May 14, 2008 - 8:19am
Poll: AG primary race too close to call
By Politicker Staff
Attorney General candidate Greg MacphersonThe presidential nominating contest is not the only heated race coming to Oregon on May 20. A poll conducted by the Portland Tribune and FOX News 12, shows the Democratic primary race for state attorney general is "in a dead heat."
State Sen. Greg Macpherson leads former federal prosecutor John Kroger by just two points, 28 percent to 26 percent, according to the poll. With a 4.8 percent margin of error and 46 percent of Democratic voters still undecided, pollster Tim Hibbits told the Tribune that Macpherson's two-point advantage "is no lead at all."
No Republican candidate has filed for the attorney general post, nearly handing a November win to the candidate who wins next week's primary.
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Quote of the Day
July 18, 2008
"Democrats are running away from a Republican incumbent. This is a reflection of broader political trends. It's something that's in the water, in the air. They are moving away even though a Republican incumbent is making a good case to be re-elected."
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-PolitickerOR.com, 7/16/2008
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MacRove
The negative and misleading ads sure have not put MacPherson on the fast track. I could see a negative ad being effective against someone who is even moderately sleazy; but Kroger? C'mon... Whatever one's view of the best candidate for Oregon's Top Cop it sure is hard not to like Kroger's record as a Democrat and as a lawyer.
Too bad Mannix got dibs on the "paid for abortion" smear campaign. I would have liked to see MacPherson sponsor an ad combining a person who had just graduated from medical school AND who performed abortions.
Hey now. . .
Mac's ad may have been a little misleading in that it implied Kroger has not practiced law at all. Five years ago, he practiced federal law in New York for about 6 years, it's true.
But everything the ad SAID was true (from what I've heard, even from Kroger): Kroger passed the Oregon bar exam last year and has never practiced law in Oregon. Since he is running to be Oregon's Attorney General, I find that to be relevant information. Perhaps a more fair depiction would have been to show a heart surgeon switching to brain surgery. I would have felt misled if I had voted for Kroger, and then learned that he had only recently passed the bar here.
And the Attorney General is not Oregon's Top Cop, he's (or hopefully someday She's) Oregon's top Lawyer. I'd be hesitant to put a criminal prosecutor in that position, since the Department of Justice mostly does Defense and Civil work.
Actually it is Top Cop
Molly, I certainly respect your opinion, but the AG really is the Top Cop and I disagree with your hesitancy to put a former prosecutor in that position, since the AG runs the 1) Organized Crime Division (which Kroger wants to use to target enviornmental crimes) 2) the District Attorney Assistance Program- which goes around to small counties in Oregon that do not have the resources to prosecute major crimes OR whose office needs help. The most notable example being the Christian Longo murder of children trial where the AG's Office assisted the Lincoln County DA's Office. and 3) the Appellate Division which "defends" the convictions and motions of State prosecutors.
I do agree that most of the Dept of Justice's resources are devoted to non-criminal enterprises (the biggest being the collection of child support which is a quasi-prosecutorial role), but those divisions are run by career bureaucrats and Mac and Kroger probably won't be able to do much anyway.
Wait a minute --
MacPherson's legal background seems quite narrow. Plus, I heard he was the choice of the timber industry.
I voted for Kroger, partly for the reasons above, and because his list of endorsers was superior.
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