Oregon Secretary of State election, 2016
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← 2012
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May 17, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
Dennis Richardson (R) |
Jeanne Atkins (D) |
Governor • Attorney General Secretary of State • Treasurer Down Ballot None |
March 8, 2016 |
May 17, 2016 |
August 30, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
December 13, 2016 |
TBD |
Oregon held an election for secretary of state on November 8, 2016, with a primary on May 17. Incumbent Jeanne Atkins (D) did not run for election. Republican Dennis Richardson won the election, giving Republicans control of the seat for the first time in three decades.
Overview
The race to replace incumbent Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins (D) was expected to be the most competitive state executive election in Oregon in 2016.
Three current or former legislators competed to win the Democratic nomination, with Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries Brad Avakian besting state Rep. Val Hoyle, who led in fundraising running up to the primary, and state Sen. Richard Devlin. Former state Rep. Dennis Richardson easily won the Republican primary contest.
Democrats have controlled the secretary of state's office since 1985; Democrats had trifecta control of the state going into the 2016 elections, and were expected to maintain their hold on Oregon's top executive offices in the 2016 elections. However, Richardson won the general election on November 8, 2016, giving Republicans control of the secretary of state's office for the first time in three decades.
Candidates
Brad Avakian (D/Working Families/Prog.)
Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries since 2008
Dennis Richardson (R)
State Rep., 2002-2015
Paul Damian Wells (IPO)
CNC machinist
Sharon Durbin (Lib.)
Retired attorney
Michael P. Marsh (CP)
Lin County Constitution Party chair
Alan Zundel (Pacific Green Party of Oregon)
Counselor, retired public policy professor
| Click [show] to view candidates who were defeated in the primary elections. | |||
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Results
General election
The following candidates ran in the Oregon secretary of state election.[1]
| Oregon Secretary of State, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Dennis Richardson |
47.44% | 892,669 | |
| Democratic/Progressive/Working Families | Brad Avakian | 43.27% | 814,089 | |
| Independent Party of Oregon | Paul Damian Wells | 3.45% | 64,956 | |
| Pacific Green Party of Oregon | Alan Zundel | 2.53% | 47,576 | |
| Libertarian | Sharon Durbin | 2.50% | 46,975 | |
| Constitution Party | Michael P. Marsh | 0.81% | 15,269 | |
| Total Votes | 1,881,534 | |||
| Source: Oregon Secretary of State | ||||
Primary results
Democratic primary contest
Brad Avakian defeated Val Hoyle and Richard Devlin in the Democratic primary for secretary of state.
| Democratic primary for secretary of state, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Brad Avakian |
39.06% | 168,041 |
| Val Hoyle | 33.81% | 145,444 |
| Richard Devlin | 26.35% | 113,335 |
| Write-in votes | 0.78% | 3,362 |
| Total Votes | 430,182 | |
| Source: http://oregonvotes.gov/results/2016P/71227554.html | ||
Republican primary contest
Dennis Richardson defeated Sid Leiken in the Republican primary for secretary of state.
| Republican primary for secretary of state, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Dennis Richardson |
77.93% | 229,325 |
| Sid Leiken | 21.49% | 63,247 |
| Write-in votes | 0.58% | 1,715 |
| Total Votes | 294,287 | |
| Source: http://oregonvotes.gov/results/2016P/1521964421.html | ||
Independent Party of Oregon primary contest
Paul Damian Wells ran unopposed in the Independent Party of Oregon primary for secretary of state.
| Independent Party of Oregon primary for secretary of state, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Paul Damian Wells (unopposed) |
66.24% | 14,553 |
| Write-in votes | 33.76% | 7,417 |
| Total Votes | 21,970 | |
| Source: http://oregonvotes.gov/results/2016P/1521964421.html | ||
Context of the 2016 election
- Democrats had a strong hold on Oregon's top executive offices; incumbent Jeanne Atkins (D), who was appointed in March 2015, did not seek election to a full term.
Primary elections
A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Oregon generally utilizes a closed primary process. The selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members for presidential and legislative elections. However, the Oregon Republican Party voted to open the Republican primary to unaffiliated voters for the offices of secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer.[2][3][4]
Oregon's primary elections took place on May 17, 2016.
Incumbent Jeanne Atkins (D)
Incumbent Jeanne Atkins (D) was appointed in March 2015 to replace deputy secretary Robert Taylor, who served on an interim basis following former Secretary of State Kate Brown's (D) elevation to governor on February 16, 2015.[5][6] Atkins, a former state director for U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D), was appointed to the office on March 6, 2015, and assumed office on March 11. After receiving the appointment, Atkins said that she would not seek election to the office in 2016, leaving the election an open race.[7]
Party control in Oregon
Oregon is traditionally a Democratic state, and going into the 2016 elections, Democrats had trifecta control of the state government. The last Republican to occupy the governor's office was Victor Atiyeh, who served two terms from 1979 to 1987.[8] Other statewide elected offices—including state treasurer, secretary of state, attorney general, and the two U.S. Senate seats—had all been occupied by Democrats for the previous 15 years. The last Republican to win a statewide election was former United States Senator Gordon Smith, who lost his 2008 re-election bid to Jeff Merkley after serving two terms in office.[9]
The last Republican to hold the office of secretary of state in Oregon was Norma Paulus (R), who was elected in 1976 and re-elected in 1980. Paulus was succeeded by Barbara Roberts (D), who later went on to win the governorship. Prior to Roberts' election in 1984, no Democrat had held the office since Stephen Fowler Chadwick (D) left office in 1878.[10]
Campaigns
State of the race
Primary elections
Val Hoyle led in fundraising in the days running up to the Democratic primary contest; however, Avakian who had earned more key endorsements than Hoyle, triumphed in the Democratic primary contest.
Dennis Richardson, who had a strong lead prior to the Republican primary race in both fundraising and endorsements, easily won his party's nomination.
Campaign finance
| Click here to reveal full campaign finance reports for this race | |||
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Endorsements
| Key endorsements, Democratic primary candidates[11][12][13] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Avakian | Richard Devlin | Val Hoyle | |||||||
| Former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury (D) | Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick (D) | Willamette Week | |||||||
| Oregon School Employees Association | Former State Rep. JoAnn Hardesty (D) | Eugene Weekly | |||||||
| Former U.S. Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse (D) | Former U.S. Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (D) | State Rep. Shemia Fagan (D) | |||||||
| Oregon Education Association’s People for the Improvement of Education | Speaker of the House Tina Kotek (D) | ||||||||
| NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon PAC | Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy (D) | ||||||||
| Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club | State Rep. Margaret Doherty (D) | ||||||||
| International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 112, 932, and 280 | The Register-Guard | ||||||||
| Oregon League of Conservation Voters | |||||||||
| What is a key endorsement? | |||||||||
| Key endorsements, Republican primary candidates[14] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Richardson | Sid Leiken | ||||||||
| Willamette Week | |||||||||
| The Oregonian | |||||||||
| Bend Bulletin | |||||||||
| Eugene Register-Guard | |||||||||
| What is a key endorsement? | |||||||||
Campaign media
Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!
Democrats
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Republicans
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Independents
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About the office
The secretary of state of Oregon is an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of the Oregon state government and is first in line of succession to the governor. The secretary of state serves as the auditor of public accounts, chief elections officer, and administrator of public records.
Duties and qualifications
The office of the Oregon Secretary of State is established in Article VI, Section 1 of the Oregon Constitution.
Article VI, Section 1:
| There shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State, at the times and places of choosing Members of the Legislative Assembly, a Secretary, and Treasurer of State, who shall severally hold their offices for the term of four years; but no person shall be eligible to either of said offices more than Eight in any period of Twelve years. |
Duties
Article 6, Section 2 of the state Constitution requires that the secretary of state keep a fair record of the official acts of both the legislative assembly and the executive department of the state.
The official duties of the office are outlined in Chapter 177 of the Oregon Statutes:[15]
- Keep a record of the official acts of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services and, when required, lay the same and all matters relative thereto before each branch of the legislature.
- Affix the seal of the state to, and countersign all commissions and other official acts issued or done by the Governor, approbation by the Governor of the laws excepted, and make a register of such commissions, specifying to whom given or granted, the office conferred, with the date and tenor of the commission, in a book to be provided for that purpose.
- Be charged with the safekeeping of all enrolled laws and resolutions and not permit them to be taken out of the office or inspected, except in the presence of the Secretary of State, unless by order of the Governor, or by resolution of one or both houses of the legislature, under penalty of $100.
- Keep the office open during business hours at all times, Sundays excepted.
Qualifications
There are no specific qualifications for this office.
Term limits
In Oregon, the secretary of state is subject to term limits. As specified in Article VI, § 1 of the Oregon State Constitution, an officeholder is allowed to remain in the position for eight years in a 12-year period.
Past elections
The secretary of state is elected every four years, in presidential election years. The office is up for election in 2020, 2024, and 2028.
Full history
To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Oregon Secretary of State, click [show] to expand the section. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2012
Incumbent Kate Brown (D) defeated Knute Buehler (R) and three third party challengers in the general election on November 6, 2012.
On November 4, 2008, Kate Brown won election to the office of Oregon Secretary of State. She defeated Rick Dancer (R) and Seth Alan Woolley (PG) in the general election.
2004 On November 2, 2004, Bill Bradbury won re-election to the office of Oregon Secretary of State. He defeated Betsy L. Close (R) and Richard Morley (L) in the general election.
2000 On November 7, 2000, Bill Bradbury won re-election to the office of Oregon Secretary of State. He defeated Lynn Snodgrass (R), Lloyd Marbet (PAC) and E.J. (Ed) Pole, II (L) in the general election.
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Oregon state attorney general election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
State profile
| Demographic data for Oregon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 4,024,634 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 95,988 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 85.1% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 1.8% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 4% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 4.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 12.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 89.8% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 30.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $51,243 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 18.4% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Oregon. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Oregon
Oregon voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, two are located in Oregon, accounting for 0.97 percent of the total pivot counties.[16]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Oregon had two Retained Pivot Counties, 1.10 of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Oregon coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Oregon
- United States congressional delegations from Oregon
- Public policy in Oregon
- Endorsers in Oregon
- Oregon fact checks
- More...
See also
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Oregon government: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016, General Election Abstract of Votes," accessed May 25, 2017
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Kate Brown's deputy, Robert Taylor, takes over as Oregon's acting secretary of state," February 18, 2015
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Live updates: Kate Brown becomes Oregon governor," February 18, 2015
- ↑ The Oregonian, "Kate Brown finds a caretaker by appointing Jeanne Atkins as Oregon Secretary of State," March 6, 2015
- ↑ Oregon Historical Society, "Governor Victor Atiyeh," accessed August 27, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "2008 Election results: Oregon," accessed August 27, 2015
- ↑ Office of the Secretary of State, "Secretary of State, Administrative Overview, September 2001," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ Val Hoyle, "News," accessed May 6, 2 016
- ↑ Brad Avian for Secretary of State, "Supporters," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ Richard Devlin, Blog," accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ Dennis Richardson, accessed May 6, 2016
- ↑ OregonLaws.org, "Chapter 177:Secretary of State," accessed February 18, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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