Oregon gubernatorial election, 2014

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Oregon Gubernatorial Election
Primary Date:
May 20, 2014
General Election Date:
November 4, 2014
November 4 Election Winner:
John Kitzhaber Democratic Party
Incumbent prior to election:
John Kitzhaber Democratic Party
John Kitzhaber.jpg
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The Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent John Kitzhaber (D) was first elected in 2010 and was seeking re-election against state Rep. Dennis Richardson (R), Libertarian Party candidate Paul Grad, Constitution Party candidate Aaron Auer, Pacific Green Party candidate Jason Levin and Progressive Party candidate Chris Henry. Kitzhaber defeated Richardson, Grad and Auer to win a second term in office. His 5.8-point margin of victory exceeded his 1.5-point win in 2010, though Kitzhaber failed to win 50 percent of the vote in both races. Learn more about the dynamics of this election by jumping to the race background section.

The gubernatorial race was not the only race on the November ballot that could have shifted the balance of power in Oregon. The Oregon State Senate was identified by Ballotpedia as one of the top 20 legislative chambers to watch in 2014. Democrats maintained control of the governor's office and the state Senate, which kept Oregon as a state government trifecta. Learn more about the state's most competitive legislative races in 2014 on the battleground chambers page.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Oregon generally utilizes a closed primary process. The selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members for presidential and legislative elections.[1][2]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Candidates

General election

Democratic Party John Kitzhaber - Incumbent Green check mark transparent.png
Republican Party Dennis Richardson - State Representative[3]
Libertarian Party Paul Grad
Constitution Party Aaron Auer - Pastor[4]
Green Party Jason Levin
Independent Progressive Party candidate Chris Henry

Lost in the primary

Democratic Party Ifeanyichukwu Diru[5]
Republican Party Gordon Challstrom - Businessman[6]
Republican Party Tim Carr - Former businessman[7]
Republican Party Bruce Cuff[8]
Republican Party Darren Karr[8]
Republican Party Mae Rafferty[8]

Withdrawn

Republican Party Allen Alley - Businessman, 2010 gubernatorial candidate[9][5]
Republican Party Jon Justesen - Rancher and businessman[10][8]
Republican Party Bruce Hanna - State Representative[11][8]

Results

General election

Governor of Oregon, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Kitzhaber Incumbent 49.9% 733,230
     Republican Dennis Richardson 44.1% 648,542
     Pacific Green Jason Levin 2% 29,561
     Libertarian Paul Grad 1.5% 21,903
     Constitution Aaron Auer 1.1% 15,929
     Progressive Chris Henry 0.9% 13,898
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.5% 6,654
Total Votes 1,469,717
Election results via Oregon Secretary of State

Primary election

Republican primary

Governor of Oregon, Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngDennis Richardson 65.9% 163,695
Gordon Challstrom 9.9% 24,693
Bruce Cuff 9.6% 23,912
Mae Rafferty 6.8% 16,920
Tim Carr 6% 14,847
Darren Karr 1% 2,474
Write-ins 0.8% 2,011
Total Votes 248,552
Election results via Oregon Secretary of State.

Democratic primary

Governor of Oregon, Democratic Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Kitzhaber Incumbent 89.6% 286,654
Ifeanyichukwu Diru 8.7% 27,833
Write-ins 1.7% 5,388
Total Votes 319,875
Election results via Oregon Secretary of State.


Race background

See also: Resignation of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber

Incumbent John Kitzhaber previously served as Governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003 and was running for a fourth non-consecutive term in 2014. He highlighted taxes and job creation.[12][13]

Republican opponent Dennis Richardson and his supporters highlighted a false start for the state's Cover Oregon health exchange that reportedly cost taxpayers $250 million.[14]

Kitzhaber also drew criticism over potential conflicts of interest by first lady and advisor Cylvia Hayes. Richardson echoed these concerns. Kitzhaber requested an investigation by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission into whether Hayes leveraged her role in the governor's office to improve her consulting business.[14] The seven-member ethics commission had no scheduled meetings prior to the November 4 general election.[15] To read more about the story, click here.

Polls

Governor of Oregon
Poll John Kitzhaber * (D) Dennis Richardson (R)Undecided/OtherMargin of errorSample size
Elway Research
October 26-27, 2014
 45%38%16%+/-5403
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov
October 16-23, 2014
 48%42%11%+/-41,421
SurveyUSA
October 16-19, 2014
 51%38%12%+/-4.2561
The New York Times/CBS/YouGov
September 20-October 1, 2014
 49%42%8%+/-31,508
SurveyUSA
September 22-24, 2014
 50%38%12%+/-4.2568
Rasmussen Reports
September 2-3, 2014
 48%38%14%+/-4.0750
The New York Times/CBS/YouGov
August 18-September 2, 2014
 48%42%10%+/-4.01,541
SurveyUSA
August 1-5, 2014
 48%36%16%+/-4.2564
SurveyUSA
June 5-9, 2014
 48%35%17%+/-4.2560
Public Policy Polling
May 22-27, 2014
 49%36%15%+/-3.2956
DHM Research
April 30 - May 2, 2014
 48%36%16%+/-4.9400
Harper Polling
April 1-2, 2014
 46%43%11%+/-3.91670
AVERAGES 48.17% 38.67% 13.17% +/-4.07 825.17
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent status.

Campaign finance

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $8,263,724 during the election. This information was last updated on February 2, 2015.[16]

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate Office Result Contributions
John Kitzhaber Democratic Party Oregon Governor Won $5,215,821
Dennis Richardson Republican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $3,007,041
Gordon Challstrom Republican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $16,101
Bruce Cuff Republican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $15,541
Mae Rafferty Republican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $9,220
Tim Carr Republican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Ifeanyichukwu Diru Democratic Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Darren Karr Republican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Aaron Auer Constitution Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Paul Grad Libertarian Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Chris Henry Independent Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Jason Levin Green Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Grand Total Raised $8,263,724

Past elections

2010

On November 2, 2010, John Kitzhaber won election to the office of Governor of Oregon. He defeated Chris Dudley, Wes Wagner and Greg Kord in the general election.

Governor of Oregon, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Kitzhaber 49.3% 716,525
     Republican Chris Dudley 47.8% 694,287
     Constitution Greg Kord 1.4% 20,475
     Libertarian Wes Wagner 1.3% 19,048
     Miscellaneous - 0.2% 3,213
Total Votes 1,453,548
Election results via Oregon Secretary of State.

Voter turnout

Political scientist Michael McDonald's United States Elections Project studied voter turnout in the 2014 election by looking at the percentage of eligible voters who headed to the polls. McDonald used voting-eligible population (VEP), or the number of eligible voters independent of their current registration status, to calculate turnout rates in each state on November 4. He also incorporated ballots cast for the highest office in each state into his calculation. He estimated that 81,687,059 ballots were cast in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, representing 35.9 percent of the VEP.[17] By comparison, 61.6 percent of VEP voted in the 2008 presidential election and 58.2 percent of VEP voted in the 2012 presidential election.[18]

Quick facts

  • According to PBS Newshour, voter turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest since the 1942 midterms, which took place during the nation's involvement in World War II.[19]
  • Forty-three states and the District of Columbia failed to surpass 50 percent turnout in McDonald's analysis.
  • The three states with the lowest turnout according to McDonald's analysis were Texas (28.3 percent), Tennessee (28.6 percent), and Indiana (28.8 percent).
  • Maine (58.5 percent), Wisconsin (56.5 percent), and Colorado (54.5 percent) were the three states with the highest turnout.
  • There were only 12 states that increased voter turnout in 2014 compared to the 2010 midterm elections.[20]

Note: Information from the United States Elections Project was last updated on December 16, 2014.

Campaign finance

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $8,348,965 during the election. This information was last updated on April 6, 2015.[21]

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate Office Result Contributions
John KitzhaberDemocratic Party Oregon Governor Won $5,264,547
Dennis RichardsonRepublican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $3,043,556
Gordon ChallstromRepublican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $16,101
Bruce CuffRepublican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $15,541
Mae RaffertyRepublican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $9,220
Tim CarrRepublican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Ifeanyichukwu DiruDemocratic Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Darren KarrRepublican Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Aaron AuerConstitution Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Paul GradLibertarian Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Chris HenryGrey.png Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Jason LevinGreen Party Oregon Governor Defeated $0
Grand Total Raised $8,348,965

Key deadlines

Deadline Event
March 11, 2014 Filing deadline
May 20, 2014 Partisan primaries and nonpartisan elections
November 4, 2014 General election
December 4, 2014 Certification of results
January 12, 2015 Inauguration day for state executive officials elected in 2014

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Oregon + Governor + elections"

Oregon Gubernatorial Election News Feed

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures,"State Primary Election Types," accessed October 4, 2024
  2. ↑ Oregon Secretary of State,"Frequently Asked Questions," accessed October 4, 2024
  3. ↑ Oregon Live, "Oregon Rep. Dennis Richardson announces run for governor," July 24, 2013
  4. ↑ Constitution Party of Oregon, "Aaron Auer – Candidate For Governor 2014," accessed April 17, 2014
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Oregonian, "Election 2014: Some surprises on the last day to file for Oregon primary," March 12, 2014
  6. ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Candidate Information," January 10, 2014
  7. ↑ The Oregonian, "Portland businessman becomes latest to join growing group of Republican candidates for governor," January 14, 2014
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 The Statesman-Journal, "A complete list of primary election races for the city, county and state," March 12, 2014
  9. ↑ Oregon Live, "Allen Alley considering run for Oregon governor, John Kitzhaber hits the road," July 31, 2013
  10. ↑ Oregon Live, "Eastern Oregon rancher becomes first GOP candidate for Oregon governor," April 17, 2013
  11. ↑ Oregon Live, "Republicans search for ways to revive GOP brand in Oregon," March 10, 2013
  12. ↑ Statesman Journal, "Kitzhaber's 2014 campaign will focus on tax reform," January 8, 2014
  13. ↑ KGW Portland, "Kitzhaber announces bid for historic 4th term," January 8, 2014
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Willamette Week, "First Lady Inc.," October 8, 2014
  15. ↑ KGW, "Kitzhaber requests ethics review of Cylvia Hayes," October 15, 2014
  16. ↑ Follow the Money, "Overview of Wisconsin 2014 elections," accessed February 2, 2015
  17. ↑ United States Elections Project, "2014 November General Election Turnout Rates," November 7, 2014
  18. ↑ TIME, "Voter Turnout in Midterm Elections Hits 72-Year Low," November 10, 2014
  19. ↑ PBS, "2014 midterm election turnout lowest in 70 years," November 10, 2014
  20. ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "Midterm Turnout Down in 2014," November 5, 2014
  21. ↑ Follow the Money, "Overview of Oregon 2014 elections," accessed April 7, 2015
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