2012 elections preview: Oregon voters prepare for congressional and legislative primaries

May 14, 2012

By Ballotpedia's Congressional and State legislative teams

The fast-moving primary season of May and June continues tomorrow with elections in Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon. In Oregon, voters will decided on five U.S. House races and 74 state legislative seats.

Contested Primaries in Oregon -- May 15, 2012
	U.S. House (5 seats)	State Legislature (74 seats)
Total Democratic Contested Primaries	2 (40%)	6 (8.11%)
Total Republican Contested Primaries	3 (60%)	9 (12.16%)

Congress

United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon, 2012

Oregon has 5 U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2012. A total of 15 candidates have filed to run, made up of 3 Democratic challengers, 7 Republican challengers, and 5 incumbents. Including the three states with primaries tomorrow, a total of 106 U.S. House seats have held primaries. Thus far, 58.02% of possible primaries have been contested. In Oregon, just one incumbent (20%) faces a primary challenge, which is below the national average.

In Oregon's 4th, incumbent Peter DeFazio faces graduate student Matthew L. Robinson in the Democratic primary. Robinson's father, scientist Art Robinson, is running unopposed in the Republican primary; he also ran against DeFazio in 2010. The younger Robinson switched to the Democratic Party in order to face DeFazio in the primary.

The other four incumbents are running unopposed: Suzanne Bonamici (D-1st), Greg Walden (R-2nd), Earl Blumenauer (D-3rd), and Kurt Schrader (D-5th).

In the 1st District, Republican challengers Lisa Michaels and Delinda Morgan compete. In the 2nd, Democrats Joyce Segers and John Sweeney will duke it out. Republican voters will choose between Delia Lopez and John Green in the 3rd District, and between Fred Thompson and Karen Bowerman in the 5th.

Members of the U.S. House from Oregon -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	4	4
	Republican Party	1	1
Total		5	5

State legislatures

Oregon State Senate elections, 2012 and Oregon House of Representatives elections, 2012

There are 74 total legislative seats with elections in 2012 -- 14 Senate seats and 60 House seats.

There are 6 (8.11%) contested Democratic primaries and 9 (12.16%) contested Republican primaries. The 10.1% of contested primaries in Oregon is below the current national contested average of 23.42% for states that have had signature filing deadlines.

A total of 10 incumbents -- 3 Republicans and 7 Democrats -- chose not to seek re-election. Of those, 7 are senators and 3 are representatives.

• In the state Senate, 27th District Republican incumbent Chris Telfer has a primary challenge from Tim Knopp. In the 28th, Republican incumbent Douglas K. Whitsett is challenged by Karl Scronce. In the 29th, Republicans Bill Hansell and Maryl Graybeal Featherstone seek to replace retiring Republican incumbent David Nelson.

• There are three contested Republican primaries in the state House. In the 11th District primary, Republicans have a choice between Kelly Lovelace and Jacob Daniels. In the 12th, Democrats John Lively and Sandra Mann compete. The 22nd sees a Republican primary between Kathy LeCompte against Tom Chereck, Jr.

• On the Democratic side, there are three contested House primaries. In the 29th District, Democrats choose between Katie Riley and Ben Unger. In the 36th, three Democrats are competing: Jennifer Williamson, Benjamin Jay Barber, and Sharon Meieran. Democrats Timothy McMenamin and Sam Cantrell face off in the 41st.

Democrats and Republicans have a nearly equal split in the Oregon State Legislature.

Oregon State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	16	16
	Republican Party	14	14
Total		30	30

Oregon House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	30	34
	Republican Party	30	26
Total		60	60

See also

• 2012 elections preview: Oregonians prepare to choose state executive nominees at the polls tomorrow
• United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon, 2012
• Oregon State Senate elections, 2012
• Oregon House of Representatives elections, 2012