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On November 6, 2012, theU.S. state ofOregon heldstatewidegeneral elections for four statewide offices (secretary of state,attorney general,treasurer, andcommissioner of labor),both houses of theOregon Legislative Assembly, and several stateballot measures.
Theprimary elections were held on May 15, 2012. Both elections also included national races forPresident of the United States andfive U.S. House Representatives. Numerous local jurisdictions — cities, counties, and regional government entities — held elections for various local offices and ballot measures on these days as well.
Democratic incumbent Barack Obama defeated his Republican opponent Mitt Romney in the national presidential election. In Oregon, the voters also chose Obama, giving him all of Oregon's 7electoral votes.[1]
All five of Oregon's seats in theUnited States House of Representatives were up for re-election in 2012. All five incumbents ran for and won re-election, including DemocratSuzanne Bonamici who won a special election inDistrict 1 earlier in the year to replace DemocratDavid Wu.
IncumbentOregon Attorney GeneralJohn Kroger, first elected in2008, announced in October 2011 that he would not seek a second term, citing undisclosed medical issues.[2] In April 2012, he announced would resign his office in June to become president ofReed College.[3] On June 29, DemocratEllen Rosenblum was sworn in as interim attorney general.[4][5] Rosenblum, a former judge on theOregon Court of Appeals, also defeated former U.S. AttorneyDwight Holton in the Democratic primary and will compete for a full term in November against Republican attorneyJames Buchal, who had a successful write-in campaign in the Republican primary.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ellen Rosenblum | 202,935 | 64.5 | |
| Democratic | Dwight Holton | 110,891 | 35.3 | |
| Democratic | write-ins | 657 | 0.2 | |
| Total votes | 305,545 | 100 | ||
No Republican filed to run in the primary, but a few weeks before the primary election, party officials sent postcards to Republicans urging them towrite in Portland lawyer James Buchal. Buchal qualified for the general election with more than half the more than 25,000 write-in votes cast.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | James Buchal (write-in candidate) | 12,816 | 50.4 | |
| Republican | other write-ins | 12,622 | 49.6 | |
| Total votes | 25,438 | 100 | ||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Ellen Rosenblum (D) | James Buchal (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[10] | June 21–24, 2012 | 686 | ± 3.7% | 46% | 33% | 20% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ellen Rosenblum | 917,627 | 56.17 | |
| Republican | James Buchal | 639,363 | 39.14 | |
| Constitution | James E. Leuenberger | 45,451 | 2.78 | |
| Progressive | Chris Henry | 28,187 | 1.73 | |
| write-ins | 2,975 | 0.18 | ||
| Total votes | 1,633,603 | 100 | ||
IncumbentOregon Secretary of StateKate Brown, first elected in2008, is seeking a second term. She defeated perennial candidate Paul Damian Wells in the Democratic primary and faces Republican orthopedic surgeon Knute Buehler in the general election.[12] Buehler was unopposed in the Republican primary and also won the Independent Party nomination.[13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kate Brown | 284,470 | 91.1 | |
| Democratic | Paul Damian Wells | 26,177 | 8.4 | |
| Democratic | write-ins | 1,510 | 0.5 | |
| Total votes | 312,157 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Knute Buehler | 199,179 | 97.76 | |
| Republican | write-ins | 4,558 | 2.24 | |
| Total votes | 203,737 | 100 | ||
Oregon allows candidates to be cross-nominated by up to three political parties. TheIndependent Party of Oregon holds a month-long online primary to select which candidate receives their nomination. The party chose candidates in a number of legislative and local races but only one statewide race, secretary of state.[13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Knute Buehler | 348 | 55.68 | |
| Democratic | Kate Brown | 277 | 44.32 | |
| Total votes | 625 | 100 | ||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Kate Brown (D) | Knute Buehler (R, I) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Oregonian[18] | October 25–28, 2012 | 405 | ± 5% | 38% | 23% | 36% |
| DHM Research[19] | October 18–20, 2012 | 500 | ± 2.6%–4.4% | 43% | 37% | 15% |
| Public Policy Polling[10] | June 21–24, 2012 | 686 | ± 3.7% | 48% | 30% | 21% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kate Brown | 863,656 | 51.28 | |
| Republican | Knute Buehler | 727,607 | 43.20 | |
| Pacific Green | Seth Woolley | 44,235 | 2.63 | |
| Libertarian | Bruce Alexander Knight | 24,273 | 1.44 | |
| Progressive | Robert Wolfe | 21,783 | 1.29 | |
| write-ins | 2,561 | 0.15 | ||
| Total votes | 1,684,115 | 100 | ||
IncumbentOregon State TreasurerTed Wheeler was appointed to the position in March 2010 following the death ofBen Westlund. Wheeler subsequently won aNovember 2010 special election to complete the remainder of Westlund's term. He is seeking re-election to a full term in 2012.[12] Tom Cox, a management consultant who ran for governor as the Libertarian nominee in2002, won the Republican nomination as a write-in candidate.[6][12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ted Wheeler | 272,278 | 99.50 | |
| Democratic | write-ins | 1,365 | 0.50 | |
| Total votes | 273,643 | 100 | ||
No Republican filed to run in the primary, but a few weeks before the primary election, party officials sent postcards to Republicans urging them towrite inTom Cox, who won 5% of the vote as theLibertarian candidate for governor in2002. Cox won the majority of the more than 24,000 write-in votes to advance to the November general election.[6]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Cox (write-in) | 12,885 | 53.2 | |
| Republican | other write-ins | 11,337 | 46.8 | |
| Total votes | 24,222 | 100 | ||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Ted Wheeler (D) | Tom Cox (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[10] | June 21–24, 2012 | 686 | ± 3.7% | 46% | 34% | 19% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Ted Wheeler | 955,213 | 57.84 | |
| Republican | Tom Cox | 609,989 | 36.93 | |
| Progressive | Cameron Whitten | 38,762 | 2.36 | |
| Libertarian | John Mahler | 30,002 | 1.83 | |
| Constitution | Michael Paul Marsh | 15,415 | 0.94 | |
| write-ins | 2,181 | 0.13 | ||
| Total votes | 1,643,350 | 100 | ||
TheOregon Commissioner of Labor serves as the head of the stateBureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), and is a nonpartisan position.Brad Avakian, a Democrat who has served as Commissioner since 2008, is running for re-election.[23] Republicanstate SenatorBruce Starr is challenging Avakian.[23]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Brad Avakian (D) | Bruce Starr (R) | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Oregonian[18] | October 25–28, 2012 | 405 | ± 5% | 26% | 20% | 53% |
| DHM Research[19] | October 18–20, 2012 | 500 | ± 2.6%–4.4% | 22% | 19% | 60% |
| Public Policy Polling[10] | June 21–24, 2012 | 686 | ± 3.7% | 21% | 23% | 56% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brad Avakian | 681,987 | 52.53 | |
| Republican | Bruce Starr | 606,735 | 46.73 | |
| write-ins | 9,616 | 0.74 | ||
| Total votes | 1,298,338 | 100 | ||
The Democrats had a 16–14 majority in theOregon State Senate in theprevious session. 16 of the 30 senate seats were up for election. In theOregon House of Representatives, which was evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, all 60 seats were up for election. Democrats retained their 16–14 majority in the Senate, and took a 34–26 majority in the House.[25]
Nine measures appeared on the November ballot. Two werelegislative referrals, four wereinitiated constitutional amendments, and three wereinitiated state statutes.[26]
Referred by the legislature. Amends Constitution: Governor may declare "catastrophic disaster;" requires legislative session; authorizes suspending specified constitutional spending restrictions.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes | 957,646 | 58.71 |
| No | 673,468 | 41.29 |
| Total votes | 1,631,114 | 100.00 |
| Source:Oregon State Elections Division[11] | ||
Referred by the legislature. Amends Constitution: Changes constitutional language describing governmental system of separation of powers; makes grammatical and spelling changes.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 1,165,963 | 71.77 |
| No | 458,509 | 28.23 |
| Total votes | 1,624,472 | 100.00 |
| Source:Oregon State Elections Division[11] | ||
Initiated constitutional amendment. Amends Constitution: Prohibitsreal estate transfer taxes, fees, other assessments, except those operative on December 31, 2009.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 976,587 | 58.96 |
| No | 679,710 | 41.04 |
| Total votes | 1,656,297 | 100.00 |
| Source:Oregon State Elections Division[11] | ||
Initiated statute. Allowspersonal marijuana, hemp cultivation/use without license; commission to regulate commercial marijuana cultivation/sale.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 No | 923,071 | 53.25 |
| Yes | 810,538 | 46.75 |
| Total votes | 1,733,609 | 100.00 |
| Source:Oregon State Elections Division[11] | ||
Initiated statute. Prohibits commercial non-tribal fishing withgillnets in Oregon "inland waters," allows use ofseine nets.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| No | 1,072,614 | 65.38 |
| Yes | 567,996 | 34.62 |
| Total votes | 1,640,610 | 100.00 |
| Source:Oregon State Elections Division[11] | ||
Initiated constitutional amendment. Amends Constitution: authorizesestablishment of privately owned casinos; mandates percentage of revenues payable to dedicated state fund.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| No | 1,226,331 | 71.65 |
| Yes | 485,240 | 28.35 |
| Total votes | 1,711,571 | 100.00 |
| Source:Oregon State Elections Division[11] | ||
Initiated statute. Authorizes privately owned Wood Village Casino at the closedMultnomah Greyhound Park; mandates percentage of revenues payable to dedicated state fund.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| No | 1,207,508 | 70.71 |
| Yes | 500,123 | 29.29 |
| Total votes | 1,707,631 | 100.00 |
| Source:Oregon State Elections Division[11] | ||
Initiated statute. Phases out existinginheritance taxes on large estates, and all taxes on intra-family property transfers.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| No | 912,541 | 54.04 |
| Yes | 776,143 | 45.96 |
| Total votes | 1,688,684 | 100.00 |
| Source:Oregon State Elections Division[11] | ||
Initiated constitutional amendment. Amends Constitution: allocates corporate income/excise tax"kicker" refund to additionally fund K–12 public education.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 1,007,122 | 59.96 |
| No | 672,586 | 40.04 |
| Total votes | 1,679,708 | 100.00 |
| Source:Oregon State Elections Division[11] | ||
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