Oregon held its general election on November 6, 2012, deciding 76 legislative seats and 3 statewide offices. Control shifted: the House moved from a 30-30 power-sharing tie to a 34-26 Democratic majority.
Highlights
- Winning the House gave Democrats full control of state government, ending two years of shared power, since they held the Senate 16-14 and Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) was not on the ballot. House Democrats then picked Rep. Tina Kotek (D) as their Speaker nominee, putting her in line to be the nation's first openly lesbian House Speaker.
- All 4 of Democrats' House gains came from unseating Republican incumbents on the new maps:Beyond the flips, former Rep. Brent Barton (D) held the open House District 40 for Democrats by about 350 votes.
- Democratic incumbents kept all 3 statewide offices on the ballot: Ellen Rosenblum (D) as attorney general, Kate Brown (D) as secretary of state over Knute Buehler (R), and Ted Wheeler (D) as treasurer.
- Voters passed 4 of 9 measures, including Measure 85, directing the corporate tax "kicker" to education, along with Measure 77, Measure 78, and Measure 79. They rejected Measure 80, the Cannabis Tax Act, with about 47 percent, even as Washington and Colorado voters legalized marijuana the same day; both casino proposals, Measure 82 and Measure 83; the estate tax phase-out in Measure 84; and the gillnet fishing measure, Measure 81.
Legislature
- House (60 seats): 30 D, 30 R before the election, 34 D, 26 R after; control moved from Power_Sharing to Democrats.
- Senate (30 seats): 16 D, 14 R before the election, 16 D, 14 R after; control stayed with Democrats.
Statewide races
Legislative races
| Race | Winner | Others | Notes |
|---|
| House 1 | Wayne Krieger (R) | Jim Klahr (D) | |
| House 2 | Tim Freeman (R) 77.54% | Jeff Adams (L) 22.46% | |
| House 3 | Wally Hicks (R) 75.73% | Barbara L. Gonzalez (Constitution Party) 12.34%, Johnie Wayne Scott (L) 11.93% | |
| House 4 | Dennis Richardson (R) 87.48% | Rick Hake (Constitution Party) 12.52% | |
| House 5 | Peter Buckley (D) 66.43% | Sandra Abercrombie (R) 33.57% | |
| House 6 | Sal Esquivel (R) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 7 | Bruce Hanna (R) 69.38% | Fergus Mclean (D) 30.62% | |
| House 8 | Paul Holvey (D) 70.76% | Aaron Baker (R) 26.15%, Lucian Blansett (Constitution Party) 3.09% | |
| House 9 | Caddy McKeown (D) 54.66% | Nancy Brouhard (R) 42.68%, Guy Rosinbaum (L) 2.66% | |
| House 10 | David Gomberg (D) | Jerome Grant (R) | |
| House 11 | Phil Barnhart (D) | Kelly R. Lovelace (R) | |
| House 12 | John Lively (D) | Joe Pishioneri (R) | |
| House 13 | Nancy Nathanson (D) | Mark Callahan (R) | |
| House 14 | Val Hoyle (D) | Dwight Coon (R), Sharon A. Mahler (L) | |
| House 15 | Andy Olson (R) | Ron Green (D) | |
| House 16 | Sara A. Gelser (D) | Andrew Decker (R), Rachel J. Feigner (L) | |
| House 17 | Sherrie Sprenger (R) 69.71% | Richard Harisay (D) 30.29% | |
| House 18 | Vic Gilliam (R) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 19 | Kevin Cameron (R) 58.55% | Claudia Kyle (D) 41.45% | |
| House 20 | Vicki Berger (R) 62.81% | Jackie Pierce (D) 37.19% | |
| House 21 | Brian Clem (D) 59.11% | Dan Farrington (R) 37.01%, Marvin Sannes (I) 3.88% | |
| House 22 | Betty Komp (D) 53.74% | Kathy LeCompte (R) 46.26% | |
| House 23 | Jim Thompson (R) 59.19% | Ross Swartzendruber (D) 32.92%, Alex Polikoff (G) 7.89% | |
| House 24 | Jim Weidner (R) 54.34% | Kathy Campbell (D) 43.43%, Kohler Johnson (L) 2.23% | |
| House 25 | Kim Thatcher (R) 63.56% | Paul Holman (D) 33.78%, Ryan R Haffner (L) 2.66% | |
| House 26 | John Davis (R) 55.59% | Wynne Wakkila (D) 44.41% | |
| House 27 | Tobias Read (D) 68.05% | Burton Keeble (R) 31.95% | |
| House 28 | Jeff Barker (D) 60.71% | Manuel Castaneda (R) 39.29% | |
| House 29 | Ben Unger (D) 53.61% | Katie Eyre Brewer (R) 46.39% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 30 | Joe Gallegos (D) 49.52% | Shawn Lindsay (R) 44.68%, Kyle Markley (L) 5.8% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 31 | Bradley Witt (D) 53.31% | Lew Barnes (R) 41.77%, Ray Biggs (Constitution Party) 2.66% | |
| House 32 | Deborah Boone (D) 68.65% | Jim Welsh (Constitution Party) 25.88%, Perry R. Roll (L) 5.48% | |
| House 33 | Mitch Greenlick (D) 69.2% | Stevan C. Kirkpatrick (R) 30.8% | |
| House 34 | Chris Harker (D) 63.99% | Dan Mason (R) 36.01% | |
| House 35 | Margaret Doherty (D) 59.95% | John Goodhouse (R) 40.05% | |
| House 36 | Jennifer Williamson (D) 82.54% | Bruce Neal (R) 17.46% | |
| House 37 | Julie Parrish (R) 50.79% | Carl Hosticka (D) 47.02%, Meredith Love Taggart (L) 2.19% | |
| House 38 | Chris Garrett (D) 68.62% | Tom Maginnis (R) 31.38% | |
| House 39 | Bill Kennemer (R) 61.36% | Christopher Cameron Bangs (D) 36.15%, Blake Holmes (L) 2.5% | |
| House 40 | Brent Barton (D) 50.63% | Steve Newgard (R) 49.37% | |
| House 41 | Carolyn Tomei (D) 72.47% | Timothy E. McMenamin (R) 27.53% | |
| House 42 | Jules Kopel Bailey (D) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 43 | Lew Frederick (D) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 44 | Tina Kotek (D) 86.72% | Michael Harrington (R) 13.28% | |
| House 45 | Michael Dembrow (D) 82.5% | Anne Marie Gurney (R) 17.5% | |
| House 46 | Alissa Keny-Guyer (D) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 47 | Jessica Vega Pederson (D) 65.15% | Maggie Nelson (R) 34.85% | |
| House 48 | Jeff Reardon (D) 69.07% | George (Sonny) Yellott (R) 30.93% | |
| House 49 | Chris Gorsek (D) 54.41% | Matthew Wand (R) 45.59% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 50 | Greg Matthews (D) 66.32% | Logan Boettcher (R) 33.68% | |
| House 51 | Shemia Fagan (D) 52.91% | Patrick Sheehan (R) 47.09% | Flipped R to D; Incumbent defeated |
| House 52 | Mark Johnson (R) 51.69% | Peter Nordbye (D) 48.31% | |
| House 53 | Gene Whisnant (R) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 54 | Jason Conger (R) 56.49% | Nathan R. Hovekamp (D) 43.51% | |
| House 55 | Mike McLane (R) 68.05% | John Huddle (D) 31.95% | |
| House 56 | Gail D. Whitsett (R) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 57 | Greg A. Smith (R) 100% | Unopposed | |
| House 58 | Bob Jenson (R) 76.27% | Heidi Van Schoonhoven (D) 23.73% | |
| House 59 | John E. Huffman (R) 66.81% | Gary L. Ollerenshaw (D) 33.19% | |
| House 60 | Cliff Bentz (R) 100% | Unopposed | |
| Senate 1 | Jeff Kruse (R) 71.53% | Eldon Rollins (D) 28.47% | |
| Senate 2 | Herman Baertschiger Jr. (R) 65.39% | Jim Diefenderfer (D) 34.61% | |
| Senate 5 | Arnie Roblan (D) 54.85% | Scott Roberts (R) 45.15% | |
| Senate 9 | Fred Girod (R) 64.33% | Steve Frank (D) 35.67% | |
| Senate 12 | Brian Boquist (R) 60.17% | Annette Frank (D) 39.83% | |
| Senate 14 | Mark Hass (D) 60.47% | Gary Coe (R) 36.79%, Mark W. Vetanen (L) 2.73% | |
| Senate 17 | Elizabeth Steiner Hayward (D) 66.54% | John Verbeek (R) 33.46% | |
| Senate 18 | Ginny Burdick (D) 69.52% | Suzanne Gallagher (R) 30.48% | |
| Senate 21 | Diane Rosenbaum (D) 84.6% | Cliff Hutchison (R) 15.4% | |
| Senate 22 | Chip Shields (D) 92.14% | Herbert Booth (L) 7.86% | |
| Senate 23 | Jackie Dingfelder (D) 80.65% | Tracy Olsen (I) 19.35% | |
| Senate 25 | Laurie Monnes Anderson (D) 53.42% | Scott Hansen (R) 44.15%, Eugene A Newell Jr (L) 2.44% | |
| Senate 27 | Tim Knopp (R) 59.2% | Geri Hauser (D) 40.8% | |
| Senate 28 | Douglas K. Whitsett (R) 100% | Unopposed | |
| Senate 29 | Bill Hansell (R) 68.61% | Antone Minthorn (D) 31.39% | |
| Senate 30 | Ted Ferrioli (R) 100% | Unopposed | |
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Measure 77 | Revision to responses to catastrophic disasters; requires approval by a 2/3rds majority | Passed (58.71% yes) |
| Measure 78 | Changes terminology in the state Constitution for the three state gov't branches | Passed (71.77% yes) |
| Measure 79 | Would ban real estate transfer taxes. | Passed (58.96% yes) |
| Measure 80 | Would create a cannabis commission to regulate the cultivation and sale of cannabis. | Failed (46.75% yes) |
| Measure 81 | Bans Columbia River commercial salmon fishing with gillnets by non-tribal persons, allows seine nets instead. | Failed (34.62% yes) |
| Measure 82 | Authorizes establishment of privately-owned casinos. | Failed (28.35% yes) |
| Measure 83 | Authorizes Multnomah County casino. | Failed (29.29% yes) |
| Measure 84 | Phases out estate and inheritance taxes. | Failed (45.96% yes) |
| Measure 85 | Allocates corporate income/excise tax "kicker" refund to additionally fund K through 12 public education. | Passed (59.96% yes) |