Well-Known Independent Candidate Joins Oregon Senate Race

[babylonsister]

Well-Known Independent Candidate Joins Oregon Senate Race
By Jesse Stanchak | 5:25 PM; Sep. 12, 2007


John Frohnmayer, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, said Wednesday that he would run as an independent against Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith next year, throwing a wild card into the race to unseat the Republican.

Making his announcement at Portland State University, Frohnmayer said he wanted to end the culture of partisanship in Washington. The Frohnmayer family — which includes his brother, University of Oregon President and former Attorney General Dave Frohnmayer — is something of an institution in Oregon politics, giving him unusually high name recognition for an independent candidate.

Smith has been a target for Democrats heading into 2008 due to his past support of the war in Iraq and already was considered one of the Republicans’ most vulnerable incumbents. But the Democrats have had difficulty attracting a first-tier candidate, giving Frohnmayer a better chance to capitalize on voter disaffection than third-party candidates usually have in the state.

Frohnmayer’s candidacy poses an interesting problem for all contenders in the 2008 race, as he’s positioned to steal votes from both parties. His center-right views could attract Republicans unhappy with Smith’s social conservatism; however, most registered independents in Oregon tend to identify more strongly with Democratic candidates.

more...

http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/09/wellknown_independent_candidat.html#more

[LWolf]

1. Unseating Smith will be my top priority in '08.

I expect that my vote in the presidential primary will mean little or nothing, coming as late as it does, and I am doubtful whether there will be a nominee I will even vote for, let alone campaign for.

I expect most of my time and energy to be spent on this race.

There are two Democrats declared so far (that I know of), and I haven't chosen between them at this point:

http://jeffmerkley.com/

http://novickforsenate.org/about_steve