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Oregon's 2006 statewide election included a May 16 primary election and a November 7
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
. Ten statewide ballot measures were on the November ballot. The following offices were up for election:
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
,
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
Position 6 (to succeed Wallace P. Carson, Jr.), and numerous seats in the state legislature (
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
and
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
), 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 A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
'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 the 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 Ronald Lee Wyden ( ; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United States Senate special el ...
(D)


State Legislature

In the
bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...
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 A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...
. 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 Book, 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 Hill, Pete Sorenson Republican Party winner in primary: * Ron Saxton losers in primary: : Jason A. Atkinson, Kevin 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, but 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 is 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 The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest State court (United States), state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.
, Position 6, decided to retire after 34 years on the bench. Three candidates entered the race to succeed him: * Virginia Linder, who had since 1997 been an Oregon Court of Appeals judge (winner) * Jack Roberts, former Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries * W. Eugene (Gene) Hallman, Pendleton attorney No candidate received a majority in the primary election, and Linder and Roberts advanced to the general election. Linder won by 51.75 percent of the vote.


Oregon Court of Appeals


Circuit Court

Judge of the Circuit Court, 1st District, Position 5 (Jackson County) * Raymond B. White - 21,070 * Other - 240 Judge of the Circuit Court, 1st District, Position 9 (Jackson County) Primary: * Ron Grensky - 15,197 * Lisa C. Greif - 11,651 * Joe Charter - 4,762 * Paul L. Henderson III - 1,602 * Other - 49 Runoff: * Ron Grensky - 39,954 * Lisa C. Greif - 29,291 * Other - 130 Judge of the Circuit Court, 2nd District, Position 1 (Lane County) * Karsten H. Rasmussen - 39,897 * Other - 307 Judge of the Circuit Court, 2nd District, Position 3 (Lane County) * Lyle C. Velure - 38,112 * Other - 594 Judge of the Circuit Court, 2nd District, Position 9 (Lane County) * Gregory G. Foote - 40,765 * Other - 367 Judge of the Circuit Court, 2nd District, Position 14 (Lane County) * Debra Vogt - 64,209 * Alan Leiman - 49,156 * Other - 470 Judge of the Circuit Court, 4th District, Position 4 (Multnomah County) * Adrienne C. Nelson - 134,269 * Other - 3,464 Judge of the Circuit Court, 4th District, Position 28 (Multnomah County) * Judith Hudson Matarazzo - 39,782 * Mary Overgaard - 38,323 * James J. McIntyre - 31,408 * Mark K. Kramer - 25,046 * Ulanda L. Watkins - 18,368 * Christopher D. Wright - 11,641 * Charles L. Best - 8,961 * Theodore E. Sims - 7,652 * James E. Leuenberger - 2,506 * Other - 1,580 Judge of the Circuit Court, 4th District, Position 31 (Multnomah County) * Cheryl Albrecht - 93,528 * Kathleen Payne - 78,778 * Other - 1,836 Judge of the Circuit Court, 4th District, Position 37 (Multnomah County) * Leslie Roberts - 116,321 * Other - 34,227 Judge of the Circuit Court, 6th District, Position 5 (Morrow and Umatilla counties) * Christopher R. Brauer - 11,003 * Annetta L. Spicer - 8,631 * Other - 45 Judge of the Circuit Court, 14th District, Position 2 (Josephine County) * Pat Wolke - 19,204 * Other - 367 Judge of the Circuit Court, 15th District, Position 3 (Coos and Cutty counties) * Jesse Margolis - 7,569 * Other - 7,449 Judge of the Circuit Court, 16th District, Position 5 (Douglas County) * George Ambrosini - 20,741 * William (Bill) Marshal - 11,810 * Nancy Cook - 5,620 * Other - 52 Judge of the Circuit Court, 18th District, Position 3 (Clatsop County) * Cindee S. Matyahs - 7,392 * Don H. Haller, III - 5,829 * Other - 23 Judge of the Circuit Court, 20th District, Position 6 (Washington County) * Charlie Bailey - 71,811 * Vincent A. Deguc - 41,813 * Other - 578


District Attorneys


See also

* Oregon primary election, 2006 * Oregon gubernatorial election, 2006 * Portland, Oregon area elections, 2006 * Seventy-third Oregon Legislative Assembly * Seventy-fourth Oregon Legislative Assembly


References

Oregon Secretary of State
Secretary of State's
Statistical Summary for the 2006 General Election
List of candidates
for May 16 Primary Election
List of candidates
for Nov 7 General Election
2006 Primary Election Voters' Pamphlet
wit
official results

2006 General Election Voters' Pamphlet
wit
official results
Election websites from ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...
''
Oregonian newspaper Elections site

Election results
Endorsements
Endorsements
by the ''
Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history '' ...
''
Endorsements
by the '' Portland Mercury''


Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oregon's Statewide Elections, 2006 2006 elections in the United States by state Oregon elections by year