The 2008 Oregon Republican presidential primary was a mail only primary in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. Ballots were mailed to registered

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

voters between May 2 and May 6, 2008. To be counted, all ballots must have been received by county elections offices by 8:00 p.m. PDT on May 20, 2008. It was a

closed primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

; in order to vote in Republican races, residents must have registered as Republicans on or before April 29, 2008.

Presidential race

2008 Oregon Republican National Convention delegation

In the race for the Republican nominee for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

, there were two candidates on the Oregon ballot:

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

and

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, physician and retired politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977 and again from 1979 to 1985, as well ...

Results

Other races

U.S. Senate

Incumbent Senator

Gordon Smith Gordon Smith may refer to: In politics *Gordon H. Smith (born 1952), former U.S. Senator from Oregon, and current Area Authority for the LDS Church * Gordon Elsworth Smith (1918–2005), Canadian politician * Gordon Smith (academic) (1927–2009), ...

defeated Gordon Leitch for the Republican nomination as he sought re-election to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

U.S. House of Representatives

Oregon Republicans selected their candidate in four of Oregon's five congressional districts for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Greg Walden Gregory Paul Walden (born January 10, 1957) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2021. He is a Republican. Walden is the son of three-term Oregon State Representative Paul E. Walden. In October 2019, ...

, Oregon's only incumbent Republican congressman, was unopposed in his race in . In the , real estate investor Delia Lopez was unopposed, and businessman

Mike Erickson Mike Erickson (born January 27, 1963) is an American businessman and perennial political candidate in the U.S. state of Oregon. He was the Republican nominee for the United States House of Representatives in Oregon's 6th congressional district i ...

won a close race in the . Republicans did not field a candidate in the . In the , retired teacher Joel Haugen won the nomination, but later withdrew it after clashes with party leaders over Haugen's endorsement of Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

for President. Haugen is now the

Independent Party of Oregon The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is a centrist political party in the U.S. state of Oregon with more than 135,000 registrants since its inception in January 2007. The IPO is Oregon's third-largest political party and the first political party ...

candidate, Another Republican Stephan Andrew Brodhead an Iraq War veteran and Real Estate investor Of Hillsboro, Oregon is running an active campaign as a write-in candidate.

Statewide offices

This election determined the Republican candidate for two statewide offices. For Secretary of State,

Rick Dancer Rick Dancer (born June 29, 1959) is an American journalist and politician in the state of Oregon. Born in the city of Hillsboro, he was a longtime anchor for KEZI television in Eugene. Among his other activities as anchor, he covered the Thurston ...

was unopposed.; for

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

Allen Alley Allen Alley (born August 3, 1954) is an American businessman and politician from the State of Oregon. He sought the Republican nomination for Governor of Oregon in the 2016 Oregon gubernatorial special election, losing to Bud Pierce. Alley also ...

was also unopposed. No Republican filed to run for

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, but there were 13,043 write-in votes.

John Kroger John Richard Kroger (born 1966) is an American lawyer who served as the president of Reed College. He served as Attorney General for the U.S. state of Oregon from 2009 to 2012. Prior to being elected in 2008, he had earlier served in the Marine ...

, who also won the

Democratic primary This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Unit ...

, got 2,885 votes and will be the Republican nominee as well. Kroger's Democratic rival

Greg Macpherson Gregory Hector Macpherson (born May 3, 1950) is a Democratic politician in the US state of Oregon. From 2003 to 2009, he served as the state representative from District 38, which includes most of Lake Oswego and portions of southwestern Port ...

came in second with 1,391 votes.

Oregon Senate

Half (15) the positions in the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

were up for election. Republicans nominated candidates in 11 Senate districts for the general election, including one successful write-in candidate.

Oregon House of Representatives

As is the case every two years, all the 60 positions in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

were up for election. Republicans nominated candidates in 44 House districts for the general election, including two successful write-in candidates.

References

{{OR2008elections

Oregon Republican primaries