5 Oregon incumbents keep seats in US House races
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — All five congressional incumbents from Oregon have held onto their seats, some of them fighting off the same opponents they faced two years ago.
Democrat Kurt Schrader was in a race anticipated to be the state's closest but easily fought off Republican Fred Thompson in the swing 5th Congressional District.
Democrat Peter DeFazio, Oregon's longest-tenured congressman, defeated Republican Art Robinson in the timber-dependent 4th Congressional District.
Suzanne Bonamici, a Democrat, won her first full term in office after a special election in January to replace former Rep. David Wu in the 1st Congressional District. She defeated Republican Delinda Morgan Tuesday.
In Oregon's sprawling 2nd district, Republican Greg Walden defeated Democratic challenger Joyce Segers. Incumbent Democrat Earl Blumenauer held onto his seat in the 3rd district.
A retired Army sergeant, Thompson was president and chief executive of a company that converted agricultural waste into building materials. Schrader, a veterinarian, has joined with the Blue Dog Coalition of fiscally-conservative Democrats.
It was the second time Robinson had challenged DeFazio, who was first elected to the U.S. House in 1986.
Robinson pledged to cut taxes, increase border security and build new power plants. He lost to DeFazio in 2010 by a wide margin but enjoyed financial support from tea party advocates, people who deny human involvement in climate change and home-schooling advocates.
In her brief time in office, Bonamici has focused on supporting education and issues that affect high-tech companies. She also introduced legislation to help deal with debris from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami that's washing up along the coast.
Bonamici's opponent, Morgan, is a former heavy equipment operator who owns a vineyard with her husband. Morgan said she would be an advocate for small business owners by cutting regulations and getting rid of President Barack Obama's health care law.
Walden is the only Republican in Oregon's congressional delegation. First elected in 1998, Walden has risen to become chairman of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee and vice chairman of the House Republican Campaign Committee. His opponent, Segers, campaigned to improve education, keep Social Security sound and reduce the role of money in politics.
Republican Ronald Green and Progressive candidate Woody Broadnax challenged Blumenauer in the 3rd Congressional District, which encompasses eastern Clackamas County and almost all of Multnomah County.
Blumenauer was first elected in 1996. Transit has been a key issue for him in Congress, and he is a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
Green is a TriMet bus operator who opposes offshoring and outsourcing while seeking a tariff policy to protect American jobs.
Broadnax campaigned to combat poverty and provide free universal health care for children.
What happened to the bow tie?
The Headline says it all. Congress has a 9% approval rating but the voters keep sending the same people back to Washington. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result.Â
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The bumper sticker insults a large part of the state of Oregon if you look at the Oregon voting map.. Most of the state in area is RED...Blumenaeur should act like an adult. Â
@Jackie Sparks I get your point regarding the insult, but pointing out that most of the state is red does nothing. We don't don't factor land area into elections we factor in the people. Just because Malheur, Lake, and Harney counties cover large areas of land it doesn't follow that they should carry more weight in an election. Besides, Blumenaeur doesn't need to appeal to those large areas of red, as his district is one of the craziest shades of blue that one can find.
Lets not follow Washington in this absurd degrad of society. The tax payers or in the case Washington (non-tax) will need to pay additional costs for checking drivers for drugs when suspected of impairment to operate a vehicle. As a society we depend on public transportation to get around to certain areas, what if your driver is also smoking a joint that would impair his driving or operation of said vehicle. Alcohol and drugs= NO
Keep it in your home and not on the street!
@JayS The police already check people to determine if they are driving impaired, because people have been doing drugs for quite a while.
I don't have much use for the Dems or the Repubs these days... but I LOVE that bumper sticker..! Â :-)
The trio of do-nothing idiots. Oregon has quite the track record of electing idiots into office. Good job!
 @Jamie If you dont like who is elected why dont you run for the office then maybe you can make a change.
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