Democrats swept both the Oregon State Senate and House of Representatives races across Lane County on Tuesday, with Oregonians appearing to vote in line with the national trend of defeating Republican incumbents.
Members of both parties linked the Democratic wins to a dramatic shift in power nationwide.
“I’m surprised and disappointed,” said Bob Avery, chairman of the Lane County Republican Party. “The anti-Republican wave crashed here in Oregon.”
Ben Lenet, president of the College Democrats, was elated at the news of Democratic success.
“This is a fantastic night,” he said. “This country was ready for change and they went to the polls and decided that.”
At the Lane County Fairgrounds, the tension was palpable as election returns were periodically updated and displayed on a large screen. Applause erupted sporadically with each update as candidates, political staffers, students and community members witnessed the democratic process unfold.
Val Hoyle, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Lane County, attributed the success of the Democrats locally to the quality of the candidates and 50-state strategy, a campaign piloted by Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
The campaign stationed a person in Eugene to support local Democratic candidates and to get the party’s message out.
Marilen Delgado, the Lane Community College student affairs director, said the student vote was crucial in this election.
“I think it’s important, especially since the race is so close between the Democrats and the Republicans,” she said.
Across Eugene at the Town Center, Republicans gathered to discuss the results of the election both nationally and locally.
University senior Tom Albright, a member of the University’s College Republicans and a candidate for state representative who dropped out before the general election, said he wasn’t bitter about the results.
“We’ve obviously lost the connection with the people,” he said. “We’ve just got to figure out how to reconnect.”
Avery attributed the defeat of Republican contenders locally to anti-Republican sentiment and the media.
“It’s the constant barrage by the media,” he said. “All of the economic indicators say we’re doing really well. … But if you look at the news media, that doesn’t make the headlines.”
Oregon Senate
Democratic incumbent Floyd Prozanski defeated political Republican newcomer Bill Eddie in the 4th Senate District, earning 62 percent of the vote.
Early in the evening, Prozanski held a comfortable lead against Eddie.
“I’m feeling very confident,” Prozanski said as the first returns rolled in at 8 p.m. “I’m feeling honored and flattered that the people are willing to allow me to serve again.”
Eddie, who has never held office before, said the loss was “not a great disappointment.”
“I guess people like Oregon just the way it is in this district,” he said, adding that he would consider running again. “I think this demographically is a tough area to win.”
In one of the closest races of the evening, Democratic Sen. Vicki Walker led former Eugene Mayor and Republican Jim Torrey by less than a thousand votes and two percentage points as of 1 a.m.
Walker said she was anxious to get back to the legislature to start working on issues such as higher education.
“I’m proud to go back to Salem and represent Oregonians,” she said. “We really need to find ways to keep tuition down … because the Bush administration has done nothing to help our college students.”
Torrey said he was not optimistic that he would prevail, but added that “it’s not over until it’s over.”
The House race
Incumbent Democrat Paul Holvey won back his seat in the 8th District of the Oregon House in a landslide, earning three quarters of the vote against Lane Community College student and Republican opponent Andrew “Shadow” Hill.
Holvey said he was anxious to get back to the legislature, especially with the shift in power.
“It’s time to go back to work and start addressing the issues that the state needs to address,” he said. “We’re going to talk about issues that we haven’t been able to get on the table before.”
Hill, chairman of the College Republicans at Lane Community College and at the University of Oregon, said he was “feeling pretty good” in spite of the defeat.
“A lot of people didn’t have the guts to stand up and take a stand in this race,” he said. “I went and did what I could.”
He added that he would probably run again after he finishes his degree.
Democratic challenger Chris Edwards edged out incumbent Debi Farr for a seat in the 14th District of the Oregon House by four percentage points in one of the most closely watched races of the night.
Edwards attributed his win to his canvassing and grassroots campaigning efforts.
“You can’t buy a personal relationship,” he said. “That’s been the key if we win the election.”
Farr said the results surprised her, adding that the “anti-Republican sentiment … was certainly something that probably worked against me.”
“But I think that the way that things are looking nationwide, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” she added.
As of now, she is not certain that she’ll run again but that she’ll continue her service on the Lane County Children and Families Commission and the United Way Success by Six Leadership Team.
Former Eugene City Councilor Nancy Nathanson beat fellow newcomer Monica Johnson, a former lifeguard, in the 13th District by 43.8 percentage points. Her campaign was managed by former ASUO President Adam Walsh.
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