Gov. Tina Kotek is in a rematch with her Republican opponent, Christine Drazan, four years after Kotek defeated Drazan 47%-43% to replace Kate Brown, the term-limited Democrat.
Both women are former legislators in the Oregon House of Representatives, where Kotek ruled as Speaker and where Drazan was the Minority Leader.
With the Nov. 3 election just a month away, a poll commissioned by Oregon Public Broadcasting found 46% of likely voters chose Drazan and 44% picked Kotek. Another 8% said they were undecided.
According to a related OPB article, those undecided voters chose Drazan over Kotek, 47%-46%, when pressed on who they were leaning toward.
There is a caveat for that poll: Drazan was leading Kotek by 2% in 2022 as Election Day neared, AFN reported at the time.
Another polling question asked by Oregon Public Broadcasting was if Oregon is moving in the right direction or on the wrong track. A whopping 58% said “wrong track” compared to 30% who chose “right direction.”
Back in 2022, however, two-thirds of likely Oregon voters chose “wrong track” when polled.
What could be different from 2022, and that question, is Gov. Kotek has had four years to guide the state and fulfill her campaign promises. During an Oct. 1 televised debate, she was asked by a debate panelist why increased K-12 funding has not improved public education scores.
Oregon ranks at the bottom in K-12 public education, among the 11 worst U.S. states.
“Governor, I don’t believe you’ve answered the question,” the panelist pressed. “More money, worse results. Why?”
“Well, I’m not satisfied with the results, either,” Kotek replied.
Reacting to the debate on X, Oregon conservative activist David Medina praised Drazan for showing more toughness as a candidate and pushing back on the radical Democrat.
He shared how he encouraged Drazan 1 ½ years ago, when she was considering running again, to remember that Kotek has “destroyed out state,” and hurt its families and businesses.
At one point in the debate, Drazan pressed Kotek to explain what she meant by stating “you should be careful what you say,” which sounded like a personal threat.
“Excuse me, excuse me, I should be careful what I’m saying?” Drazan pressed. “What are you implying?”
In another exchange, Drazan joked that Kotek had started a “drinking game” by continually bringing up President Donald Trump regardless of the debate topic.
Imagining a Republican winning a statewide race in Oregon, Washington Times columnist Robert Knight says it’s not an impossibility even in the liberal state.
“It could be that even the people of Oregon, outside of Portland, might have had their fill of radical left-wing government,” he told AFN. “They pay taxes, they have kids, they have schools.”
