11 lessons from Oregon election results

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

#1. Trump gained Oregon votes:  Trump improved his vote among Oregonians with every election cycle.

2024 — 42%
2020 — 40%
2016 — 39%

#2. Measure 118’s $2 billion dollar tax failed by nearly 80%.  The experiment to try universal basic income where government just dumps money on citizens failed in Oregon.

#3.  Two different rank-choice voting ballot measures fail:  The statewide rank choice ballot measure 117 failed by nearly 20%.  The Taxpayers Association of Oregon had more voter arguments against Measure in the Statewide Voters Pamphlet than anyone else.  Also, a different rank choice voting measure in the small Oregon town of Oakridge also failed (#20-364).   This local measure was a STAR voting method which is like Rank Voting but different (less chaotic).  The Taxpayers Association did a postcard campaign against this measure.

#4. Oregon’s minority Political Party, Republican, lost a State Senate seat and made no gains in House (based on early results).  If this holds,  this will likely leave control of the Oregon Senate as 18 Democrats to 12 Republicans and the Oregon House to 35 Democrats to 25 Republicans.

#5. Democrat party sweeps all three statewide races.  Here is the margin of victory:  Attorney General +7%, Secretary of State + 10%, State Treasurer +5% (Pacific Green recieved 6% in this race).

#6. Oregon Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer is losing her seat.  Chavez is down by 2% or 6,000 votes as of 9:15 count Nov. 6th.   Although, there is a big delay in Clackamas County votes at the moment and it could narrow significantly.

#7. County set-backs.  Clackamas County has lost a great leader in in the defeat of County Chair Tootie Smith.  Clackamas’ Mark Shull appears to be losing as well.  In Multnomah County, both “more-normal” candidates for county commissioner (Adams, Mozynsky) have lost to their super-liberal opponents.   Another county leader, Yamhill County’s Lindsay Berschaur is behind by less than 1%.

#8. Oregonians gain impeachment powers: Measure 115 is passing with 62%, which gives Oregon’s elected representatives the ability to impeach the Governor and other Statewide officials.  The Taxpayers Association of Oregon was the only one to submit a support-argument for measure 115 in the Oregon Voters’ Pamphlet.

#9. Portland’s own Rank Choice voting has painfully delayed their election results. As of 9:00AM the morning after the election, not a single vote tally has been provided to the public on the Portland Mayor race and the City Commissioner races. This is because Portland is using rank choice voting, passed by voters in 2022.

#10. Bad local measures defeated.  The Parkrose school tax (26-254) was defeated 52% as the Taxpayers Association made the point that the school district lost 13% of its students and dropped graduation requirements but still wants a massive tax increase to cover less students and less teaching.   The Redmond Parks Tax (9-175) was defeated.   The Cottage Grove Gas Tax 20-366 was defeated (72%).  The Portland scheme to make it easier to put environmental mandates on people’s homes (26-253) failed by 52% showing that even Portlanders don’t want more red-tape.  For these defeated taxes and measures the Taxpayers Association of Oregon was often the only organization to either submit a Voter argument against these taxes or to send out postcards into the district alerting voters.

#11. Two good local measures pass. Happy Valley passed Term Limits (3-610) and Sherwood passed a measure (34-340) allowing government officials to utilize skymiles if they are conducting government travel (like everyone else does).  The Taxpayers Association was among the few to place Voter Statement in favor of term limits and the only organization to support the small Sherwood travel measure as a simple housekeeping measure.

Results: State Ballot Measures

Results: Oregon Congress, President

Results: State Senate, House races

Results: Sec-of-State, AG, Treasurer