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Do you know who you'll vote for this May 20th?
After plenty of preamble (and fundraising), it's fair to say that Oregon's election season really begins tomorrow. Anyone -- and that includes you! -- who wants his or her name on the May 20th ballot has until 5 pm on Tuesday to file a Declaration of Candidacy.
Often the May Primary suffers from low voter turnout and even lower media interest. But this year is destined to be quite different, thanks in large part to the ongoing Democratic presidential nomination fight between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Oregon will matter nationally in May for the first time in a long time, and it stands to reason that some of the national ferment will lead to more local and state-wide interest.
If this is the case -- if the presidential race motivates more voters than usual to send in their May ballots -- it?s likely that a number of registered independents will pick a party in order to have a say in the primary. What impact will this energized electorate have on the other primary races?
And as for those races, are you paying attention to who has thrown a hat into which ring? The contest between Democrats Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley for Gordon Smith?s Senate Seat gets a lot of press, but they're not alone. And what?s happening with Darlene Hooley?s Congressional Seat in the 5th District? Who will voters get to choose from there? And then there's the Secretary of State, Attorney General, and some exciting mayoral races.
What excites you about these primaries? Are you an independent who will affiliate with a party to vote in May? Are you watching the race for Attorney General? Or is it the idea of a new mayor for Eugene that?s getting you pumped up? Why are you going to vote -- and who are you going to vote for -- this May?
GUESTS:
- Jeff Mapes: Political reporter for The Oregonian and blogger at Mapes on Politics
- Jack Roberts: Executive Director of Lane Metro Partnership
- Marc Siegel: Spokesman for the Democratic Party of Oregon
- Paul Gronke: Professor of Political Science at Lewis and Clark College
Tagged as: 2008 election · eugene · mayor · portland
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Let us all regale with food and drink as to the candidates that have thrown their proverbial hat-in-the-ring for whatever seat that is open. As for the mail in ballot - please give us a break because once it leaves the Post Office it is out of government hands and subject to fraud and if that is not enough, let us not forget that while Oregon was still counting the ballots, Bush was elected President of these United States. Yea, mail in ballots save money, but wo what extent? Nothing excites me more than to watch the Democrat's make asses out themeselves and I use to be an Independent when I was a government employee, but now I see the light and will vote Republican and that will be enough to get me nixed from OPB...
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"I... will vote Republican and that will be enough to get me nixed from OPB."
Farmerziffel,
Why would you write this, and do you really believe it? In only two months we've done a number of shows about partisan politics and partisan (if not necessarily easy to split down classic partisan lines) issues. In all of our shows, and all of our comment threads, we're striving only for civil, honest dialogue. But the idea that we would nix a comment for espousing a particular Democratic or Republican view is offensive. And I think you've been commenting enough in our threads to know that.
Dave -
I am not sure exactly what the point of your post is, but I can't believe that you think that OPB would block out a political viewpoint. I am constantly impressed with OPB and NPR in general, and TOL in particular, and their efforts to make a space where all viewpoints are considered.
The only thing I have ever seen pulled, and I read a lot of backthreads to see if there are more comments, are posts which have factual errors. -
It makes me sad to see so much animosity towards mail in ballots. I myself am excited to be voting in the primary this year not only because we have a lot of important races, but for the first time I will be voting without anyone's assistance. Oregon has decided to make voting accessible for all voters including those with disabilities. Because we mail in our ballots making the ballots accessible is a lot easier. I don't think that there is fraud involved in our voting and I think mail in voting helps boost our voting because we get to vote on our own time instead of going to a local elementary school on a Tuesday.
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I think it also allows people from broader economic backgrounds access. The only time I missed voting was when I was scheduled to work a 10 hour shift about 2 hours away from my voting place, and I couldn't get there in time. Now, I tend to vote on a Sunday evening after my kids are in bed.
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Anyone else having a hard time posting today? We'll try posting this again.
As someone who is a registered voter, who votes, but is not affiliated with any political party, I find it very hard to get information about political candidates. I don't get party mailings, and when I have contacted campaigns of Republicans, and sometimes Democrats, with questions, I generally am told that I would have gotten the information if I was a party member.
I don't have any intention of joining a political party to get information about a candidate, and it seems that more and more Oregonians are choosing to register as "nonaffiliated" voters. I am hoping that this election cycle there will be less "pandering to the base" and more time talking about themselves as candidates and future public servants. I will be voting for the candidates that convince me they are the best person for the job, and ignoring those who ignore "me."
I am so grateful to have OPB here in Oregon, otherwise I don't think I would be able to get the information I need to be an informed voter in Oregon. -
An interesting note about candidates getting information out- it costs money to be listed in the voters pamphlet. Prices vary by position; it costs $1000 to be listed as a candidate for the US House of Representatives.
I personally pour over the voters pamphlets to help decide how to vote. I assumed that it was a public service to list the information. I had no clue that candidates had to pay to be listed! I would love to see this service provided for free, so that candidates that are running small campaigns can have their information listed, and use their limited campaign funds to meet with voters. -
I agree that it would be good to make it free, or maybe to make it part of public financing?
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What kind of role will John McCain and Obama/Clinton play in Oregon during the general election?
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I would say - not much. In order to stop the Democratic machine that is bringing out voters in historic numbers it would take someone who could galvanize the Republicans, someone who could inspire them into forgetting the last 7 years.
And since John McCain has all the charisma of a tuna casserole I dare say it will be a done deal by November. We probably won't see Obama or Clinton for more than a few hours at best. -
It seems that your guests are not doing much "listening" especially the Democratic representative. Why have partisans from two parties, and not other viewpoints? Oregon has so much diversity of thought, and it is disappointing that instead we are just hearing "politicking" on TOL. If they aren't listening and having a thoughtful conversation, why have them on TOL?
I have yet to hear much about anything that seems part of the lead in to the show. I am disappointed that this is so focused on the Dems and Repubs as groups, instead of the process and/or the candidates. -
Is there really a difference between the two establishment parties anymore?
I would believe that the Libertarian party represents the true conservatives, and the Green party represents the true liberals.
I would ask you to take a serious look at going third party. If not now, then when? If not you, then whom? -
It also seems that those who are not a part of either of the two parties are left totally out of these discussions. No wonder so many people in Oregon feel disenfranchised from the system.
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>Is there really a difference between the two establishment parties anymore?
Oh, you better believe it - there is a HUGE difference between the two parties. If you didn't get that from what has happened under George Bush and the contrast with how Al Gore would have governed, then you simply haven't been paying attention. We would not be in Iraq; we would be trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and restoring our environment in other ways; we wouldn't have a $9 trillion debt or our huge current deficit; we would moving toward more children and other disadvantaged citizens benefitting from health insurance and other benefits; and the White House and our Supreme Court wouldn't be accessories in the chipping away of our civil liberties.
The two-party system isn't perfect, but it provides us a yin-yang (some might say yo-yo) way of constantly seeking the center of public intentions. Now is not the time to split the vote that pulls that center more leftward. Vote for Clinton or Obama, Merkley or Novick, Schrader or Marks, and reject the failed, destructive Republican policies of the last 7+ years. -
I am one of those "swing voters" that they were just talking about in Darlene Hooley's district. Certainly, whoever gets my vote will have to be as accessible as she has been. I will miss knowing I can call her office and actually get a live person and a call back.
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As a "Teddy Roosevelt" Republican, I wonder who will be the truly moderate candidate for Darlene Hooley's seat, if anyone. I believe in the rule of law, a strong defense, limitations on the excesses of capitalism, and government staying out of my private life. In my first eligible election, I voted for Goldwater, but the Republican Party in Oregon strikes me as desiring to impose a Taliban-like theocracy. Until the Republican Party frees itself from dominance by the so-called cultural conservatives, I tend to vote for moderate Democrats (like Hooley).
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I can only hope we have someone who will represent us as well as Darlene did. One thing I liked about callign her office was that no one every asked me what party I belonged to, just whether I lived in the District.
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One of the guests made an error about the Attorney General?s race, which was already corrected on Blue Oregon yesterday. Kroger is not connected to Spitzer. Kroger did not work for Spitzer, and Kroger had moved to Oregon before Spizer was even a political force. In September in the [i]Oregonian[/i] Kroger specifically said he was not running to be Spitzer, the relevant part: "I'm not following Eliot Spitzer's game plan. He's not my model for this job. I don't need a model. I know precisely what I want to do."
The [i]Oregonian[/i] article is at [u] http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf?/base/news/1190753721155460.xml&coll=7[/u] -
To the caller who was having to re-register as a Dem, here's an example of why it's better that way: The primaries are to choose the candidate for the particular party. In Texas where the primaries are open, people will cross over to vote for the opponent of the candidate perceived to be stronger in the general election in November than the candidate of the other party. Here's a good example from this year's Texas primary: Republicans voted in droves (I have no documentation, only anecdotal evidence) for Hillary Clinton because they perceive that Sen. Obama would be a stronger opponent to the Republicans in November. Luckily for Sen. Obama, Texas also has a caucus that occurs after the primary, and he came out of the Texas elections with more Texas delegates than Sen. Clinton, a fact rarely noted in the news reports of that state's results.
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I lean toward Democrats ... but Mark Siegal's inability to answer questions with anything but campaign attacks was unfortuante. Buy ad space if you want to spew talking points ... this was intended to be a discussion with real-life answers. Thanks to Jeff Mapes and Paul Gronke, though. I enjoy level-headed, fair-minded analysis.
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A glitch in my computer kept me from commenting during this morning's show.
1) You managed to make one of the most exciting and fun political events sound very dull.
2) I don't care how many delegates Obama racks up. I will be voting in the primary. I have been waiting all my life to vote for a woman for President! -
Comments are now closed.
I'm looking forward to a Secretary of State who will promote preference/ranked voting. This style of voting is allowed in the statutes and allows people to freely vote for the candidate that best represents their beliefs. I long for the day when people vote for they candidate they want, rather than the one they think will win. Preference voting eliminates "spoiler" candidates.