Oregon state elections, 2006

Oregon's 2006 statewide election included a May 16 primary election and a November 7 general election.

Ten statewide ballot measures were on the November ballot.

The following offices were up for election: Governor, Supreme Court Position 6 (to succeed Wallace P. Carson, Jr.), and numerous seats in the state legislature (House of Representatives and Senate), the state Circuit Courts, and the District Attorney's offices.

Offices that were uncontested, or local to various towns, counties, or regions, were also on Oregon ballots. Such races are not listed on this page.

Election process

Both partisan and non-partisan offices were at stake in the 2006 election cycle. Oregon conducts partisan and non-partisan elections differently:

: For partisan offices (such as the state legislature and governor's races), major parties ( Democratic and Republican) run candidates in the Primary to select their nominee for the General Election. (The state takes on the administrative and financial burden of primaries for the two major parties, while other parties determine their candidate according to whatever nominating process they choose.) A plurality (that is, more votes than any opponent) is sufficient for a major party candidate to win nomination; candidates need not get more than 50% of the vote to advance to the General Election.

: Non-partisan offices (such as judges, district attorneys, and superintendent) may be filled in the Primary, if any candidate wins a majority of the vote. If no candidate wins over 50% of the vote, however, the top two vote-winners will face each other in a runoff in the November General Election.

County governments conduct the elections. Immediately after an election, their web sites
are the best place to find accurate election results. The Secretary of State's office posts official results 30 days after an election.

Voter statistics and turnout

According to th
Annual Oregon Population Report for 2005
the total estimated population of Oregon as of July 1, 2005 was 3,631,440, of which 2,765,827 were of voting age. Of these, 69,146 were ineligible to vote due to legal impediments, leaving an estimated 2,696,681 Oregonians eligible to vote. 1,976,669 voters were in fact registered for the 2006 election, 73.3% of those estimated eligible, and 70.8% of these registered voters or 1,399,650 voters actually did cast their ballots.

Key: abbreviations of Oregon political parties

* (I) Independent Party of Oregon
* (C) Constitution Party of Oregon
* (D) Democratic Party of Oregon
* (G) Pacific Green Party of Oregon
* (L) Libertarian Party of Oregon
* (R) Republican Party of Oregon
* (N) non-affiliated (no party affiliation)

Candidates (Legislative)

U.S. Congress

; All five of Oregon's federal congressional districts in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election in 2006. All incumbents (four Democrats, one Republican) won re-election.

; Neither of Oregon's US Senate seats was up for election in 2006.

Current US Senators for Oregon:
* Gordon Smith (R)
* Ron Wyden (D)

State Legislature

In the bicameral Oregon Legislative Assembly, each of the 30 Senate districts is composed of exactly two House districts.
Detailed district boundaries may be found at the Secretary of State's web site.

Image:Oregon State Senate Districts.png,
Image:Portland or senate districts.png,
Image:Willamette valley senate districts.png,

Oregon's State House in its entirety comes up for election in even numbered years. All 60 biennially elected seats in the House were up for election. Each seat has a 2-year term with no term limits. The Democrats won in 31 of 60 districts, gaining four seats and control of Oregon's State House for the first time since 1990.

Oregon State Senators serve four-year terms without term limits. Their terms are staggered so that only half of the Senators are up for re-election every two even-numbered years.

The Republicans lost one seat in the State Senate, because Senator Westlund, although not up for election, switched first to non-partisan Independent to challenge for the Governor's seat, then withdrew from that race and re-registered as a Democrat, gaining the Democrats one seat. The Democrats, however, also lost Senator Gordly, who was not up for election either, but she re-registered as a non-partisan Independent. Outside the party changes by these two individual Senators, no other seats in the Senate shifted party as a result of the election, although three incumbents declined to run for various reasons and another lost his primary.

Most races were not strongly contested in the General Election. In 60% of the legislative races, the "underdog" candidate raised less than 25% of the funds his or her opponent raised. Also, in 85% of the 75 legislative races, the winner was the candidate who raised more money.

Candidates for the Oregon Senate and House are listed in the chart below. House districts are listed next to the Senate district to which they belong (rather than listing the Senate and House in separate charts.) The counties covered by each Senate district are listed in ''italics,'' with (parentheses) if the county extends into other districts. Box colors indicate party affiliation for both incumbents and General Election winners (light blue for Democrats, light red for Republicans). Names and statistics of General Election winners are also boldfaced.

For primary candidates, see Oregon primary election, 2006.

Results

Candidates (Executive)

Oregon Blue Bookbr>list of elected executive officials

Governor

Incumbent Governor Ted Kulongoski (D) won the election.

; Democratic Party

winner in primary:
* Ted Kulongoski (incumbent)

losers in primary:

Jim HillPete Sorenson

; Republican Party

winner in primary:

Ron Saxton
losers in primary:

Jason A. AtkinsonKevin Mannix
W. Ames Curtright, David W. Beem, William E. Spidal, Gordon Leitch, Bob Leonard Forthan

; Pacific Green Party
* Joe Keating

; Constitution Party

; Libertarian Party
* Richard Morley

; Independent
* Ben Westlund gathered enough signatures to appear on the ballot, bu
withdrew from the race
August 10.

Labor Commissioner

Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries
winner in primary:

Dan Gardner

Superintendent of Schools

Superintendent of Public Instruction
winner in primary:

Susan Castillo
loser in primary:
* Deborah L. Andrews

Candidates (Judicial)

Many judicial positions are not contested. Incumbents are rarely opposed, and when they resign, it is often timed such that the Governor chooses their replacement.Unsigned editorial
Four strong picks for circuit court judge
''The Oregonian.'' April 21, 2006. URL accessed Sept. 2, 2006.

If a judicial position becomes vacant and the Governor declines to make an appointment, it must be filled at the next General Election. If it's not too late to file for a Primary Election, candidates will appear on that ballot in the first round of a runoff election. If there is no Primary before the next General Election, all candidates appear on the General Election ballot, and a plurality vote may determine the winner.

Oregon Supreme Court

Position 2

Incumbent Judge Paul De Muniz sought reelection and was the only candidate to file. He won easily in the primary election against only write-in candidate opposition.

Position 3

Incumbent Judge Robert D. (Skip) Durham sought reelection and was the only candidate to file. He won easily in the primary election against only write-in candidate opposition.

Position 6

Incumbent Judge Wallace P. Carson, Jr. of Oregon Supreme Court

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