Day 963: Election night
Nov. 8th, 2022 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eve_primeOn top of all of our concerns about the election on a national level, we in Eugene are especially concerned about two more local races: governor and congressperson. Oregon hasn't had a Republican governor since the days when it was entirely reasonable to have a Republican governor - our local Republicans were generally socially liberal and environmentally conscientious.
This year, however, it's more hotly contested. Our current governor, Kate Brown, was facing term limits so couldn't run again. Instead, it's a contest between not two but three women who've been active in state politics. The Democrat, Tina Kotek, is highly experienced. She's also queer (as is Brown), which is a turn-off for some. The Republican, Christine Drazan, is a MAGA supporter but not highly obnoxious. Then we have a third candidate, Betsy Johnson, who's been in office as a Democrat but she's very pro-gun rights and nasty toward the homeless. I also learned from Vox that she's a timber heiress who took exception to an executive order from Brown to do something about climate change - her real agenda is just to rescind that thing. Meanwhile, Nike's billionaire founder, Phil Knight, who likes to buy/build lovely buildings for our university, has given huge donations to both Drazan and Johnson. At the moment, two hours after the polls closed, Tina's in the lead but not by very much; they still have more than half the votes to count.
Meanwhile, our long-time congressman, Pete DeFazio, decided to retire after 36 years in office. He's a Democrat and doing a fine job. Members of the House of Representatives have to get re-elected every two years, but DeFazio's been a shoo-in - his usual opponent is generally considered a nut-job. Last time, though, his opponent was instead a young guy, Alek Skarlatos. Skarlatos has zero political experience, as far as I know; his claim to fame was that he helped stop a terrorist attack on a train headed for Paris. Good for him, but that doesn't qualify him for high office. Nor does his third place finish on Dancing with the Stars, or appearing in a Clint Eastwood movie about the terrorism. DeFazio beat him last time, but Skarlatos is trying again, this time against an experienced politician, Val Hoyle. She's in the lead right now, but many votes remain to be counted.
Fingers crossed! Aside from everything else, I find it interesting that all three candidates for governor are women.
This year, however, it's more hotly contested. Our current governor, Kate Brown, was facing term limits so couldn't run again. Instead, it's a contest between not two but three women who've been active in state politics. The Democrat, Tina Kotek, is highly experienced. She's also queer (as is Brown), which is a turn-off for some. The Republican, Christine Drazan, is a MAGA supporter but not highly obnoxious. Then we have a third candidate, Betsy Johnson, who's been in office as a Democrat but she's very pro-gun rights and nasty toward the homeless. I also learned from Vox that she's a timber heiress who took exception to an executive order from Brown to do something about climate change - her real agenda is just to rescind that thing. Meanwhile, Nike's billionaire founder, Phil Knight, who likes to buy/build lovely buildings for our university, has given huge donations to both Drazan and Johnson. At the moment, two hours after the polls closed, Tina's in the lead but not by very much; they still have more than half the votes to count.
Meanwhile, our long-time congressman, Pete DeFazio, decided to retire after 36 years in office. He's a Democrat and doing a fine job. Members of the House of Representatives have to get re-elected every two years, but DeFazio's been a shoo-in - his usual opponent is generally considered a nut-job. Last time, though, his opponent was instead a young guy, Alek Skarlatos. Skarlatos has zero political experience, as far as I know; his claim to fame was that he helped stop a terrorist attack on a train headed for Paris. Good for him, but that doesn't qualify him for high office. Nor does his third place finish on Dancing with the Stars, or appearing in a Clint Eastwood movie about the terrorism. DeFazio beat him last time, but Skarlatos is trying again, this time against an experienced politician, Val Hoyle. She's in the lead right now, but many votes remain to be counted.
Fingers crossed! Aside from everything else, I find it interesting that all three candidates for governor are women.
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