Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: Oregon State Legislature

November 2, 2012

By Ballotpedia's State legislative team

Oregon's State Legislative Elections in 2012
Senate seats	Contested senate seats	House seats	Contested house seats
16	12 (75.0%)	60	48 (80.0%)

SALEM, Oregon: There are 59 total legislative seats with 2012 elections in Oregon. 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.[38] Oregon is split between the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

In the Oregon State Senate, Democrats currently hold an extremely thin majority, with 16 of 30 seats in their favor. The May 15 primary was relatively uneventful, but in the general election, 12 of 16 seats up for election will have two party competition. The House is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans at 30-30, meaning that even a single seat flipping parties will swing control of the chamber. Democrats will be at a disadvantage in this battle, as six of seven retiring incumbents are Democrats.

Of the 76 incumbents up for election in 2012, 65 (85.5%) are running for re-election. A total of 60 of 76 (78.9%) districts will see more than one major party candidate in the general election.

Here are a few races to watch:

Senate

• District 5 was left open by a retiring Joanne Verger (D). Republican Scott Roberts will try to pick up the seat, while Arnie Roblan will try and hold the seat for Democrats.

• District 12 will likely be a close contest, with incumbent Brian J. Boquist (R) facing a challenge from Annette Frank (D).

House

• District 9 incumbent Arnie Roblan is running for State Senate, leaving the seat open. The general election will see a tight contest fought between Caddy McKeown (D) and Nancy Brouhard (R).

• District 48 will not feature an incumbent, as Mike Schaufler was defeated in the primary. Jeff Reardon (D) will face George Yellott (R).

• District 49: This suburban swing district is being hotly contested by Republican Matthew Wand (R), who narrowly won the seat in 2010, and Democrat Chris Gorsek.

• District 51: Redistricting may favor the Democratic challenger, Shemia Fagan (D), in this swing district.

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

Articles

• 2012 elections review: Big defeats for two incumbents in OR legislative primaries May 16

See also

• Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: Oregon Congressional Seats
• Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: Oregon State Executive Officials
• Ballotpedia:2012 general election preview articles
• State legislative elections, 2012
• November 6, 2012 election results
• State legislative elections, 2012
• Oregon elections, 2012

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