Kulongoski wins in solid victory
Gov. Ted Kulongoski defeated challenger Ron Saxton in Tuesday’s gubernatorial race by a 51 percent to a 43 percent margin. Saxton conceded to Kulongoski an hour and a half after polls closed.
Tuesday’s election was considered a breakthrough for Democrats across the nation as they overtook the House of Representatives. In the Oregon congressional races, the incumbents secured victory in each district, leaving Oregon in a four-to-one Democrat to Republican ratio.
At Kulongoski’s rally at the Benson Hotel, the mood was elated throughout the night and swelled when results began to show that he would return to the governor’s office for a second term.
”We are entering a great era of great opportunity for our state,” Kulongoski said after Saxton called him and conceded the race. “You said yes to new investments in our schools.”
Saxton’s election party at the downtown Hilton Hotel began optimistically, but moods dimmed as the results began to show his defeat. Saxton supporters began to leave even before Saxton conceded to Kulongoski.
”The results are difficult for Republicans,” said Kevin Mannix, who lost the 2006 Republican primary to Saxton. “I’m disappointed in the results. Tomorrow’s another day.”
Polls indicated early on that the race between incumbent Gov. Kulongoski and Saxton would be tight, but Kulongoski pulled away as Election Day grew near.
The Oct. 28 Rasmussen Report poll placed Kulongoski ahead of Saxton by a margin of 51 percent to 44 percent. Although many Democrats worried early on that what many perceived to be Kulongoski’s lackluster four years in office might hinder his chances at re-election, he rarely fell behind in any polls.
Kulongoski is pushing for an increase in funding for higher education, tax increases and additional environmental policy for the next four years. After securing a higher level of funding for the Oregon Opportunity Grant in his first term, Kulongoski is working to develop a program that might increase funding to Oregon universities and community colleges by around $50 million.
Kulongoski plans to increase the cigarette tax by 84 cents and said he will increase the corporate minimum tax of $10, but has not said by how much.
In a late October visit to Portland State, Kulongoski declared the Willamette River a primary concern. He said he plans to clean up the river because “an investment in the environment is an investment in our people.”
Kulongoski has begun a plan to convert all state-owned buildings to 100 percent renewable energy by 2010. He said he will focus on restoring salmon to the Columbia River and maintaining old-growth forests in Oregon.
Saxton was a proponent of two controversial bills on the November ballot, Measures 41 and 48, which would both alter spending in Oregon. Measure 48 would have capped the state spending limit, while Measure 41 would have cut the state budget by nearly $400 million to give tax payers a $150 tax kicker.
Analysts believe that both bills would have cost higher education millions of dollars and both bills failed in Tuesday’s election.
This is the second time Saxton has lost a gubernatorial race. He placed third in the 2002 primary election behind Jack Roberts and Kevin Mannix. Despite having lost to Mannix in 2002, in the May 2006 Republican primary Saxton received 43 percent of the vote, ahead of Mannix’s 30 percent.
Saxton, a lifelong resident of Oregon and former chair of the Portland School Board, planned to double the size of the Oregon State Police to allow 24-hour-a-day patrol. Saxton is a supporter of the personal tax kicker, which gives Oregon citizens a tax refund each year. It was Saxton’s plan to reduce governmental spending if he had won, planning to cut the cost of Oregon’s government by 10 percent.
The incumbent governor since 2003, Kulongoski has previously served as a state representative, a state senator and as Oregon attorney general.
Born in Missouri, Kulongoski was raised in a Catholic boys’ home. He served in the Marines, which also paid for his college. From there he became a labor lawyer, served in the House of Representatives, then the Oregon State Senate, and finally became attorney general in 1992.
Saxton was born and raised in Albany, Ore., and graduated from Willamette University and the University of Virginia Law School. He is the founding president of the Portland Schools Foundation, a group that has raised over $30 million to improve student achievement and school performance.
