BY SARAH ROSS
PORTLAND- Ballotpedia, an online encyclopedia about state politics, released a study Tuesday ranking Oregon 5th on the list of state legislative candidates with major party opponents.
This ranking indicates that out of the 76 seats up for election in the state’s legislative body, only 5 of them face no major party candidate.
The study indicates that candidates not facing a major party candidate (Democrat or Republican) are “virtually guaranteed election when facing third parties.”
It goes on to say: “Given that major party candidates win nearly 100% of the time, a candidate running without any major party opposition is essentially assured election – even if there are third party candidates.”
A total of 2,000 candidates out of 6,125 nationwide are not facing major party opposition.
Despite its high ranking for major party opposition competitiveness, Oregon ranks 27th overall in total competitiveness. This ranking is based on the number of primary challengers for incumbents facing re-election, the number of candidates facing a major party competitor, and the number of incumbents retiring from the Legislature.
