Oregon Politics

On Thursday, Steve Duin wrote a column discussing the need for campaign finance reforms supported by State Senator Vicki Walker, who is running for Secretary of State against Rick Metsger and Kate Brown.

By Thursday afternoon, the OEA had dropped another $25,000 on the race, bringing Brown's total to more than $400,000 - $285,000 more than her two opponents in the Democratic Primary race for Secretary of State combined

Duin from his blog ...

Steve Duin has a nice take on CFR in his column today.

Forty-seven of our 50 states have placed limits on political campaign contributions, believing it is possible to constrain the corrosive impact of money on elective politics without restricting free speech.

In 2007, a bi-partisan coalition of legislators voted 57-2 in th house and 28-1 in the Senate to beef up Oregon's anti-pornography laws.

Today, Naral, the ACLU, and Powell's bookstore announced their intention to challenge the new law in Federal Court.

Last week, the Oregonian reported that Democratic voter registration has surged in 2008. As of April 25th, there are 826,176 Democratic voters in Oregon -- nearly 70,000 more than at the end of 2007.

One story that has largely been missed, however, is the growth of the Independent Party of Oregon.

The Cascades are a geographic boundary that divides Eastern Oregon from the Wilamette Valley and the Oregon Coast.

If a group of political consultants from Hood River have their way, the Cascades will one day divide Oregon into two states.

Read the full coverage by the Associated Press

As the race for Oregon's Democratic nomination for US Senate winds down, several things are becoming clear:

First, the Democratic nominee, whomever he or she is, is likely to be outspent by a wide margin in the General Election.

The Democratic primary for US Senate got a little more interesting this week. According to a SurveyUSA poll conducted on behalf of KATU news, Eugene anti-war activist, Candy Neville, leads Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley 12 percent to 11 -- a statistical dead-heat.

This marks the third consecutive primary or general election poll showing Merkley running third or lower.