Senators Ron Wyden (D), Jeff Merkley (D) Representatives Greg Walden (R), Suzanne Bonamici (D), Peter DeFazio (D), Earl Blumenauer (D), Kurt Schrader (D) | ||
Like many other U.S. states, the politics of Oregon largely concerns regional issues. Oregon leans Democratic as a state, with both U.S. Senators from the Democratic party, as well as four out of Oregon's five U.S. Representatives. The state has voted Democratic, by relatively small margins, since 1988 in presidential elections. Both houses of Oregon's legislative assembly have been under Democratic control since the 2012 elections.
Contents
- Map of Oregon USA
- History
- Political geography
- Key issues
- Populations political ideology
- Political parties
- References
Map of Oregon, USA
The state is broken up into two main geographically separate political areas: the liberal cities of the Willamette Valley and the rest of the state, whose voters are moving from conservative to libertarian. While about 47% of the population of Oregon lives in the Portland metropolitan area as of 2013, the state has a rural population with generally conservative views on same-sex marriage and state taxes. On most other issues, however, the state leans considerably left, including on public health care, medical marijuana, assisted dying and environmental protections.
History
For the first half of the 20th century, Oregon was the most consistently Republican west coast state. In 1954, the upset of incumbent Republican Senator Guy Cordon by Democrat Richard L. Neuberger, along with Democratic wins in the U.S. House and statewide races and pickups of fourteen and two seats in the state House and Senate, respectively, signaled the beginning of a shift towards the Democratic Party. The last Republican governor of Oregon was Victor G. Atiyeh, who served from 1979–1987. Since 1988, Oregon voters have consistently favored Democratic candidates for most major elected positions, including the U.S. presidency.
The longest-serving governor in Oregon history is John Kitzhaber, who served two consecutive terms as governor, then left office before returning to office by winning a third term in 2010 ahead of Republican and former Portland Trail Blazer Chris Dudley and the 2014 election against Republican Dennis Richardson. Kitzhaber submitted his resignation in February 2015 after allegations of financial impropriety involving his partner, Cylvia Hayes, and certain lobbying efforts.
Political geography
Oregon's politics are largely divided by the Cascade Mountains, with much of western Oregon leaning Democratic and eastern Oregon leaning Republican. Republicans do have some strongholds in the western part of the state, however, such as Linn County, where the Republican presidential candidate has won in every election since 1980. Southern Oregon is also a Republican stronghold, except in Jackson County, which frequently votes for both Republican and Democratic candidates.
In the 1998 gubernatorial election, the only county won by Republican candidate Bill Sizemore was Malheur County.
Based on voting data from the 2012 presidential election, Ontario in Malheur County was rated as the most Republican in the state. Gresham in Multnomah County was rated as the most Democratic.
In the 2016 presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump performed best in Lake County, where he received 77% of the vote. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton performed best in Multnomah County, where she received 73% of the vote. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson performed best in Gilliam County, where he received 8% of the vote.
Key issues
Key issues in Oregon include:
Population's political ideology
Similar to the West Coast states of California and Washington, Oregon has a high percentage of people who identify as liberals. A 2013 Gallup poll that surveyed the political ideology of residents in every state found that people in Oregon identified as:
Another study on the state's political ideology noted that the state's conservatives were the most conservative of any state (more so than Utah or Tennessee) and that the state's liberals were more liberal than any state (more so than Vermont or D.C.).
Political parties
As of December 2016, there were 2,571,722 registered voters in Oregon and their political party affiliations (highest to lowest) were: