Democrats don’t know what to think in the deep blue state of Oregon.
Initially, analysts reported that a Democrat would “likely” win the race to become the governor of Oregon, but now that has changed.
Political analysts are beginning to sing a different tune four months before the election signaling the race will be tight.
From the Dailywire:
Cook Political Report recently shifted its rating for Oregon from “Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat,” pointing to the three candidates involved in the race as a primary reason. The site noted that if a third-party candidate, in this case, unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson, a longtime moderate state senator, is “well-funded,” this can give the minority party a chance to see success.
Political analysis site FiveThirtyEight also shows Oregon as a “lean D” state for the governor’s race, giving former Oregon House Minority Leader Republican Christine Drazan a 31% chance of victory as of Wednesday.
The Cook report discussed the recent non-partisan poll by Nelson Research, which was conducted in late May and revealed that Drazan was in the lead with nearly 30% of likely voters saying they would elect her. Democratic candidate and former speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Tina Kotek received around 27.5% support in the poll, and Johnson received around 19.4%.
The question is will the GOP jump in to help their candidate, or will they blow the race off like they did last year in New Jersey, missing another golden opportunity.
“Our momentum is unmistakable, Christine Drazan is ready to flip Oregon this November,” John Burke, Drazan’s communications director wrote in a statement. “Oregonians from all walks of life are stepping up and calling for change. Unlike Tina Kotek and Betsy Johnson, Christine is ready to deliver for them.”
The fact that this race is getting tight is remarkable and shows just how fed-up Americans are. Remember that four months before an election is an eternity in politics and anything can happen. But, that door swings both ways, and now Republicans have a chance to be competitive in a very blue state.
