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| Elections in Oregon |
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The 1980 Oregon United States Senate election was held on November 4, 1980 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Republican candidate Bob Packwood was re-elected to a third term, defeating Democratic state senator (and future Governor) Ted Kulongoski and Libertarian Tonie Nathan.
The primary elections were held on May 20, 1980 in conjunction with the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries. Interest in the primaries was somewhat subdued because they occurred just two days after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Oregon's most populous city, Portland. [1] [2] The eruption (which was a VEI = 5 event) was the first significant one to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states since the 1915 eruption of California's Lassen Peak. [3]
In the Republican primary, incumbent Senator Bob Packwood was running for a third term. With his moderate stance on issues such as abortion, several conservative challengers filed to challenge Packwood in the Republican primary. These included Brenda Jose, the vice chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, and Rosalie Huss, who was the wife of Walter Huss, an ultraconservative minister who had been chair of the Oregon Republican Party before being ousted by a moderate and liberal coalition, which included Packwood and Republican governor Victor G. Atiyeh. [4] [5] [6] Packwood went on to defeat all challengers by a wide margin. [7]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bob Packwood (incumbent) | 191,127 | 62.43% | |
| Republican | Brenda Jose | 45,973 | 15.02% | |
| Republican | Kenneth Brown | 23,599 | 7.71% | |
| Republican | Rosalie Huss | 22,929 | 7.49% | |
| Republican | William D. Severn | 22,281 | 6.08% | |
| Republican | miscellaneous | 227 | 0.07% | |
| Total votes | 306,136 | 100.00% | ||
In the Democratic primary, several high-profile Democrats considered a run, including incumbent U. S. Congressmen Les AuCoin and Jim Weaver and Portland mayor Neil Goldschmidt, but ultimately opted not to challenge the incumbent Packwood. [8] [9] In October 1979, Ted Kulongoski, a labor lawyer and state senator from Junction City, became the first major candidate to declare his candidacy, claiming that Packwood was beholden to large corporate special interests. [10] Kulongoski had the field to himself until March, when former two-term U. S. Congressman Charles O. Porter joined the race. Porter, a Eugene attorney, was a supporter of Edward Kennedy's bid for President and planned to campaign on a strong anti-war platform. [11] Porter and Kulongski agreed on most major issues, clashing only on gun control and nationalization of energy resources, both of which Porter favored and Kulongoski opposed. [12] Though the race was expected to be close, Kulongoski defeated Porter handily by a 5–2 margin. [13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ted Kulongoski | 161,153 | 47.66% | |
| Democratic | Charles O. Porter | 69,646 | 20.60% | |
| Democratic | Jack Sumner | 46,107 | 13.64% | |
| Democratic | John Sweeney | 39,961 | 11.82% | |
| Democratic | Gene Arvidson | 20,548 | 6.08% | |
| Democratic | miscellaneous | 692 | 0.21% | |
| Total votes | 338,110 | 100.00% | ||
In addition to the candidates chosen in the primaries, Tonie Nathan was chosen as the Libertarian Party candidate at that party's convention in June. [15] Previously, Nathan had been the Libertarian vice presidential candidate in the 1972 Presidential election and was the first woman to ever receive an electoral vote in a U.S. Presidential election from a faithless elector who voted for her. [16]
As a well-funded incumbent, Packwood was expected to have a fairly easy road to re-election and led by double digit margins in most early polls. [17] [18] Packwood chose defense spending as his key issue in the campaign while Kulongoski focused on the economy and unemployment. Nathan hammered at core Libertarian principles of limited government, with a goal of 5% of votes which would keep the party as a valid minor party. [19] The three candidates agreed to three debates, to be held across the state in the summer of 1980. [20] As the challenger, Kulongoski aggressively attempted to engage Packwood in the debates, but the debate format did not allow the candidates to ask follow-up questions or rebut each other's statements and Packwood was largely able to avoid confrontation and stay above the fray. [19] As the campaign wore on, Kulongoski grew more confident and tried to appeal to Oregonians' independent values by saying that Packwood's enormous cash advantage was due to "eastern" money. [1]
Kulongoski closed to within a few points in some late polls, but with no mistakes made by Packwood and with the coattail effect of Ronald Reagan's Presidential victory, the incumbent achieved an electoral majority and a fairly comfortable 8-point margin over Kulongoski. Nathan finished with less than 4% of the vote, short of her goal of 5%. [21] With Republicans taking control of the U.S. Senate, Packwood was in line to become chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Fellow Oregon Republican Senator Mark Hatfield was also elevated to chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, giving Oregon power in the Senate it had never seen before. [22]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bob Packwood (incumbent) | 594,290 | 52.13% | |
| Democratic | Ted Kulongoski | 501,963 | 44.03% | |
| Libertarian | Tonie Nathan | 43,686 | 3.83% | |
| Total votes | 1,139,939 | 100.00% | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
Packwood served as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee until his appointment to chair the Finance Committee in 1985. [22] [24] He was re-elected to two more terms, in 1986 and 1992. Shortly after the 1992 election, allegations of sexual harassment revealed by The Washington Post led to his eventual resignation from the Senate in 1995. [25]
Following his unexpectedly good showing in this race, Kulongoski was the Democratic nominee for Governor in 1982, but lost badly to Republican incumbent Victor G. Atiyeh. In 1987, he was appointed state insurance commissioner by governor Neil Goldschmidt. In 1992, he was elected Oregon Attorney General, in 1997, he was elected to the Oregon Supreme Court. [26] In 2002, 20 years after his initial gubernatorial attempt, Kulongoski was elected as Oregon's 36th Governor and was re-elected in 2006.
Nathan ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress against Peter DeFazio in 1986 and 1990. [27]
Theodore Ralph Kulongoski is an American politician, judge, and lawyer who served as the 36th Governor of Oregon from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly and also served as the state Insurance Commissioner. He was the Attorney General of Oregon from 1993 to 1997 and a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 1997 to 2001. Kulongoski has served in all three branches of the Oregon state government.
Theodora Nathalia "Tonie" Nathan was an American radio producer, television producer, and political activist. She was the first woman to receive an electoral vote in a United States presidential election. She was the 1972 vice presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party and running mate of John Hospers, when Roger MacBride, a Republican elector from Virginia, cast the historic vote as a faithless elector.
The 1992 United States Senate elections, held November 3, 1992, were elections for the United States Senate. The 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, along with special elections to fill vacancies. They coincided with Bill Clinton's victory in the presidential election. This was the first time since 1956 that the balance of the Senate remained the same.
The 1990 United States Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 1990, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. The Democratic Party increased its majority with a net gain of one seat from the Republican Party. The election cycle took place in the middle of President George H. W. Bush's term, and, as with most other midterm elections, the party not holding the presidency gained seats in Congress. Until 2022, this had been the only election cycle where only one U.S. Senate seat flipped parties.
The 1986 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 4, in the middle of Ronald Reagan's second presidential term, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. The Republicans had to defend an unusually large number of freshman Senate incumbents who had been elected on President Ronald Reagan's coattails in 1980. Democrats won a net of eight seats, defeating seven freshman incumbents, picking up two Republican-held open seats, and regaining control of the Senate for the first time since January 1981. This remains the most recent midterm election cycle in which the sitting president's party suffered net losses while still flipping a Senate seat.
The 1980 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, coinciding with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. The 34 Senate seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates, allowing them to flip 12 Democratic seats and win control of the chamber for the first time since the end of the 83rd Congress in January 1955.
The 1974 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, with the 34 seats of Class 3 contested in regular elections. They occurred in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Richard M. Nixon's resignation from the presidency, and Gerald Ford's subsequent pardon of Nixon. Economic issues, specifically inflation and stagnation, were also a factor that contributed to Republican losses. As an immediate result of the November 1974 elections, Democrats made a net gain of three seats from the Republicans, as they defeated Republican incumbents in Colorado and Kentucky and picked up open seats in Florida and Vermont, while Republicans won the open seat in Nevada. Following the elections, at the beginning of the 94th U.S. Congress, the Democratic caucus controlled 60 seats, and the Republican caucus controlled 38 seats.
The 1966 United States Senate elections were elections on November 8, 1966, for the United States Senate which occurred midway through the second term of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The 33 seats of Class 2 were contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. With divisions in the Democratic base over the Vietnam War, and with the traditional mid-term advantage of the party not holding the presidency, the Republicans took three Democratic seats, thereby breaking Democrats' 2/3rds supermajority. Despite Republican gains, the balance remained overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats, who retained a 64–36 majority. Democrats were further reduced to 63–37, following the death of Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968.
Oregon's 2006 statewide election included a May 16 primary election and a November 7 general election.
Charles Orlando Porter was an American lawyer, World War II veteran, and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in the United States House of Representatives for two terms from 1957 to 1961.
The 2002 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Democrat John Kitzhaber was barred by term limits from seeking a third consecutive term; he later successfully ran again in 2010 and 2014. To replace him, former Oregon Supreme Court Associate Justice Ted Kulongoski won a crowded and competitive Democratic primary, while former State Representative Kevin Mannix emerged from an equally competitive Republican primary. The campaign between Kulongoski and Mannix, who were joined by Libertarian nominee Tom Cox, was close and went down to the wire. Ultimately, Kulongoski eked out a narrow margin of victory over Mannix, which was slightly smaller than Cox's total vote share, allowing Kulongoski to win what would be the first of two terms as governor. As of 2023, this is the last time that Oregon voted for a gubernatorial nominee and a U.S. Senate nominee of different political parties.
The 2010 Oregon gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of Oregon to a four-year term beginning on January 10, 2011. The incumbent governor, Democrat Ted Kulongoski, was ineligible to run due to term limits barring him from being elected to more than two consecutive terms.
The 1974 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 5, 1974. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Packwood won re-election to a second term. Betty Roberts was chosen to replace former U.S. Senator Wayne Morse, who won the Democratic primary but died before the general election.
The 1992 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 3, 1992. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bob Packwood won re-election to his fifth term. As of 2024, this is the last time the Republicans won the Class 3 U.S. Senate seat in Oregon.
The 1986 United States Senate election in Oregon was held on November 8, 1986. Incumbent Republican Bob Packwood ran for re-election. U.S. Congressman Jim Weaver received the Democratic nomination. A populist Democratic congressman from Eugene, Oregon, he was a darling of the environmentalists. Weaver supported the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984. Packwood was confident, despite the popular opponent, because had more money and a better campaign organization. After winning the party nomination, Weaver was the subject of a House Ethics Committee probe into his campaign finances, and withdrew his candidacy. Rick Bauman was selected to replace Weaver on the ballot, and lost handily to Packwood.
The 1982 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican Governor Victor Atiyeh won re-election to a second term in a landslide, defeating Democratic state senator Ted Kulongoski and carrying every county in the state. As of 2024, this is the last time that a Republican was elected Governor of Oregon, and the most recent gubernatorial election in which every county voted for the same nominee. Twenty years later, Kulongoski was elected governor, where he served two terms.
The 1990 Oregon United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1990, to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Republican candidate Mark Hatfield was re-elected to a fifth term, defeating Democratic businessman Harry Lonsdale.
The 1966 Oregon United States Senate election was held on November 6, 1966 to select the U.S. Senator from the state of Oregon. Incumbent Senator Maurine Brown Neuberger did not seek re-election. Held during the escalation of United States involvement of the Vietnam War, the race was between Republican candidate and incumbent Governor of Oregon Mark Hatfield, who opposed the war, and Democratic congressman Robert B. Duncan, who supported the war. In an unusual move, Oregon's other Senator, Democrat Wayne Morse, who also opposed the war, crossed party lines to endorse Hatfield, who won in a close election, his first of five terms in the United States Senate.
The 2014 Oregon gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of Oregon, concurrently with other elections in Oregon and across the United States.
Walter L. Huss was a fundamentalist minister, anticommunist activist, and newspaper publisher who served as chairman of the Oregon Republican Party between August 1978 and April 1979. Huss ran multiple times for statewide office in Oregon as a Republican, but never won a primary.
