Politics of Oregon
Like many other U.S. states, the politics of Oregon largely concerns regional issues.[1] Oregon leans Democratic as a state, with both U.S Senators from the Democratic party,[2] as well as four out of Oregon's five U.S. Representatives.[3] The state has voted Democratic, by relatively small margins, since 1988 in presidential elections.[4] Both houses of Oregon's legislative assembly have been under Democratic control since the 2012 elections.[5]
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.[1][6] While about 47% of the population of Oregon lives in the Portland metropolitan area as of 2013,[7][8] 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,[9][10] medical marijuana,[11] euthanasia[12] and environmental protections.[13]
Contents
History
For the first half of the 20th century, Oregon was the most consistently Republican west coast state.[14] 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 a strong shift towards the Democratic Party.[14]
The last Republican governor of Oregon was Victor G. Atiyeh, who served from 1979–1987 and died in 2014.[15][16]
The most prolific governor in Oregon history is John Kitzhaber, who had served two consecutive terms as governor before winning a third from Republican debutant and former Portland Trail Blazer Chris Dudley and a fourth from Republican debutant Dennis Richardson.[17][18] In 1994, Oregon became the first U.S. state to legalize physician-assisted suicide.
Key issues
Key issues in Oregon include:[citation needed]
- Employment
- Environmental protection[1]
- Native American relations (particularly in respect to gambling and casinos)
- Public health care
- Public transportation
- School funding
- Taxes
- Land use
Population's political ideology
| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 42.15% 754,175 | 54.24% 970,488 |
| 2008 | 40.40% 738,475 | 56.75% 1,037,291 |
| 2004 | 47.19% 866,831 | 51.35% 943,163 |
| 2000 | 46.46% 713,577 | 47.01% 720,342 |
| 1996 | 39.06% 538,152 | 47.15% 649,641 |
| 1992 | 32.53% 475,757 | 42.48% 621,314 |
| 1988 | 46.61% 560,126 | 51.28% 616,206 |
| 1984 | 55.91% 685,700 | 43.74% 536,479 |
| 1980 | 48.33% 571,044 | 38.67% 456,890 |
| 1976 | 47.78% 492,120 | 47.62% 490,407 |
| 1972 | 52.45% 486,686 | 42.33% 392,760 |
| 1968 | 49.83% 408,433 | 43.78% 358,866 |
| 1964 | 35.96% 282,779 | 63.72% 501,017 |
| 1960 | 52.56% 408,060 | 47.32% 367,402 |
| 1956 | 55.25% 406,393 | 44.75% 329,204 |
| 1952 | 60.54% 420,815 | 38.93% 270,579 |
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:[20]
- 34.8% moderate
- 33.6% conservative (the 10th least conservative state)
- 27.9% liberal (the 5th most liberal state)
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.).[21]
Political parties
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As of December 2014, there were 2,186,971 registered voters in Oregon and their political party affiliations were:[22]
- 37.8% Democratic Party
- 29.9% Republican Party
- 24.4% "Non-affiliated" with any party
- 5.0% Independent Party
- 0.8% Libertarian Party
- 0.5% Pacific Green Party
- 1.7% with other political parties
See also
References
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- ↑ Oregon Death with Dignity Act
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