Posted on 08/02/2011 3:55:59 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
Even before Wu’s exit, there was no shortage of Democratic candidates. State Rep. Brad Witt of Clatskanie and State Labor and Industries Commissioner Brad Avakian, both committed liberals, had been running. Now others are likely to get into the sudden special election, among them state Sen. Suzanne Bonamici and former State Sen. Ryan Deckert (now president of the Oregon Business Association).
Although Democrats in the 1st District have nearly nearly 50,000 more registered voters than Republicans, and have held the House seat without interruption since 1974, Republicans are expected to field a strong candidate and wage a strong race. The two names most mentioned as candidates are conservatives who ran the impressive campaigns against Wu: Molly Bordonaro, longtime associate of George W. Bush and former U.S. ambassador to Malta, who lost to Wu by a tight 50% to 47% the last time the seat was open (1998), and sporting goods entrepreneur Rob Cornilles, who raised $607,000 and held the incumbent to a 52% to 42% margin last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at humanevents.com ...
In a special election, I don’t rule out a pickup, though it won’t be easy.
If we field a Conservative we have a shot. This is my district.
Pray for America
It’s my district too, but the Portland portion of it makes it almost impossible for a true conservative to win against a “moderate” Dem like Ryan Deckert, who could almost be considered a Blue Dog.
If Avakian or Witt win the Dim primary, though, I think we can pick up this seat no matter who we run as an opponent.
You think I leave like promise? No way! Tiger stay right here in office!
Love,
David Wu
This once was, ironically, about the most reliably West Coast Republican district for a century... right up until the Watergate election of 1974. If we could get better district lines in Oregon (nevermind candidates), we could get 4 out of the 5 seats (all but central Portland). We’ve been underrepresented for almost 40 years in House seats in that state.
If my memory is correct, the last Republican Congressman there was not considered a conservative.
Pavel Goberman-R
Stephen A Brodhead-R
Brad Avakian-D
Brad Witt-D
Suzanne Bonamici-D
Need a high profile Republican to step forward. I'm sure the NRCC is working on it.
I didn’t see Who on your list. I thought the article was about him.
(Sorry, just couldn’t help myself. Bud, Lou, please forgive me.)
Wendell Wyatt was a moderate (a little more liberal than we’d like, but nowhere in the range of the moonbat Pete McCloskey). John Dellenback, a Republican who represented the 4th was more liberal. Ironically, the “Conservative” in the delegation was neither of the 2 Republicans, but was Portland’s Democrat Congresswoman Edith Green. She was elected in one of the two liberal sweeps (1954 & 1956, which turned OR from a GOP-leaning state federally to Democrat) and started out a reliable leftist but moved rightward throughout her time in the House. She left the House in 1974 along with Wyatt (Dellenback was defeated) and promptly endorsed Gerald Ford for President. If she were in the House today, she’d have no equal amongst the Dems on the right (at the time, she had quite a bit of company).
At the time, the GOP’s loss in the 1st was considered nothing short of shocking because we had an excellent young candidate expected to keep the seat, Diarmuid O’Scannlain. Pres. Reagan eventually appointed O’Scannlain to the federal bench a dozen years later.
Maybe you’re thinking of the OR-04 (where GOP Congressman Bunn was a bit of a squish).
Bunn, wasn’t he the one termer between the two communists Weaver and Defazio? Barely memorable. Met him once, voted for him because he wasn’t a Democrat (reason enough). But Defazio charms the masses of Eugene (somehow) and the rest is history.
Oops, I mistyped. Bunn was the one-termer from the OR-05, not the OR-04; he beat Michael Kopetski in 1994 and was defeated by Darlene Hooley in 1996.
A conservative rat, from Portland? Fascinating.
I always wonder about people that change while in office, usually it’s the other way around.
John Anderson for example.
Last rats I can think of that got better, Zell Miller and Jim Traficant.
Who’s not up... he’s on third.
Sorry, old joke... couldn’t resist. :-)
Now, why did ya have to go and mention Kopetski? In Lane County we heard too much of him because he was in our TV market. I was happy to have (almost) forgotten! I just called him the Congressman who would want you to mention his name.
Sorry. : )
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