Democrat John Kroger faces a smooth road to the attorney general’s office after his primary victory Tuesday night, and now the former federal prosecutor and law professor can get prepared to fight crime as the state’s highest lawyer.
Oregon voters also chose Sen. Kate Brown as the Democratic nominee for secretary of state, but she will face a long, five-month battle against the popular Republican Rick Dancer, a former Eugene anchorman.
Attorney General
Kroger, who teaches law at Lewis & Clark Law School, has never held a public office before but has a glowing résumé of prosecuting Mafia bosses, drug cartels and corrupt Enron officials.
No Republican had filed for the attorney general race after the GOP hopeful Kevin Mannix decided to run for Congress. A write-in candidate could enter the race to face Kroger in the November election, said Ben Unger, campaign manager for Kroger, but it should take a couple of weeks to know if there will be a challenger.
“We feel very confident about November, but we don’t want to get overconfident,” Unger said.
Unger said Kroger will focus on how to tackle Oregon’s methamphetamine crisis as his top priority, with a revamped drug treatment program. Oregon has one of the worst drug treatment programs in the nation, Unger said, and Kroger will try to restore the program.
Kroger’s other top two priorities are cracking down on environmental polluters and being an aggressive consumer watchdog for Oregonians.
Unger said there was one case of a metal plating company that was cited for environmental violations 61 times in 3 years, but only given a fine of $150 each time. “We have to do a much better job of environmental enforcement,” Unger said.
Secretary of State
In the Democratic race for secretary of state, Oregon Sen. Kate Brown handily defeated two other state senators vying for the nomination. The secretary of state is the top record keeper in Oregon, oversees elections and helps guide policy to the governor’s office.
Brown claimed more votes than both of her challengers combined, but she also spent more money than all of her opponents combined.
One of those challengers, Sen. Vicki Walker of Eugene, gave Brown one of her only two losses in Oregon’s counties. It was also her biggest loss – nearly 20 percentage points in Lane County.
Some pundits have pointed to Walker’s popularity in Lane County, where her senate seat is located, as the reason for the solid win.
Brown’s new opponent, Rick Dancer, is also popular in Lane County, and he should put up a challenging fight within the Lane County stronghold.
“I’m a threat to her campaign because I am well-known here,” Dancer said. Popularity certainly plays a part, but “people know that I do what I say I am going to do,” he said.
Dancer, known south of Salem from his television news career, now has the task of breaking into Brown’s turf in the Portland metro area where her senate seat is located.
The political newcomer said that challenge won’t be as hard as some are making it out to be because people in Oregon are tired of career politicians.
Dancer said Oregon voters “want someone who will go in there and do the job with the perspective of the people in mind. I’m not a career politician, and that’s one of the best things I have going for me.”
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