Equal time for House Democratic efforts

Someone close to the Oregon House Democrats reminded me the Dem caucus should be applauded for their actual victories and not admonished for failing to reach a 40-seat majority (which would give them quorum abilities where the GOP wouldn't need bothering to show up for work anymore).  Apparently, my previous post reeked of turning a substantial loss by Oregon House Republicans into some sort of victory.  So, in the spirit of the Fairness Doctrine, let's take a look at what state Rep. Dave Hunt, Michele Rossolo and the rest of the folks over at FuturePAC were able to accomplish this election cycle.

1.  Democrats picked up five seats on Tuesday to bring Democratic control to a resounding 36-seat supermajority.  I wouldn't call it a mandate, but it certainly opens up opportunities to pass through legislation without having to count on every single Democratic vote.

2.  Incumbent Republican state Reps. Chuck Burley, John Lim and Linda Flores were all knocked off.  Taking out an incumbent is always a huge challenge to begin with, but taking out the Deputy House Republican Whip (Flores) with a 28-year-old candidate who just graduated from law school two years ago (Brent Barton) is overwhelming achievement.

3.  Democrats picked up two seats east of the Cascades for the first time in decades.  Democrat Judy Stigler ousted GOP Burley in Bend and Suzanne VanOrman, a Democrat from Hood River, defeated the ever so spirited Republican Matt Lindland from Eagle Creek.  These will be tough seats to hold onto in the coming years, however, there are not many quality candidates lining up on the Republican ticket these days.  It is in these areas where the GOP needs to find its lost soul if they want any chance of holding the gavel in the future.

4.  No incumbent Democrat in the Oregon House had to think twice about getting re-elected.  Certain GOP House caucus members tried to convince some big donors and the Oregon Lobby that Republican challenger Andy Duyck was mere points away from ousting Democrat David Edwards, but Edwards sailed to re-election beating Duyck 56%-42%.

Overall, Democrats won seats in conservative leaning areas like Gresham, Troutdale, Bend, and Hood River all the while protecting every Democratic incumbent.  As one campaign operative declared, "It was one of the best campaign efforts I have seen in 20-plus years of political work."

UPDATE:  A reminder was also sent that a 40-seat Demoratic majority in the Oregon House was initially circulated by Janie Har at the Oregonian and some overly anxious lobbyists.  It was not coming from Hunt, his caucus or FuturePAc.