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Oregon secretary of state election, 2012
 Oregon's 2012 elections: • U.S. House • Attorney General • Secretary of State • Other executive offices • State Senate • State House • Ballot measures |
The Oregon secretary of state election took place on November 6, 2012, with incumbent Kate Brown winning re-election over four challengers.[1]
Kate Brown Incumbent (Democratic, Working Families)
Knute Buehler (Republican, Independent)
Seth Woolley (Pacific Green Party)
Bruce Alexander Knight (Libertarian)
Robert Wolfe (Progressive Party)
In the primary on May 15, 2012 incumbent Kate Brown (D) defeated perennial candidate Paul Damian Wells, for the Democratic nomination. Brown advanced to the general election, where she defeated, Knute Buehler (R, Ind), Seth Woolley (Pacific Green Party), Bruce Alexander Knight (Libertarian) and Robert Wolfe (Progressive).[2][3]
Buehler (R) is an orthopedic surgeon and Rhodes scholar from Bend. He was the only candidate to file from his party in the primary. According to race ratings published in Governing in September, the Buehler's candidacy threatened the Democratic Party's almost 20 year run in the office. They rated the secretary of state race as a toss-up, due to Buehler's fundraising prowess (he raised and spent twice as much as Brown) and to his cross nomination by the Independent Party, which has the highest registered membership of any third party in Oregon.[4]
General Election
| Oregon Secretary of State General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Kate Brown Incumbent |
51.4% | 863,656 | |
| Republican | Knute Buehler | 43.3% | 727,607 | |
| Green | Seth Woolley | 2.6% | 44,235 | |
| Libertarian | Bruce Alexander Knight | 1.4% | 24,273 | |
| Progressive | Robert Wolfe | 1.3% | 21,783 | |
| Total Votes | 1,681,554 | |||
| Election Results via Oregon Secretary of State. | ||||
Primary Results
| Oregon Secretary of State Democratic Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kate Brown |
91.1% | 277,052 |
| Paul Damian Wells | 8.4% | 25,568 |
| Write-ins | 0.5% | 1,400 |
| Total Votes | 304,020 | |
| Oregon Secretary of State Republican Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Knute Buehler |
98.5% | 193,043 |
| Write-ins | 1.5% | 2,973 |
| Total Votes | 196,016 | |
- Administrative deadlines are at close of business (5 pm) unless otherwise noted.
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| Mar. 6 | Last day to file candidacy |
| Apr. 24 | Voter registration for primary election |
| May 15 | Primary election |
| June 14 | Certification of election results |
| Nov. 6 | General election |
General
- Kate Brown incumbent (Democratic, Working Families)
- Knute Buehler (Republican, Independent)
- Seth Woolley (Pacific Green Party)
- Bruce Alexander Knight (Libertarian)
Robert Wolfe (Progressive Party)
Primaries
Democratic candidates
- Kate Brown-incumbent secretary of state
- Paul Damian Wells-engineer and "Voters Rights Advocate"
Republican candidates
- Knute Buehler-Orthopedic surgeon
Former candidates
- Commercial truck driver and former election judge Randy Pollock withdrew from the election on February 7, 2012 citing a lack of campaign contributions.[5]
Public Policy Polling
| 2012 General election secretary of state candidates | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response | Public Policy Poll June 26, 2012 | Oregon Public Broadcasting/Fox-12 Poll (October 26-28, 2012) | Oregonian Poll (October 25-28, 2012) | Average | ||||||||||
| Kate Brown | 48% | 43% | 38% | 43% | ||||||||||
| Knute Buehler | 31% | 37% | 23% | 30.333% | ||||||||||
| Undecided | 21% | 15% | 36% | 24% | ||||||||||
| Number polled | 686 | 500 | 405 | 530.33 | ||||||||||
| Margin of error | +/-3.7 | +/-4.4% | 2.7% | |||||||||||
| 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 editor@ballotpedia.org | ||||||||||||||
- **Although not shown in table above, Poll#3 also included the option for respondents to indicate support for a minor party candidate in the race. The results show the three minor party candidates are each supported by 1% of voters.**
Endorsements
Buehler
In July, 2012, Buehler's campaign received a significant boost when the Independent Party voted 55-45% to endorse the Republican candidate over the Democratic incumbent, Brown. Under Oregon’s fusion-voting law, the GOP nominee for secretary of state is also permitted to list the Independent party's cross-nomination on the general election ballot.[6] It was thought that the Independent Party's support could be crucial to Buehler's chances of scoring an upset victory in November. There are roughly 76,000 registered Independent voters in Oregon--the highest number for a third party--and over 420,000 unaffiliated voters, many of whom choose not to be registered with a party as a form of protest against the restriction of freedoms imposed by traditional power structures and will likely be more sympathetic to a candidate with "independent," next to his name. Correspondingly, a large share of unaffiliated voters are reportedly unaware of the distinction between a candidate who is running "independently" of a party and a candidate running in affiliation with the Independent Party.[7]
| Community Leaders Endorsement List[8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
Brown
| 2012 Endorsement List[9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Contents |
|---|
| 1 Due dates for reports |
| 2 Candidates |
Due dates for reports
The Secretary of State administers campaign finance law and maintains all records online.
As of 2007, there are no longer "scheduled" reporting deadlines. Committees will continuously report campaign finance transactions.
In mid-September, Brown announced that she was placing a $1 million spending cap on her re-election campaign this year. Her opponent, Buehler, who reportedy raised nearly $1 million and spent about $542,000 at that point in the election season, said he would not follow suit, and suggested that Brown's adoption of a spending limit was a reaction to concerns about trailing Buehler in fundraising (Brown has raised $575,000 and spent about $264,000 as of September 19th) and staff shake ups, including the then-recent firing of her campaign finance manager. Brown denied his accusations, saying that she had hired a replacement, and she defended the ethical merits of setting a spending limit: "I've raised more than $1 million in the past.... It's not fun and it's also not right. That's why I think it's time for us to do something about it and I'm the one in this race leading by example."[10]
Candidates
Democrats
Kate Brown[11]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Citizen Action for Political Education | $25,000.00 |
| Democratic Association of Secretaries of State | $15,000.00 |
| Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians | $10,000.00 |
| Oregon AFSCME Council 75 | $10,000.00 |
| Oregon Education Association-People for Improvement of Education (142) | $10,000.00 |
| Local Electricians PAC (4572) | $10,000.00 |
| EMILY's List Federal Fund | $5,000.00 |
| Plumbers and Steamfitters PAC (221) | $5,000.00 |
| Local Electricians PAC (4572) | $5,000.00 |
| Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund | $5,000.00 |
Republicans
Knute Buehler[12]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| James Young | $90,000.00 |
| Phillip H Knight | $50,000.00 |
| Patricia Buehler | $30,000.00 |
| Karl R Miller | $25,000.00 |
| Seneca Jones Timber Company | $25,000.00 |
| Howard M Koff | $10,000.00 |
| Henry T Swigert | $10,000.00 |
| Larry Keith | $10,000.00 |
| Murphy | $10,000.00 |
| Bizzy B Seven LLC | $10,000.00 |
Former candidates
Paul Damian Wells
Wells reported four in-kind contributions, all from his own campaign commmittee, as of May 4, 2012. The contributions amount to $13,650.[13]
Campaign sites
Democrats
Kate Brown |
Knute Buehler |
Robert Wolfe |
Former candidates
Ads
|
|
- By the numbers: Comparing Oregon's secretary of state candidates September 29
- Open primaries a non-starter for Oregon Republicans
- Oregon secretary of state sued by candidate over alleged misinformation
- Oregon secretary of state's election date snafu still unresolved despite judge's ruling
- 2012 elections preview: Oregonians prepare to choose state executive nominees at the polls tomorrow
- Election aftermath: Oregon's state executive races
- Election preview: Oregon's state executive candidates file for office
- Attorney General Kroger leaves politics to take job as president
Additional reading
See also
External links
- Politics1.com Guide to Oregon elections
- Office of the Secretary of State Website
- Oregon Votes 2012
- Kate Brown Official Campaign Site
- Knute Buehler Official Campaign Site
- Robert Wolfe Official Campaign Website
References
- ↑ Oregon Live, "2012 General Election Results," November 7, 2012
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Voter Guide," accessed October 18, 2012
- ↑ Oregon Live, "Oregon 2012 Primary Results," May 15, 2012
- ↑ Governing, "Secretaries of State Still Juggling Politics, Elections," September 21, 2012
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Candidate information," accessed March 6, 2012
- ↑ Independent Party of Oregon, "Primary Election Results," July 19, 2012
- ↑ Knute Buehler Official Campaign Website, "Knute wins independent party nomination," July 19, 2012
- ↑ Knute Buehler for Secretary of State 2012, "Endorsements," accessed October 1, 2012
- ↑ Kate Brown for Oregon, "Endorsements," accessed October 1, 2012
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Oregon Secretary of State candidates trade tough words over campaign spending limits," September 19, 2012
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Reports-Kate Brown," accessed September 29, 2012
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Reports-Knute Buehler," accessed September 29, 2012
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Reports-Paul Damian Wells," accessed May 4, 2012
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