Oregon has seen the longest Democratic gubernatorial winning streak in the nation, but this year Republican challenger Chris Dudley, a former pro basketball center for the Portland Trailblazers, is going after the governorship. Democratic candidate John Kitzhaber, who was Oregon’s governor from 1994 to 2002, is showing a minor lead.
Mr. Dudley led the race earlier in the campaign, and with time running out before Nov. 2, President Obama has joined the game, making Oregon one of his recent stops.
Obama said that Mr. Kitzhaber has “delivered change," and the Democratic campaign has strongly gone after Dudley’s lack of experience. But the economic downturn may give an edge to Dudley, a social moderate. Past Republican candidates were mostly conservatives.
