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  Avakian: 45–50% 50–55% 55–60% 65–70% Starr: 50–55% 55–60% 60–65% 65–70% 70–75% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Oregon |
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The 2012 Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries election was held on November 6, 2012, in order to elect the Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries. The election was held on a nonpartisan basis.
Incumbent Commissioner Brad Avakian was re-elected, defeating State Senator Bruce Starr.
While the position of Labor Commissioner is nonpartisan, Avakian is a Democrat and Starr is a Republican.
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Brad Avakian (D) | Bruce Starr (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Oregonian [1] | October 25–28, 2012 | 405 | ± 5% | 26% | 20% | 53% |
| DHM Research [2] | October 18–20, 2012 | 500 | ± 2.6%–4.4% | 22% | 19% | 60% |
| Public Policy Polling [3] | June 21–24, 2012 | 686 | ± 3.7% | 21% | 23% | 56% |
Starr announced he would challenge incumbent Avakian in December 2011. [4] Avakian officially announced his re-election campaign in February 2012. [5]
While the Labor Commissioner is normally elected during the statewide primary election in May, with a runoff between the two highest-placing candidates in November if no candidate receives 50% of the vote, no primary election was held with Avakian and Starr instead facing off in the November general election. According to Secretary of State Kate Brown, "an obscure state law that applies only in 2012 require[d] that the labor commissioner be chosen in November." Starr challenged the change in date in court, which was subsequently rejected. [6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Brad Avakian | 681,987 | 52.53% | |
| Nonpartisan | Bruce Starr | 606,735 | 46.73% | |
| write-ins | 9,616 | 0.74% | ||
| Total votes | 1,298,338 | 100.00% | ||
Despite losing the state, Starr won three of five congressional districts, including two that elected Democrats. [8]
| District | Avakian | Starr | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 54% | 46% | Suzanne Bonamici |
| 2nd | 42% | 58% | Greg Walden |
| 3rd | 67% | 33% | Earl Blumenauer |
| 4th | 49% | 51% | Peter DeFazio |
| 5th | 49% | 51% | Kurt Schrader |
