One week ago, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele traveled through Oregon as part of his nationwide “Fire Pelosi” campaign. Steele arrived in Eugene at 1 p.m. and spent 45 minutes advocating for Oregon’s Republican candidates, such as U.S. Senate candidate Jim Huffman and Gubernatorial candidate Chris Dudley, but when he began talking about the gubernatorial race, he stumbled. Not in terms of his knowledge of the Republican candidate or his policies, but in terms of Dudley’s opponent’s name.  
Steele didn’t fumble completely; he remembered John Kitzhaber’s name after a moment, but the pause, the hesitation, hints at a flaw in our political system.
How does a party claim superiority over another if it cannot even remember the opposing candidate’s name? And more importantly, begs a terrifying question regarding student voters and their priorities. Are students ignoring the issues and just going with a name? … A party’s name that is.
Campaigning for candidates within your party is not a political sin, nor is it a one-sided practice.
Next week President Obama will arrive in Portland to campaign for Kitzhaber.
But with all the hoopla associated with celebrity visitors, it is hard for students to differentiate what Oregon’s candidates actually stand for.
The fact that Dudley and Kitzhaber only agreed one time to debate the issues doesn’t help clarify their stances either.
Both candidates claim to have plans to stimulate job creation, help students subsidize their educations and prioritize higher education, but without talking specifics, students are forced to vote with their gut, and usually that means voting for their party affiliation, not the policies.
Both Oregon Republicans and Oregon Democrats don’t seem bothered by voters casting ballots along party lines. It works to both of their advantages.
It makes sense for Democrats to feel especially comfortable with Oregonians voting along party lines considering Oregon’s reputation as a liberally minded state. It has worked for them in the Gubernatorial race since 1988.
“There is a reason why we win,” Oregon Democratic Party spokesperson Amy Wojcicki said. “Oregonian’s values align more closely with Democratic candidates like John Kitzhaber.”
On the flipped side, Republicans distinguishing themselves as the underdog party in Oregon allows them to blame incumbents and advertise themselves as the party for change.
“A lot of people are tired of incumbents. They want a fresh face in politics and that means voting for Republicans,” Deputy Political Manager Ben Carpenter said. “Oregon’s Republican candidates provide a new direction for the state that gets us out of a rut.”
While the strategy is age-old, electing a Republican for governor is something that hasn’t happened in Oregon for quite some time.
“For the first time a national party and a state party have organized ourselves in a way where we can begin to win again in places like Oregon,” Steele said Thursday. “We’re here to fight, we’re here to win and we’re here to win with good leaders,” Steele said.
It’s is getting increasingly harder for students to identify who those good leaders are and pick the best candidate through all this party rhetoric. Voters: Dare to cross party lines if your party isn’t meeting your needs.
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