Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: Oregon Congressional Seats

November 2, 2012

By Ballotpedia's Congressional team

Oregon's Congressional Elections in 2012
U.S. Senate Election?	U.S. House seats	Possible competitive races?
No	5	1 (5th)

SALEM: Oregon: Oregon has five U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2012. All five incumbents are running for re-election and face at least one challenger in the general election (100%).

District 4 incumbent Peter DeFazio (D) was the only incumbent to draw a primary opponent, putting Oregon below the national average for contested primaries. Matthew L. Robinson became a Democrat for the sole purpose of challenging DeFazio in the primary, while Art Robinson, Matthew Robinson's father and DeFazio's opponent from the 2010 election, ran unopposed in Republican primary. On May 15th, DeFazio won the Democratic nomination, locking in a rematch against the elder Robinson. He will defend his seat in the general election along with the other four district incumbents: Suzanne Bonamici (D-1), Greg Walden (R-2), Earl Blumenauer (D-3), and Kurt Schrader (D-5).

Currently, the Democratic Party holds four of the five Congressional seats from Oregon. According to race ratings, no partisan switches are likely to occur, however one race - for the 5th District seat occupied by Democrat Kurt Schrader- is considered slightly more competitive this year due to redistricting. Schrader is seeking a third term in 2012. He will square off with Republican businessman Fred Thompson, Raymond Baldwin (Constitution), and Christina Jean Lugo (Pacific Green Party).

Oregon is an elections by mail state, however a voter can still vote on Election Day at their local municipal clerks office 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Pacific Time. Oregon is split between the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

See also: State Poll Opening and Closing Times (2012)

Here is a complete list of U.S. House candidates appearing on the general election ballot in Oregon:

Candidates running by District

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
1st	Suzanne Bonamici Delinda Morgan Cody Reynolds Robert Ekstrom	Suzanne Bonamici	Pending	Pending
2nd	Joyce Segers Greg Walden Joe Tabor	Greg Walden	Pending	Pending
3rd	Earl Blumenauer Ronald Green Michael Cline Woodrow Broadnax	Earl Blumenauer	Pending	Pending
4th	Peter DeFazio Art Robinson Chuck Huntting	Peter DeFazio	Pending	Pending
5th	Kurt Schrader Fred Thompson Raymond Baldwin Christina Jean Lugo	Kurt Schrader	Pending	Pending

Partisan breakdown by district

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

Comparison of new and old redistricting maps

Congressional Redistricting Map, approved June 2011  For more information, view Redistricting in Oregon.
This is a map of the congressional districts of Oregon before and after the 2010 redistricting. The image also includes the partisan breakdown of the districts that are close in registration figures.

Articles

• 2012 elections review: Big defeats for two incumbents in OR legislative primaries May 16
• 2012 elections preview: Oregon voters prepare for congressional and legislative primaries May 14

See also

• Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: Oregon State Legislature
• Ballotpedia:2012 general election preview articles
• November 6, 2012 election results
• United States Congressional election results, 2012
• United States House of Representatives elections in Oregon, 2012
  • Oregon's 1st Congressional District elections, 2012
  • Oregon's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2012
  • Oregon's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2012
  • Oregon's 4th Congressional District elections, 2012
  • Oregon's 5th Congressional District elections, 2012
• Oregon elections, 2012
• National contested primary average during the 2012 U.S. congressional elections