[1]Richman (HD 29) – Mason (HD 30)
by NW Spotlight
Republicans took the two Hillsboro Oregon House seats in 2010.
Republican Katie Eyre defeated Democrat Katie Riley 53.1% to 46.7% in HD 29 – which had an 8.8% Democratic voter registration advantage. Incumbent Rep. Chuck Riley (D) was not running again so that he could run against Republican Sen. Bruce Starr – a race Riley lost.
Republican Shawn Lindsay defeated Democrat Doug Ainge 53.3% to 46.5% in HD 30 – which had a 7.1% Democratic voter registration advantage. Incumbent Rep. David Edwards (D) did not run again [2] so he could spend more time with his family.
Democrats retook both Hillsboro seats in 2012, riding on the re-election of President Obama. President Obama defeated [3] Mitt Romney 54% to 42% in Oregon, and 57% to 40% in Washington County – where Hillsboro is the county seat.
Now Republicans are gearing up to retake the Hillsboro seats.
Washington County prosecutor Mark Richman [4] is seeking the Republican nomination in HD 29. Rep. Ben Unger (D) is the current incumbent in HD 29 – which has a 7.8% Democratic voter registration advantage.
Republican Dan Mason [5] is seeking the Republican nomination in HD 30. Rep. Joe Gallegos (D) is the current incumbent in HD 30 – which has a 6.7% Democratic voter registration advantage. Dan ran an excellent but unsuccessful race in 2012 against Rep. Chris Harker (D) in HD 34 – which had a 17.1% Democratic voter registration advantage. Dan remained a class act after the election, despite the classless behavior [6] of his opponent.
[7]Washington County, Oregon – 2013 numbers are from Dec 2013