Oregon's Ten Worst Campaigns of the 21st Century
Submitted by editoror on November 19, 2007 - 6:07am.One of our regular features at PolitickerOR.com will be a series of lists that we hope you will enjoy. With the launch of our new Oregon-based political news site, we are pleased to offer our lists of Oregon's Ten Best and Worst Camp aigns of the 21st Century (well, almost: a few are from the last century; we can’t help it!)
For the most part, we looked at races that were highly competitive. Some campaigns perform extremely well, but of course, they are expected to win. And there are the so-called sacrificial lambs, running for various offices across the state that are not expected to raise money, go in the mailbox, or even send out press releases; we tried not to bother them.
Remember, this list – like all lists – are highly subjective. And as always, we encourage the feedback of our readers.
1  When he first ran for the Oregon House against Mike Swaim, then candidate and political newcomer Billy Dalto remembered the quintessential elements of campaigning like knocking on doors and raising money. He quickly got cozy with then Speaker Karen Minnis, but kept his voting record moderate enough for the district with little serious opposition. When current Representative Brian Clem decided to size him up in 2006, Dalto was nowhere to be seen on the campaign trail. In fact, has anyone seen him lately? Key player behind the scene: Theresa Van Winkle. |
2  What started out as a campaign with great momentum, good polling numbers and considerable national support from the DSCC quickly fizzled as Election Day zeroed in. Although he was seen as an aggressive campaigner, Secretary of State Bill Bradbury’s campaign quickly imploded internally with the entire campaign team ready to sue each other even after Election Day came and went. Key player behind the scene: Paul Worlie. |
3  Some might argue that it was only inevitable the GOP would lose the Oregon House given the anti-war, anti-Bush political climate, but others found the House GOP leader-less and internally fragmented leading to their loss of the gavel for the first time since 1990. Key reason for losing: the Karen Minnis re-election campaign siphoning funds from their targets. |
4  With more hype going into her campaign for the 5th congressional district than actual work coming out of it, State Senator Jackie Winters’ effort to unseat incumbent Congresswoman Darlene Hooley was over before it started. She raised little money and was quickly branded as a liberal by her self-funded primary opponent, Jim Zupancic. Key player behind the scene: Darryl Howard. |
5  It was over before it ever started. State Senator Vicki Walker’s campaign for Oregon governor became synonymous with the ex-Governor Neil Goldschmidt sex scandal and not really much more. Unable to raise any money or gain any traction among Dem voters, Walker’s one month “pondering” of the race for Gov quickly came to an end. Key player behind the scene: Michael Grossman. |
6  Using every liberal politician the campaign could get its hands on to campaign against the loosening of land use regulations in Oregon, the effort to defeat Measure 37 lost handily in 2006. Befuddled by its disorganized demeanor, many insiders pondered how difficult it could be to launch a “save it or pave it” campaign used most recently in support of Measure 49. Key player behind the scene: Patricia McCaig. |
7  Even with SEIU Local 503 actively working the field effort and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde supplementing the campaign’s entire media budget, Jim Hill’s second try against now incumbent Governor Ted Kulongoski went nowhere fast. His effort to label the Governor as a “bad Democrat” was ultimately seen as divisive and Dem voters returned the favor with a mere 25% of the vote. Key players and money behind the scene: Art Towers and Justin Martin. |
8  Entering the 5th CD race to take on incumbent Congresswoman Darlene Hooley at the last possible moment, businessman Mike Erickson surfaced in Oregon politics with a clean slate. He eventually had to “loan” his campaign over $1.5 million only to lose to the tennis shoe campaigner by 11 points. What’s even more interesting? He’s back for more in 2008. Key player behind the scene: Fawn McNeely. |
9  Hindsight is always 20/20, particularly when your opponent outspends you 4 to 1, however, many insiders lament on why the Healthy Kids Campaign was unable to get off the ground from the day one. With hundreds of amendments to Oregon’s constitution already in place, insiders say the campaign should have done a better job explaining why one more won’t really make a difference. Key player behind the scene: Carol Butler. |
10  After a solid win in the Dem primary, then candidate Ted Kulongoski’s campaign stuck to touchy feely campaign ads with Ted holding a bowling ball. When attacks made by GOP nominee Kevin Mannix continually went unanswered, many wondered if Kulongoski had the stomach for the game. In the end he pulled it off, but it took a few days after the ballot boxes were opened before anyone knew he was Oregon’s next governor. Key player behind the scene: Sean Sinclair. |
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Demise of M50
Pissing away a 2:1 margin of support of M50 takes work.
Carol may have been the GC on that campaign, but it was Mark Wiener who dropped the ball. The "teflon man" has had remarkably poor work with his forever template in the drawer- cookie-cutter direct mail that was *yawn* boring and uncompelling. Such has been the case for the last few cycles.
But hey. He's Mark Wiener. Why should he be creative when he can just steal other people's work and claim it as his own???
Looks like he's gotten so lazy with his down-scale clients, he didn't even bother to go out and just steal another idea.
Oregon's 10 Worst Campaigns
Some notable failed campaigns are listed above. But you left off a real stinker-- Jim Francesconi for Portland Mayor, 2004. Jim was an early favorite to succeed Vera Katz, he had $1 million plus in campaign contributions, he started with good name recognition (8 years on Portland city council) and a solid base of support on the left and right having been an aggressive pro-labor attorney. He ended up with less that 40% of the vote. It takes some major bungling to run a campaign that far into the ground.
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