The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is the state’s third largest political party with more than 75,000 members. It is larger than all of the state’s other minor political parties combined (Libertarian, Green, Constitution, Progressive, Working Families), 1/10th the size of the Republican Party, and 1/15th the size of the Democratic Party. It is not affiliated with any national organization.

Independents put their stamp on Oregon results

“Kitzhaber did far better than the typical Democrat,” said Phil Keisling, now director of the Center for Public Service at Portland State’s Hatfield School of Government That may vindicate, and explain, Kitzhaber’s decision to seek the nomination of Oregon’s 3-year-old Independent Party, which held an online primary this year to nominate candidates under new state rules that allow candidates to run under multiple party labels.    Read more ...

What made the difference in Oregon's oh-so-close race for governor?

Meanwhile, the 63,000-member Independent Party of Oregon cross-nominated Kitzhaber, allowing him to list that party's nomination next to his own. It appeared to help, particularly given that several legislative candidates endorsed by the party also won competitive races.    Read more ...

Governor

The final margin for John Kitzhaber (DEM, IND) over Chris Dudley (REP) grew to 20,399 votes (1.4%).

Dudley may well blame his loss on the minor party candidates on his right (Constitution, Libertarian), who received almost 39,000 votes (2.7%). In addition, Kitzhaber was listed on the ballot as the candidate of both the Democratic Party and of the Independent Party. In Oregon House and Senate races where an IND ran against both a DEM and a REP, the IND candidate generally earned about 5% of the vote. In the Governor race, 5% would equal over 71,000 votes.

So the minor parties may have caused a swing of about 110,000 votes (7.7%) in this race, assuming that those who voted for the Constitution Party and Libertarian Party candidates would otherwise have chosen Dudley.

This is the third Governor race in Oregon since 1990 where minor parties have greatly influenced the outcome. In 1990, Barbara Roberts (D) won by only 5.7% over Dave Frohnmayer(R), while right-wing candidate Al Mobley received 13% of the vote. In 2002, Ted Kulongoski (D) won by only 2.8% over Kevin Mannix(R), while Libertarian candidate Tom Cox received 4.6% of the vote.

Oregon Senate

In the Oregon Senate, both seats that switched hands from Democratic to Republican were won by candidates who received the Independent Party nomination (Chuck Thomsen, Alan Olsen). No seats switched the other way. So the Oregon Senate will have a 16-14 majority of Democrats.

Of the 13 major party candidates for the Oregon Senate who were cross-nominated by the Independent Party, 8 won their races, while 5 lost. The winning ratio is 62%. The winning ratio of Democratic nominees was also 62% of Republican nominees was 37%.

Oregon House of Representatives

In the Oregon House, 3 of the 6 seats that switched parties involved Independent Party-nominated candidates, resulting in a 30-30 tie of Democrats and Republicans, though the margins of victory were such that the party's nomination was less likely to have played a role in the outcome. They were Jason Conger, Mark Johnson, and Shawn Lindsay.

Of of 41 major party candidates for the Oregon House of Representatives who were cross-nominated by the Independent Party, 25 won their races, while 16 lost. The winning ratio is 61%. The winning ratio of Democratic nominees was 50% and of Republican nominees was 51% (because the Republicans had no nominee in House District 48, where the Independent Party nominee Jeff Caton won 43% of the vote).

Overall Legislature Results

Combining the Senate and House of Representatives, 33 Independent Party cross-nominees won their races, while 21 lost. The overall winning ratio is 61%. The overall winning ratio of Democratic candidates for the Legislature was 53%. The overall winning ratio of Republican candidates for the Legislature was 48%.

Today the Oregonian's senior political reporter, Jeff Mapes, wrote:

Interestingly, the highest turnout among minor-party voters is those registered with the Independent Party of Oregon. It also happens to be the state's largest minor party - in large part because that's precisely how a lot of voters think of themselves.

At any rate, the Independent Party cross-nominated Democrat John Kitzhaber, and he's listed as the nominee of both parties on the ballot. Will that produce an extra surge of votes for him among not only the Independent voters but among non-affiliated voters as well?

The Oregon League of Women Voters has prepared a very simplified Easy Voters Guide. It lists only a couple of reason to vote for or against each measure. It limited each candidate and each political party to a statement of 50 words. We stated this:

We seek open, clean government not controlled by special interests or political ideology. We want to limit political campaign contributions, close the revolving door between government and lobbyists, and enable practical problem-solvers to earn public office. Visit indparty.com for results of Oregon’s first-ever minor party primary election and more.

INDEPENDENT PARTY OF OREGON

THE “TWO-PARTY SYSTEM” IS BROKEN AND IS BREAKING OUR ECONOMY, OUR JOBS, AND OUR GOVERNMENT.

GRIDLOCK IN WASHINGTON AND SALEM MEANS WE CAN’T GET COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS FOR THE COMMON GOOD.

We need to get big money out of politics.

We are Oregon’s third largest political party, with more than 58,000 new members since 2007. We do not follow “ideology.”

Instead, we support candidates from across the political spectrum who are committed to the principle that the basic instruments of our democracy -- the elections process, the Legislature, and the initiative and referendum -- should be in the hands of We the People rather than the special interests that now control government in Oregon.

Hasso Hering, editor of the Albany Democrat-Herald, on June 10, 2010, described our platform:

These ideas have in common that they favor state politics in which the average citizens gain influence and the special interests especially the interests with lots of money have less. The details are open to debate, but thats not a bad program for which to campaign.

    Read more ...

A recent study by Professor Michael McDonald at George Mason University showed that the major political parties in Oregon (Democratic and Republican) have lost since November 2008 a greater share of their members than the major parties in any other state, except Nevada.

The results are here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-p-mcdonald/partisan-voter-registra...

The Oregon Democratic Party has lost 7.1% of its members since then. The Oregon Republican Party has lost 5.2% of its members during that period.

On the other hand, the Independent Party of Oregon has increased its membership by 44% since November (from 42,008 to 60,596 as of September 2010).

Numerically, the Democrats have lost 66,755 members in Oregon since November 2008. The Republicans have lost 33,921 members. Overall voter registration in Oregon since November 2008 has fallen by 91,656.