2016 United States presidential election in Oregon
The 2016 United States presidential election in Oregon was held on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Oregon voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and running mate Indiana GovernorMike Pence against Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. On May 17, 2016, in the presidential primaries, voters expressed their preferences for the Democratic, Republican and Constitution parties' respective nominees for president. The Registered members of each party only voted in their party's primary, while voters who were unaffiliated were unable to vote. The Democratic candidate has won Oregon in every election since 1988. Hillary Clinton continued the Democratic tradition in Oregon, carrying the state with 50% of the vote, a slightly reduced margin from President Obama in 2012, but with a slightly higher raw vote total, becoming only the second presidential candidate to win more than a million votes. Donald Trump received 39% of the vote, meaning he had received a smaller proportion of the vote than Mitt Romney had in 2012 not only in Oregon, but in all four of the neighbouring states. However, he did achieve a notable feat in carrying Columbia County, becoming the first Republican to do so since Herbert Hoover in 1928. In addition, this was also the first presidential election since 1976 when Clackamas County backed the losing candidate.
Background
The incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, a Democrat and former U.S. Senator from Illinois, was first elected president in the 2008 election, running with former Senator Joe Biden of Delaware. Defeating the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, with 52.9% of the popular vote and 68% of the electoral vote, Obama succeeded two-term Republican President George W. Bush, the former Governor of Texas. Obama and Biden were reelected in the 2012 presidential election, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 51.1% of the popular vote and 61.7% of electoral votes. Although Barack Obama's approval rating in the RealClearPolitics poll tracking average remained between 40% and 50% for most of his second term, it has experienced a surge in early 2016 and reached its highest point since 2012 during June of that year. Analyst Nate Cohn has noted that a strong approval rating for President Obama would equate to a strong performance for the Democratic candidate, and vice versa. Following his second term, President Obama was not eligible for another reelection. In October 2015, Obama's running-mate and two-term Vice President Biden decided not to enter the race for the Democratic presidential nomination either. With their terms expiring on January 20, 2017, the electorate is asked to elect a new president, the 45th president and 48th vice president of the United States, respectively.
Political landscape in Oregon
Besides Lyndon Johnson's landslide victory in 1964, the Republican party's candidate won Oregon in every year from 1948 through 1984. Since then, however, the Democratic candidate has carried the state in every election, including a narrow victory in the 2000 election. The last statewide election won by a Republican candidate was in the 2002 Senate election, all statewide elected officials as of election day were Democrats, and Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney by 12.09% in the 2012 election.
The 74 delegates from Oregon were allocated in this way. 41 delegates were allocated based on the popular vote in each congressional district with district 2 split. Another 20 delegates were allocated proportionally based on the statewide popular vote. The state also had 13 super delegates.
The Independent Party held a primary election on July 18. The party's ballot included Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Gary Johnson, Jill Stein and a "none of these candidates" choice. Bernie Sanders won the primary election with 31.5% of the vote, narrowly defeating Donald Trump's 30.08%. Hillary Clinton came in third, with 24.02% of the vote.
General election
Polling
Results
carried the state, lengthening the Democratic streak in Oregon to 8 straight contests.
