Democrat Tina Kotek wins tight Oregon governor's race
Democrat Tina Kotek, former longtime speaker of the Oregon House, was elected state governor in a tight three-way race, The Associated Press projected Thursday evening. The Oregonian called the race for Kotek on Wednesday morning.
Kotek defeated Republican Christine Drazan and Betsy Johnson, a Democrat-turned-independent who campaigned as a centrist, in what was widely seen as the GOP's best shot at winning the Oregon governor's seat for the first time in four decades.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Republican hopes had been bolstered by the expectations of a national "red wave," discontent over homelessness and crime in Portland, and Johnson's role as a potential spoiler in the race. Their hopes were also well-funded. Nike co-founder Phil Knight poured at least $5.25 million into the governor's race, first for Johnson and then for Drazen, and donated another $2 million to the GOP's effort to flip the state legislature.
Republicans did pick up a few seats in the Oregon House and Senate, enough to end the Democrats' three-fifth supermajority in at least the Senate, OPB reports. But voters also took away one of the Oregon GOP's negotiating chips by making it more painful for lawmakers to walk out of the Capitol to deny Democrats a two-thirds quorum. Under newly-passed Measure 113, any state lawmaker with 10 or more unexcused absences will be blocked from running for re-election or a seat in the other chamber.
Kotek, 56, and Massachusetts Governor-elect Maura Healy (D) made history Tuesday as the first two openly lesbian governors elected in the U.S. Kotek replaces term-limited Gov. Kate Brown (D), the country's first openly bisexual governor. The first openly gay governor, Jared Polis of Colorado, was also re-elected Tuesday.
-
Minnesota's legal system buckles under Trump's ICE surgeIN THE SPOTLIGHT Mass arrests and chaotic administration have pushed Twin Cities courts to the brink as lawyers and judges alike struggle to keep pace with ICE’s activity
-
Big-time money squabbles: the conflict over California’s proposed billionaire taxTalking Points Californians worth more than $1.1 billion would pay a one-time 5% tax
-
‘The West needs people’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
Judge tosses DOJ petition for Oregon voter dataSpeed Read The decision was made following a letter sent by the DOJ to Minnesota
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
