Voting: Demographics, living location play key roles in party affiliation
Continued from page 1A
Multnomah remain staunchly Democ
rat, Mannix said rural and suburban
Oregon is more Republican, and the
party has gained more support from
farmers, fishers and loggers.
Despite the Republican Party’s
gains, the leadership still lies solidly
in Democratic hands.
“Democrats in the last couple of
elections have won all the statewide
elections,” said Democratic Party of
Oregon’s Executive Director Neel
Pender.
Governor Ted Kulongoski is a
Democrat and three of his immediate
I
predecessors have all been Democ
rats. Moreover, in the presidential
elections, the Democratic candidate
has won in Oregon since 1988. And
although Michael Dukakis received
56,080 more votes than Republican
George Bush Sr. in the state that year,
Bush did better nationally and was
elected.
Still, it is difficult to classify the
state as definitely pro-Democrat or
pro-Republican.
While Democratic candidate Bill
Clinton had a clear majority in 1992
and 1996 over George Bush Sr. and
Bob Dole, respectively, in 2000,
Democrat A1 Gore whisked Oregon
from President George W. Bush by
less than a percent, according to the
Oregon Blue Book.
And in this year’s presidential elec
tion, neither party seems to have a
clear advantage — Oregon is consid
ered a swing state and is being ag
gressively courted by both President
Bush and Democratic Party candidate
Sen. John Kerry.
Pender says the Democratic Party’s
support base lies mainly west of the
Cascades, but support goes beyond
the predominantly urban areas like
Portland, where there is a huge party
advantage.
"We’re a statewide party,” he said.
“We think our issues resonate with
people in the rural areas. ”
Pender said changes in the state’s
Republican Party philosophy in re
cent years may have pushed some
voters to look for alternatives.
“Philosophically, the Republican
Party was really co-opted by the
Christian coalition,” he said, adding
that in some ways this could have
marginalized more modern progres
sive Republicans.
Mannix, who was once a Democ
rat legislator, attributed the shift in
some areas to the fact that Democrats
have become “more ideological”
while Republicans have become
“more practical” about addressing
people’s problems.
Historically, demographics also
play a part in which party gets the
vote. McGhee said in general, more
urban areas vote Democrat, while ru
ral areas vote Republican.
“Typically, when the economy is
bad, voters vote out the incumbents
regardless of whether it’s Democrat
ic or Republican,” McGhee said.
ayishayahya @ daily emerald, com
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